Light, bright, and bursting with citrusy sunshine, these Soft Honey Lemon Icebox Cookies are the perfect treat for warm days and sweet cravings. With a delicate crumb and a gentle zing from fresh lemon zest, each bite melts in your mouth thanks to a touch of honey that keeps them soft and tender. These cookies are chilled before baking, making them easy to portion and ideal for prepping ahead. Whether you’re hosting a summer gathering or just want a cozy moment with a cup of tea, these cookies deliver sweet, tangy comfort in every bite.

Since I have one kid who doesn't like chocolate (I know, pure insanity!), I usually make two types of cookies at once - one with chocolate and one without. Sometimes I will use one dough and add chocolate in some way to half of it to please everyone in my house. I usually nibble (binge!) on the chocolate variety first and then start eating the non-chocolate cookies when there is nothing else in the cookie jar.

This recipe is right in line with my Orange Honey Ginger Mini Bundt Cakes. Citrus and honey are just a match made in heaven!

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Ingredients
Instructions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top Tip
Related
Some of my other favorite recipes!
Honey Lemon Icebox Cookies

Ingredients

Shortening
Brown Sugar
Eggs (sorry, the photo should show two eggs!)
Honey
Lemon Extract
Flour
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Salt
Lemon Emulsion
Optional but recommended - Lemon zest

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Cream the shortening and brown sugar with a mixer until well combined.

Step 2: Add the eggs and mix well.

Step 3: Add the honey and lemon emulsion and mix well.

Step 4: Combine the dry ingredients and then add to the shortening mixture. Mix just until combined.

Step 3: Divide the dough into two logs and roll in cling wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Cookie dough scooped on a baking sheet ready for baking.

Step 4: Scoop with a cookie scoop, place on a lined baking sheet, and bake for 11 minutes or until brown around the edges.

Hint: The cookies will still be soft in the center when the edges have browned during baking. Ensure that you let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 4 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Variations

If you don't have honey but still want to make this recipe, you can substitute agave for the honey. The flavor of agave is very light so you will basically have a lemon cookie.

Equipment

I have found that the best way to ensure that your cookies bake properly is to ensure that they are all the same size. Using a cookie scoop will help you with this! I have had issues with several scoops breaking after a few uses. But THIS COOKIE SCOOP has really held up!

Storage

One of the things that I love about this recipe is that the cookies stay soft and fresh for so long! Store them in an airtight container at room temperature and they will last for up to 10 days!

Top Tip

Honey is a built-in humectant—that’s baker-speak for an ingredient that loves water and hangs on to it. Because honey is mostly invert sugars (glucose + fructose) dissolved in a little water, those simple sugars are naturally hygroscopic: they pull moisture from the dough and from the surrounding air.

During baking: Honey’s water helps form steam, giving cookies a softer interior.
After baking: The invert sugars keep absorbing (and holding) ambient moisture, so the crumb stays tender instead of drying out and turning hard.
Bonus effect: Honey’s acidity slows starch retrogradation (the staling process), which also extends softness.

That’s why even a couple of tablespoons of honey (or other invert sugar–rich syrups like corn syrup or agave) can keep cookies chewy long after their all-granulated-sugar cousins have gone crisp.

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