The best lemon cookies are tart and tangy, like a swig of lemonade you can chew. What? Chewable lemonade doesn’t sound good? Even washed down with some nice, rich whole milk? Okay, I’ll stop. Lemon cookies are delicious, and they’re one of the only fruit-flavored cookies that get any actual real estate at the grocery store, along with Fig Newtons and macaroons.
Unlike, say, chocolate chip cookies, which only come in a couple of different forms (soft-baked or crunchy), lemon cookies come in a bunch of different styles. That makes them a little trickier to judge head to head, but we did our best to find everything from the best lemon wafer cookies to the best Lemon Oreos (one variety is better than the other!). Grab a glass of milk, and let’s see what happens when life hands you lemon cookies.
- Great Value Lemon Dipped Shortbread Cookies
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Great Value is known to make a good Girl Scout cookie dupe (their Thin Mint dupe is even better than the real thing), and this is another good example. These icing-dipped shortbread cookies are almost exactly like Girl Scout Lemonades. The difference? They’re cheaper and they’re available year round (sorry, Scouts!). The shortbread itself is buttery with a bit of tang and the icing adds enough sweetness to make these feel like a treat. If you wait all year to get your hands on a few boxes of Lemonades, this is the best lemon cookie to stock up on the next time you go to Walmart.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Simple Truth Thin & Crispy Lemon Cookies
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If you like Tate’s cookies, you’re going to love these lemon cookies from Simple Truth, a proprietary brand sold at Kroger-owned grocery stores. They’re incredibly buttery. On first bite, I was a little bit dubious that they would have enough lemon flavor to make this list, but my colleague Jordan Myrick assured me they’re plenty lemony enough to make the cut. But, really, these cookies are all about texture. They’re so, so thin and crispy. And buttery. Did I mention they’re buttery? These are the best lemon cookies if you want something for dessert that’s super light and fresh. And buttery.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Stauffer’s Lemon Snaps
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These Stauffer’s cookies are like gingersnaps for citrus stans. They look thoroughly unexciting, but I fell in love right away. They’re so snappy and so crunchy—they kind of rattle your brain when you take a bite. And the zesty citrus flavor really comes to life as you chew. These are the best lemon cookies to eat with a nice cup of tea—ginger tea, specifically.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Loacker Quadratini Lemon
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I ordered two types of lemon wafer cookies for this taste test, assuming I’d pick just one for my ranking. Alas, both of them are so good and so different, they both made the cut. First up: Loacker Quadratini. These little bite-sized wafer cookies are so, so tangy. The filling is very loose and creamy—it kinda oozes out when you bite—and tastes like the custardy part of a lemon meringue or key lime pie. These are the best lemon cookies if you want a lot of zesty lemon flavor in a very small package.
Credit: Merc Instacart
- Voortman Lemon Wafers
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As I said, I couldn’t pick just one brand of lemon wafer cookies. And these Voortman Lemon Wafers got a slight edge over the Quadratini by virtue of being so. dang. nostalgic. These send me straight back to snack time in kindergarten. Plus, the wafer part of the cookie just tastes so good—it has a nice baked flavor and a little bit of salt, too. The almost savory flavor of the wafer complements the super sugary lemon filling, which is much stiffer and less tangy than the filling in the Quadratini. Yes, there are two lemon wafer cookies on this list, but they’re so different, I think you should buy them both if you really love wafer cookies.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Oreo Lemon
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If you’re really attached to the creme-to-cookie ratio in a traditional Oreo, these are the best lemon cookies. (If you’re not but you still really love a good sandwich cookie, move onto the next entry.) Lemon Oreos pack an impressive amount of lemon flavor into a format that’s just so beloved. The creme tastes great—very bright and lemony. The citrus flavor really lingers as you eat. They say Oreo is milk’s favorite cookie, and I think that stands for Lemon Oreos, too.
Credit: Merc/ Target
- Oreo Thins Lemon
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Oreo Thins > Oreo. Come at me! These are just so light and snappy and delicious. The creme-to-cookie ratio is perfection in my book, and you still get a touch of salt in the cookie to temper the sweetness of the creme. Lemon cookies should feel light and refreshing rather than heavy, and that’s what these Lemon Oreos do so well! Jordan, a Double Stuf fan through and through, typically doesn’t like Thins but absolutely loved these. Even if you’re a Thins skeptic, try these! They’re the best lemon cookies ever.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
Best Dupe
Best Thin
Best Crunchy
Best Tangy
Best Wafer
Best Creme
Best of the Best
Other products we tried: Benton’s Lemon Creme Cookies, Dewey’s Bakery Meyer Lemon Cookies
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