Copycat Girl Scout Lemonades Cookies

Girl Scout Lemonades are delicious lemon lemonade cookies with tangy lemon icing. There’s no need to wait for cookie season when you can make these lemony treats at home! I discovered this recipe last summer when my friend’s daughter’s Girl Scout troop had sold out of Lemonades, her absolute favorite. After promising her “just as good” homemade cookies (a risky claim!), I spent a weekend perfecting this recipe. The moment she bit into one, her eyes widened with delight — “Mom, these are BETTER than the real ones!” We make them year-round. These crispy, buttery cookies with perfect lemon tang have become one of our favorite cookies.

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Why This Recipe Works

The secret to recreating the distinctive flavor and texture of Girl Scout Lemonades lies in the careful balance of ingredients and technique. The shortbread base provides the perfect buttery, crisp foundation, while the lemon extract (rather than juice) delivers concentrated flavor without adding unwanted moisture. The icing contains the ideal ratio of powdered sugar to liquid, creating that signature hardened coating that protects the cookie’s crispness while adding a punch of lemony sweetness. You achieve that authentic store-bought texture with homemade flavor by allowing the cookies to cool completely before icing and then giving the icing ample time to set.

Why You’ll Love These Homemade Lemonades

• Year-round availability – No more waiting for Girl Scout cookie season
• Freshly baked goodness – Enjoy these cookies at peak freshness
• Customizable lemon flavor – Adjust the lemon intensity to your preference
• Budget-friendly – Make a whole batch for less than buying a few boxes
• Perfect gift – Package them for friends and family who love Girl Scout cookies
• Fun baking project – This is a great activity to do with children

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Shortbread Cookies:

• All-purpose flour – Provides structure and the tender crumb characteristic of shortbread
• Baking powder – Gives a slight rise while maintaining the dense shortbread texture
• Salt – Enhances flavors and balances sweetness
• Unsalted butter – Creates richness and that melt-in-your-mouth quality
• Granulated sugar – Sweetens the cookie and helps create a crisp texture
• Lemon extract – Delivers concentrated lemon flavor without adding moisture
• Egg – Provides structure and richness to the dough

For the Lemon Icing:

• Yellow gel food coloring – Optional for achieving that signature yellow color
• Powdered sugar – Creates a smooth, sweet coating that hardens properly
• Lemon extract – Adds concentrated lemon flavor to the icing
• Water – Adjusts the consistency of the icing

How To Make Girl Scout Lemon Cookies 

To prepare the dough for the shortbread cookies:

1. Take the butter out of the fridge and allow it to come to about room temperature. Since it can take 30 or more minutes for the butter to soften, do this step well before you are ready to start baking the cookies.
2. While waiting, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and set the bowl aside for later.
3. Place the softened butter and the granulated sugar in a stand mixer or a large bowl. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a hand mixer instead.
4. Cream the butter and sugar using a paddle attachment or regular beaters of a hand mixer. Start at medium-low speed and slowly increase until the butter is fluffy and lightens in color, about three to four minutes. 

5. Reduce the mixer’s speed to medium, add the egg, and lemon extract, and continue mixing on medium speed until the butter mixture is smooth.
6. If you have a dough hook attachment, you can switch to it, but a paddle attachment will work almost as well.
7. While the mixer is still on, add half of the flour mixture. Once the flour mixture is incorporated fully, add the rest and mix until it reaches a dough-like consistency.
8. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough from the mixer attachment and the sides of the bowl. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and set aside. 

To bake the cookies:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
3. Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn out the cookie dough.
4. Form the dough into a rough rectangle with your hands, and then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is about a third of an inch thick.
5. Use a 2-inch diameter cookie cutter to punch out as many cookies as possible.
6. You can use a cookie stamp to decorate each cookie if you want.
7. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
9. After baking, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

To make the icing and ice the cookies:

1. Once the cookies are cool, use a fork to mix the powdered sugar, lemon extract, water, and yellow gel food coloring (if using) in a small bowl. 
2. The consistency of the icing needs to be thick enough that it won’t drip off the fork but is still spreadable. If the icing is too thin, you may need to add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a few drops of water. 
3. Spread a tablespoon of icing on the bottom of each cookie.
4. Place the iced cookies icing-side up on a wire rack for at least eight hours to allow the icing to set before storing. 

