At the first signs of summer, I always whip up a batch of these strawberry lemonade cookies. They’re fresh, bright, and so delicious! Flavored with Jell-O mix and fresh lemon zest, these chewy sugar cookies taste just like a glass of strawberry lemonade. My kids look forward to these cookies every year, and now I’m happy to share the easy cookie recipe with you too!
Pink Lemonade Cookies Recipe
I’ve always been a lemonade stand kid, and I love sharing that tradition with my sons. But this year, we thought, what if we sell cookies too? And what better cookies to sell at a lemonade stand than strawberry lemonade cookies?! These yellow and pink lemonade cookies taste like summer, and I think they’re going to be a big hit with a glass of cool lemonade!
I flavor these swirled sugar cookies with strawberry and lemon Jell-O mix and fresh lemon zest to create a cookie that’s sweet and zingy! I like to add a touch of food coloring to emphasize their flavor, and a little cornstarch helps these delightful cookies stay soft and chewy for days.
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Cookie Coloring Tip
The food coloring in this recipe is totally optional. The Jell-O powder will give each side of these cookies a very light pastel color. I chose to enhance that with gel food coloring, but you could totally leave them as is if you prefer. For a natural food coloring, I recommend adding some pulverized freeze-dried strawberries to the strawberry side. You can leave the lemon side plain.
Strawberry Lemonade Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Hand Mixer
- 2 Baking Sheet(s)
- 1-Tablespoon Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 cup salted butter slightly melted (2 sticks)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons strawberry Jell-O powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon Jell-O powder
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- Gel food coloring pink and yellow (optional, but recommended)*
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cornstarch. Set aside for now.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- In a separate large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until mixed well and light in color, about 2 minutes.1 cup salted butter, 1½ cups granulated sugar
- Beat the eggs and vanilla into the butter mixture until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on low just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Separate the cookie dough evenly into 2 separate bowls (about 530 grams per bowl).
- In one bowl of cookie dough, add in the strawberry Jell-O powder and 1-2 drops of pink food coloring, if using. Fold by hand using a rubber spatula until the dough is evenly colored but not overmixed.2 tablespoons strawberry Jell-O powder, Gel food coloring
- In the other bowl of cookie dough, add in the lemon Jell-O powder, lemon zest, and 1-2 drops of yellow food coloring, if using. Fold by hand using a rubber spatula until the dough is evenly colored but not overmixed.2 tablespoons lemon Jell-O powder, Gel food coloring, ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- Using a 1-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. These cookie dough balls will be about 16-17 grams each, and you should end up with 32 of each color. Use your hands to roll these into round balls.
- Take 1 ball of pink dough and roll it with 1 ball of yellow dough. Roll it together well so it turns into 1 round cookie dough ball (each cookie dough ball will be about 32-33 grams).
- Place the tray of unbaked cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes to prevent spreading.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
- After 15 minutes, take some cookies out of the freezer and place them on the second baking sheet. The cookies should be 3 inches apart from each other. Leave any remaining cookies in the freezer.
- Place one tray of cookies into the oven to bake for 13-14 minutes. The cookies won’t look completely set yet, but they’ll continue to bake on the hot tray after you remove them from the oven.
- Let the cookies cool for 15 minutes on the tray before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining trays of cookies until you have baked all of them.
Notes
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Cookies Step-by-Step
Prep: Gather the list of ingredients for these lemonade cookies. Slightly melt the butter, bring the eggs to room temperature, and grate the lemon zest so everything is ready to go. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prep the Wet and Dry: In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Set aside for now. In a separate large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together 1 cup of slightly melted (about 30-40 seconds in the microwave) salted butter and 1½ cups of granulated sugar until mixed well and light in color, about 2 minutes.
Add the Eggs and Vanilla: Beat 2 large room-temperature eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the butter mixture until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Combine the Dough: Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on low just until combined. Do not overmix; otherwise, your cookies could turn out dry and tough.
Color the Dough: Separate the cookie dough evenly into 2 separate bowls (about 530 grams per bowl). In one bowl of cookie dough, add in 2 tablespoons of strawberry Jell-O powder and 1-2 drops of pink food coloring, if using. Fold by hand using a rubber spatula until the dough is evenly colored but not overmixed. In the other bowl of cookie dough, add in 2 tablespoons of lemon Jell-O powder, ½ tablespoon of lemon zest, and 1-2 drops of yellow food coloring, if using. Follow the same gently mixing protocol as you did with the strawberry dough.
Recombine the Dough: Using a 1-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. These cookie dough balls will be about 16-17 grams each, and you should end up with 32 of each color. Use your hands to roll these into round balls. Take 1 ball of pink dough and roll it with 1 ball of yellow dough. Roll it together well so it turns into 1 round cookie dough ball (each cookie dough ball will be about 32-33 grams). Place the tray of unbaked cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes to prevent spreading. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake the Cookies: After 15 minutes, take some cookies out of the freezer and place them on the second baking sheet (I was able to fit 8 at a time on mine). The cookies should be 3 inches apart from each other. Leave any remaining cookies in the freezer. Place one tray of cookies into the oven to bake for 13-14 minutes. The cookies won’t look completely set yet, but they’ll continue to bake on the hot tray after you remove them from the oven. If the cookies are over-baked, they’ll be crispy and dry instead of soft and chewy. Let the cookies cool for 15 minutes on the tray before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining trays of cookies (I did this 4 times) until you have baked all of them.
How to Store
Store leftover strawberry lemonade cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
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