Thin, soft, and chewy sugar cookies get a yummy strawberry-lemon upgrade with homemade strawberry sugar and lemon zest. You don't even have to chill the dough before you bake them which means they're perfect for last-minute holiday get-togethers (or a snow day activity with the kiddos). Sugar cookies don't get any better than this!

a small ball of strawberry lemon sugar cookie dough topped with strawberry sugar

Overview: Strawberry-Lemon Sugar Cookie Ingredients

All you need is 30 minutes and a few basic pantry staples to make strawberry sugar cookies. Here's the list of ingredients you'll need, but you can find the full measurements in the recipe card below.

all-purpose flour (sub 00 flour)
baking soda
cream of tartar
salt
granulated sugar
unsalted butter
egg
lemon zest
pure vanilla extract
strawberry or lemon extract (optional)
¼ teaspoon lemon extract (optional, but adds more intense lemon flavor)
2 tablespoons Homemade Strawberry Sugar, or coarse turbinado sugar (for sprinkling cookies before baking) (26g)

*I use 00 flour when I'm in Italy, and the weight of different flours varies based on the humidity content of the flour and the environment you're living in. No matter where you live, just be sure to use the 'scoop and level' method to measure your flour into measuring cups and spoons and the recipe works perfectly every time.

finished sugar cookie dough in stand mixer bowl with le creuset rubber spatula

view down into the strawberry sugar jar with rolled dough balls in view

a beautiful and perfectly cooked sugar cookie

Overview: How to Make Strawberry Lemon Sugar Cookies -- Measure, Mix, Roll & Bake.

Ready in 30 minutes from start to finish, these sugar cookies are incredibly easy to make. Here's a brief overview buy you can find the full instructions in the recipe card below.

Preheat oven to 350°F/176°C and prepare a baking sheet.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Combine wet ingredients with the creamed butter mixture.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Roll and bake the cookies.

Strawberry-Lemon Sugar Cookies recipe step-by-step photos

A collage of 16 step by step photos showing how to make strawberry sugar cookies from start to finish.

a cute bear cookie with two marcona almond eyes, 1 pecan half mouth, red and green sprinkle ears, strawberry sugar rosy cheeks, and red and purple eyebrows made out two long cookie sprinkles over each eye with red over the purple sprinkle)

Homemade Sugar Cookie Ideas

Here are a few of our favorite ways to turn sugar cookies into something fun and inspired.

Make sugar cookie bears by shaping the dough into a bear face like in the above photo and adding nuts and sprinkles
Make sugar cookie fruit pizza.
Make sugar cookie ice cream sandwiches by adding vanilla or strawberry ice cream to the middle.
Make sugar cookie cups by baking the dough in muffin tins.
Make sugar cookie bars by cooking the dough in a prepared 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch square baking pan.

a closeup of large pieces of freeze dried strawberries crumbled into coarse strawberry sugar

A weck canning jar filled with bright hot pink strawberry sugar.

Ways to Customize Strawberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

There are all kinds of ways to enhance this sugar cookie dough. Here are just a few to get you inspired.

for crunchy strawberry-speckled tops, add larger pieces of freeze-dried strawberries and raw turbinado sugar to strawberry sugar
for a lemony twist, top cookie dough balls with Sicilian lemon sugar
top with candy sprinkles
add ½ cup macadamia nuts to the dough
add ½ cup white chocolate chips to the dough
add ½ cup pecans to the dough

my hand holding a plump red strawberry just picked from my planter box

Sugar Cookies Best Tips & FAQ's

Why are my sugar cookies crumbly? Crumbly or dry sugar cookies mean you may have either over-mixed the cookie dough or added too much flour, or not enough butter, or a combination of these things. You may be able to remedy this if your find your cookie dough is too dry by adding a little extra softened butter to the mix. Whatever you do, don't throw away cookie dough or cookies that aren't perfect. You can add them to a bowl of ice cream, or even use them to make a cookie crust for your next no-bake dessert or key lime pie!

Why are my sugar cookies cakey? Usually, a cakey cookie means the flour to fat and sugar ratio is out of balance. Which means you may have added too much flour. It can also be if you've added more egg or a larger egg than is called for (a typical large egg should weigh about 50-55g once it's cracked in a bowl). Do not use cake flour which can also give you cakey cookies.

Why are my sugar cookies hard? If your sugar cookies are hard, you may have overmixed the cookie dough, or you may have baked them too long. Baking cookies longer than required leads to vital moisture from butter and eggs evaporating leaving you with a harder cookie. Also, don't leave them out uncovered for too long if you're in a dry environment especially. This can also zap moisture from your cookies.

How do you store sugar cookies? Unfrosted sugar cookies last up to two weeks in the fridge but keep them away from smelly foods. It's best to either freeze baked cookies layered between wax or parchment paper in freezer bags and pull out cookies as you want. This way they maintain their peak freshness. Alternatively, you may freeze cookie dough logs tightly wrapped in sustainable plastic wrap or parchment paper and stored in freezer bags. When you want a freshly baked cookie, cut off dough slices, roll, and bake.

Why are my sugar cookies spreading out so much? As you know from above, too much flour in your cookie dough can make cookies crumbly and dry. Alternatively, too much butter and sugar can make cookies spread out and lose their shape when baked. Also, if you chill the dough beforehand, it will help keep them from spreading.

Can you overmix cookie dough? Yes, you can definitely over-mix cookie dough. In fact, doing so will leave you with flatter, crispier cookies because overmixing adds more air to your dough which causes them to rise higher and then fall flat. But this method is great if you want extra crispy cookies.

What does cream of tartar do for cookies? Cream of tartar acts as a leavening agent in baked goods like cookies but also helps create a super soft cookie texture. If you don't have cream of tartar, replace it with the same amount of baking powder or simply omit it.