Maggiano's Lemon Cookies Recipe (Vera’s Lemon Cookies Copycat) (2024)

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July 15, 2021February 1, 2024

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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!

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What You Need to Make Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies

For the Lemon Cookies

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼cup + 1½ tablespoon cornstarch
• 2tbsplemon juice
• 2 ½ tsplemon zest
• ¼tsp salt
• 1 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp powdered sugar
• ½tspvanilla 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
• ¼tspvanilla extract

How to Make Maggiano’s Lemon Cookies

For the Lemon Cookies:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
2. 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.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Pre-heat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Set aside.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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

1. In a small bowl, add the lemon juice, milk, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
2. Take the prepared lemon cookie and dip the top of each one into the glaze. Continue with the remaining cookies.
3. 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.

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