Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies Recipe (Vera’s Lemon Cookies Copycat)
Here’s a Sparknotes-sized story for why I will forever love Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies:
Ever since I can remember, my family has always been big into celebrating: whether that was to celebrate good grades, a new job, birthdays, you name it – we loved to celebrate!
A big part of our celebration often includes eating out at a restaurant (with the person being celebrated getting to choose the place). And looking back, I almost can’t believe how often it would be at Maggiano’s Little Italy.
I mean, there’s nothing that shouts “CELEBRATE!” like a good pasta overload – right??
While we ordered different pasta dishes every time, dessert was always a must. If you go to Maggiano’s, you may already know that a fan-favorite Maggiano’s dessert is none other than “Vera’s Lemon Cookies”. These lemon cookies are shaped like a crescent, glazed with a delicate lemon frosting, and priced at just $3.50 for 6 cookies, it’s no wonder we kept coming back for more!
(and apparently, so many other people too since they sell out a lot)
Anyways, now that I’m married and live in Lawrence – there’s not a Maggiano’s Little Italy close by. But my good friend’s birthday was coming up, and to celebrate, I thought I’d try my hand at recreating Vera’s lemon cookies.
After batch testing way too many versions to recreate Maggiano’s delicious lemon cookies (seriously, I’m surprised my X-rays don’t show LOTS of lemon cookies in my stomach by now) I’m SO excited to finally say that we’ve done it!!
We’ve recreated the famous Vera’s Lemon Cookies and are here to share with you this foolproof copycat recipe!
Thanks for the inspo, Maggiano’s – we’ll be making these a lot from now on!
RELATED: Get a FREE trial of Amazon Prime to get access to 2-day grocery deliveries!
What You Need to Make Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies
For the Lemon Cookies
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup + 1½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 ½ tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the Lemon Glaze
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk, regular or dairy-free
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
How to Make Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies
For the Lemon Cookies:
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add in the flour, vanilla extract, and lemon juice, and mix until combined. The dough should be a little sticky at this point, but if that it is too sticky, you can add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Set aside.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and roll with a rolling pin until they are approximately 1/2 in thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out different shapes (a half moon one for an exact copycat of Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies) and place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 5 minutes at 325F, then raise the oven temperature to 350F for an additional 8-11 minutes. Once done, the lemon cookies should be slightly golden.
- Take the cookie sheet out of the oven, but leave the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the The Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, add the lemon juice, milk, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Take the prepared lemon cookie and dip the top of each one into the glaze. Continue with the remaining cookies.
- When the glaze has hardened, your very own Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies are ready to enjoy! These cookies will stay fresh for 2-3 days in room temperature, or up to 1 week in the refridgerator when placed in an airtight container.
Looking For More Easy Copycat Recipes?
- Qdoba Grilled Chicken ( Copycat Recipe )
- Iced Cold Brew Latte (Healthy Starbucks Copycat)
- The BEST Texas Roadhouse Chili (Copycat Recipe)
- Homemade Peanut Butter Cups (Reese’s Copycat – GF, DF, Vegan-Friendly)
- The BEST Copycat Chick Fil A Cookie Recipe
- Homemade Peanut Butter Crackers (Ritz Copycat Recipe)
- Outback Steakhouse Potato Soup (Copycat Recipe!)
- Healthy Girl Scout Samoas Cookies (No-Bake & Vegan)
- Panera Bread 10 Vegetable Soup (Copycat Recipe)
- Dunkin Donuts Blueberry Muffin Copycat Recipe
Subscribe to DWELL and get new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! In addition, follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram to get all the latest updates!
If you make this Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies recipe, please drop a comment below! I’d LOVE to know what you think! Or take a picture and share it on Instagram by tagging @dwellbymichelle so I can repost it on my stories!
Copyright © All Rights Reserved. Content is written by Michelle Schmidt of dwellbymichelle.com.
Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies Recipe (Vera’s Lemon Cookies Copycat)
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cookies
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup + 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 ½ tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1¾ stick unsalted butter , softened
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the Lemon Glaze
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp milk , regular or dairy-free
- 1½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Lemon Cookies
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add in the flour, vanilla extract, and lemon juice, and mix until combined. The dough should be a little sticky at this point, but if that it is too sticky, you can add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Set aside.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and roll with a rolling pin until they are approximately 1/2 in thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out different shapes (a half moon one for an exact copycat of Maggiano's Lemon Cookies) and place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 5 minutes at 325F, then raise the oven temperature to 350F for an additional 8-11 minutes. Once done, the lemon cookies should be slightly golden.
- Take the cookie sheet out of the oven, but leave the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the The Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, add the lemon juice, milk, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Take the prepared lemon cookie and dip the top of each one into the glaze. Continue with the remaining cookies.
- When the glaze has hardened, your very own Maggiano's Lemon Cookies are ready to enjoy! These cookies will stay fresh for 2-3 days in room temperature, or up to 1 week in the refrigerator when placed in an airtight container.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Do these freeze well?
Do you have a link to the cookie cutter you used as pictured?
I’m trying these out this weekend!
Hi Ashley! That actually belongs to my grandma so I, unfortunately, have no idea where she bought it from. That said, here’s a moon-shaped cookie cutter from Amazon that is somewhat similar!
Do these freeze well?
Hi Ashley – yes they do! I like to wrap them tightly in foil or plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. But they freeze great!
This got me a 100% on my project,yes!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that – sounds like a very tasty project 🙂
The lemon flavor is spot on. This cookie has a very delicate texture. Overall a tasty cookie. Thanks for the recipe!
My compliments! Hubby loved them.
Question…Can one reduce the lemon zest in the glaze without harming the recipe? Hubby said 1 tbsp was very cloying. With lemon juice already in the glaze is the zest really needed?
Hi Kathy! Yes, feel free to omit the zest if you’d like!
These cookies melt in your mouth! The lemon flavor bursts on your tongue. Will definitely make these cookies again including the frosting.
Marcia – I’m so glad you loved these cookies! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback 🙂
These are amazing!! They really do taste just like Vera’s lemon cookies. We will be making these often. Thank you so much!
absolutely love this recipe! So fresh and melty in your mouth. Just like the Maggiano cookies in the restaurant. thank you for sharing!!
First batch turned out great! I will make another batch for my mom, she’ll love it!