Special Equipment You Will Need

A stand or hand mixer with a paddle attachment is helpful when creaming the butter. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use a wooden spatula or a flat whisk, but you will need a lot of arm strength or a couple of eager kitchen assistants. 

You will also need a rolling pin, cookie sheets, a round 2-inch cookie cutter, and a wire rack. One or more cookie stamps are optional, but decorated Girl Scout lemon cookies are extra lovely. 

Storage and Freezing Instructions

Room Temperature Storage

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
• For best results, place sheets of wax paper between layers of cookies to allow air circulation and prevent sticking.

Freezing Unbaked Dough

• Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer bag.
• Freeze for up to 3 months.
• Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and baking.

Freezing Baked Cookies

• Many people enjoy eating these cookies directly from the freezer, but you can also thaw them at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
• Freeze uniced cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
• For iced cookies, freeze in a single layer until the icing is solid, then stack with parchment paper between layers.

More Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

• S’mores
• Samoas (Caramel Delites)
• Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties)
• Thin Mints

Homemade Girl Scout Lemonades – Year-Round Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Enjoy the perfect balance of buttery shortbread and tangy lemon icing with this copycat Girl Scout Lemonades recipe you can make anytime.

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Girl Scout Cookies, Lemon Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Resting: 6 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 32 minutes minutes

Servings: 18

Calories: 246kcal

Author: Stephanie Manley

Ingredients

Cookies

• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 large egg

Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon extract
• 1 tablespoon water
• yellow gel food coloring

Instructions

Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a fork. Mix well and set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric hand or stand mixer. Mix until smooth and fully combined.
• Add egg and lemon extract. Mix again until smooth.
• Add flour mixture in, half at a time, and mix until fully combined and dough-like.
• Place cookie dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before you roll out the cookie dough.
• Remove dough from the bowl and place it on a flat, lightly floured surface.
• Using your hands, flatten the dough pressing downward.
• Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick.
• Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut rounds from dough and place the cutouts on the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
• Using a lemon cookie stamp or an inspirational phrase cookie stamp, create your pattern on the top of the cutouts. Press the stamp firmly into the dough until the indentations make it at least half way through.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
• When done, allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan before making the icing.

Icing

• In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon extract, water and about 2 inches of yellow gel food coloring. Mix with a fork until fully combined and smooth. It will be very thick at first.
• When the icing is at the perfect consistency, spoon out about 1 tablespoon onto the back (non-pressed side) of the cookie. Use your spoon to push the icing around so it naturally levels and covers the entire surface.
• Do this for each cookie, working one at a time.
• When all of your cookies are covered in icing, allow them to sit at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight so that the icing completely hardens before serving.

Notes

Icing Tip: The icing can react differently depending on where you live and what type of powdered sugar you use. To create icing that hardens, stays in the cookie, is mess-free, and tasty; you need to nail the consistency. This is done by adding more powdered sugar or water/extract as needed. The consistency needs to be thick, slow to fall off a spoon, and the coloring should be more matte than glossy.

Perfect Icing: When the icing is perfect, you will be able to spoon out 1 tablespoon and not have it be runny or pour over the cookie. It should spread well but needs a little encouragement from your spoon. If your icing isn’t like this while spooning out onto the cookies, adjust your ingredients.

Cookie Stamp: This is the key part of making Girl Scout Lemonades because these cookies have been sold with a pattern on one side similar to a lemon or flour or an inspirational phrase.

Stamp Tip: Stamp in flour before you stamp the cookie. This will help prevent dough from sticking to the stamp after pressing.

Cookie Texture: Once the cookies are at room temperature, they should be able to stand up on their own, without folding over. They will be a soft cookie but should still have a slight crunch and maintain their shape.

Girl Scout Cookie Trick: Girl Scout cookies are known to be most enjoyable when stored inside the refrigerator or even the freezer!

Equipment

1 Cookie Stamp

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 329IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

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• Hamentashen
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• Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
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Check out my easy cookie recipes and the best DIY recipes on CopyKat!