Sweet Lemon Macadamia Cookies: Easy Bake Citrus Treats

Turn your fresh lemon into delicious sweet treats with this easy recipe for lemon macadamia cookies. These sweet cookies are perfectly crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and have just the right amount of chunky macadamia nut pieces.

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Macadamia nuts

Delicious macadamia nuts are an Australian native nut, originating in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. Macadamias are prized around the world for their unique texture and flavour. They have a soft, almost buttery texture and a slightly sweet taste, making macadamias perfect for baking.

Macadamias go well with all types of citrus flavours. We’ve paired them with lemons in this recipe, but they also work well with oranges, lime and grapefruit.

If you don’t have macadamia nuts, you could substitute them in this recipe with chopped blanched almonds for a similar mild flavour.

Method

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line 2 baking trays/cookie sheets with non-stick parchment paper. (I always use compostable parchment paper.)

Place softened butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl and mix together until light and creamy. (You can use an electric beater, or I just do by hand with a fork). Add lemon zest to the creamed butter and sugar and mix well.

Add vanilla and egg and beat mixture to combine.

Gradually add sifted self raising flour and lemon juice to the mixture and stir until the mixture forms a smooth dough.

Stir through the chopped macadamia pieces and mix well.

HANDY TIP: Place dough in the fridge to chill for 5- 10 minutes before making the cookies. This makes the dough much easier to work with and will help stop cookies from spreading too much during baking.

Using a teaspoon, make small balls of biscuit dough and roll in icing sugar (powdered sugar) to coat.

Place dough balls on the lined baking trays, leaving space between each to allow for spreading. Flatten the top of each ball slightly with the back of a spoon.

Place trays in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until cookies start to turn golden brown.

Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Makes approximately 30 cookies.

Making ahead and storage

Lemon macadamia cookies are perfect enjoyed straight from the oven, even when they are still slightly warm. They will also keep for up to 5 days in an air tight container.

You can also freeze these delicious cookies for up to 3 months. Alternatively, freeze uncooked cookie dough (that hasn’t yet been rolled into balls and coated in icing sugar) by wrapping tightly in non stick paper and then a freezer safe bag. Then when you want to bake the cookies, simply defrost the dough at room temperature for around 30 minutes before rolling into balls, coating with icing sugar and baking.

More citrus inspired recipes

For more sweet lemon recipes, try our easy lemon curd or whole lemon and poppy seed cake. Or for savoury ways to enjoy lemons, try our lemon fennel and cucumber salad or our Greek lemon rice pilaf.

There are lots more tasty citrus recipes to try on our recipes page, using lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruit and more.

And don’t forget to subscribe for more citrus inspiration for your kitchen, garden and home.

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