A lemon whippersnapper is a very light and chewy lemon cookie dusted lightly with powdered sugar. The balls of lemon cake cookie dough are rolled in the sugar before going in the oven. Then, as the cookies bake, the heated sugar creates a crackle pattern. This is why these are also known as “lemon crinkle cookies“, but they also go by “lemon cake mix cookies,” too. By any name, they are equally delicious!

Let’s talk about these Lemon Whippersnapper Cookies. You see, they are sweet in more ways than one. Not only are these lemony cookies covered in sweet powdered sugar,

but they are also sweet to make with only 4 ingredients! Easy cookies recipes are a must, don’t you agree?

Lemon Crinkle Cookies, aka Lemon Whippersnappers

The first time that I made these was about a million years ago, I made them for a Christmas Cookie exchange when I was looking for something different to bring. You know, move past the peppermint cookies and the chocolate fudge to give the cookie tray a little more variety.

I tucked the recipe away and ran across it again in 2013 decided to WHIP-ersnapper some up and put them on my blog. Now, almost nine years later, they are got a little cookie facelift with new photos and I am sharing them with you once again.

Ingredients in Lemon Whippersnappers

You don’t need much, just a few ingredients. You have to love the simplicity that using lemon cake mix gives. So, if you have a box handy in the cupboard, then you are pretty much ready to go!

lemon cake mix – I love the Duncan Hines brand. It seems to pack more of a lemon citrus punch than the others. *Refrain from using the cake mix with the pudding in the mix.
egg
Cool Whip Non-Dairy Whipped Topping – you can use store brand, regular or lite Cool Whip works, too!
powdered sugar – also called confectioners sugar, for rolling the cookie dough balls before baking.

Find complete measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

lemon cake cookies aka lemon crinkles and lemon whippersnappers

How To Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Begin by beating your egg slightly with a whisk. Mix in the cake mix and the Cool Whip. Stir until smooth. The dough will be sticky.

Use a Tablespoon sized cookie dough scoop, form your dough balls.

Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar. Get a generous amount on them!

It is fun to roll the balls of dough in the powdered sugar. (It makes kids feel like grown-ups and adults feel like kids again!)

Make sure to space the lemon whippersnappers out evenly on a greased cookie sheet for baking.

Finally, you will bake the cookies in a 350 degree preheated oven. Take care not to overbake them, or they won’t be chewy.

Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a cooling rack.

Don’t you love that crinkly pattern on the lemon whippersnappers?

Talk about an easy recipe! Simply tossing a few ingredients together. Roll out some balls of dough. Pop them in the oven. Cool, serve, and enjoy! Doesn’t get much more convenient than that.

Love them? Pin Them!

Love these Lemon Crinkles? Better make sure that you can find this easy cake mix cookie recipe when you want to make them! Pin them to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go.

Perfect for tea time or anytime… because great cookies are delicious all the time!

Variations On Easy Lemon Cake Cookies

Ok, now that you know how easy lemon cake cookies are to make, I know what you are thinking…

What if I used chocolate cake mix instead? Well, chocolate cake cookies are great too! In fact, you can really use any kind of cake mix to create all sorts of crinkle cookies.

Origins of the Chewy Lemon Crinkle Cookie

Time to give credit where credit is due. Like so many great and wonderful cookie recipes, this is inspired by an old-school Betty Crocker lemon cake cookie recipe. Betty, like most of her recipes, of course, borrowed the recipe from someone else too. King Arthur flour lemon cake cookies are still a popular version, but of course, there you have to mix in the other cake ingredients too.

More Great Cookie Recipes

Cookies. What’s not to love? If you’re a big fan of crinkle cookies, you must give these Kahlua Crinkles and these Red Velvet Crinkles a try, too!

Here are some more of our cookie favorites:

lemon whippersnappers aka lemon crinkle cookies

Let’s bake up some Lemon Whippersnappers, shall we? They are so soft and sweet, I hope you enjoy them!

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