These blueberry lemon cookies have a bright lemon sugar cookie base studded with fresh blueberries and white chocolate chips. The soft cookie base is made with fresh lemon juice and zest and juicy blueberries. It's a recipe you'll come back to again and again.
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Why this Recipe Works
We use cream cheese in addition to butter to make these blueberry lemon cookies soft and STAY soft! While the sugar rolled on the outside of the cookies gives them a light and crispy exterior, while maintaining a tender interior.
The lemon flavor comes in a few different ways, the first being lemon zest. The lemon zest adds so much wonderful flavor, way more than the lemon juice alone ever could! Only a little bit of lemon juice can be added to this dough to avoid making the cookies cakey. We add just a little bit of pure lemon extract to make that lemon flavor really shine through in these blueberry lemon white chocolate chip cookies. .
The lemon pairs perfectly with the juicy blueberries and white chocolate and comes together for the perfect soft and chewy cookie!
And if you're a fan of fruity cookies try out our fruity pebbles cookies and strawberry jam cookies next!
Ingredient Notes
- Cream Cheese. Cream cheese makes these cookies soft and rich and keeps them soft for days.
- Sugar. We use only granulated white sugar in this recipe to keep the cookies light without overpowering the lemon sugar cookie flavor.
- Lemon zest & Lemon Juice. The lemon zest and juice adds a punch of fresh lemon flavor to these blueberry lemon cookies. Be careful to not get any of the pith (the white part of the lemon rind) when zesting your lemon-it is bitter.
- Lemon Extract. Lemon extract amps up the lemon flavor that we get from the lemon juice and zest without adding too much extra liquid.
- White Chocolate Chips. White chocolate chips add sweetness, a little texture, and pair perfectly with the lemon and blueberry flavors.
- Blueberries. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, see our FAQ section for all the tips and tricks if you want to use frozen blueberries.
How to Make this Recipe
- Cream butter and cream cheese. Take your room temperature butter and cream cheese and cream together with the sugar until the mixture is completely smooth and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add wet ingredients. Add in your egg, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract and beat the mixture again for 1 minutes.
- Add dry ingredients. Add in the dry ingredients-salt, baking soda, and flour. Gently mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
- Fold in mix-ins. Gently fold in the blueberries and white chocolate chips, trying not to mash them.
- Scoop & Freeze. Scoop 3-4 tablespoons of dough and roll them in sugar. Freeze the cookie dough balls for at least 1 hour before baking. (This is my favorite microplane to use for zesting lemons, and this is my favorite cookie scoop, I almost always use the 4 tablespoon one for perfectly sized cookies every time!)
- Bake. Bake the cookie dough balls at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 13-16 minutes-the edges of the cookies should be just barely golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool the blueberry lemon cookies completely before eating.
Frequently Asked Questions and Expert Tips
In this recipe you can use fresh or frozen blueberries. I've found that fresh works best, but in a pinch frozen blueberries will do. Frozen blueberries tend to release more liquid when baked and have a tendency to streak the cookie dough with purple. If you decide to use frozen blueberries, add them to the dough while still frozen (do not thaw)
Yes! If you do not have lemon extract or prefer not to use it, you can simply double the amount of lemon zest that goes into these lemon blueberry cookies.
Freezing the cookie dough is an important step in this recipe. This dough, because of the high amount of butter and the addition of cream cheese, is SUPER soft. So because the dough is looser than your typical cookie dough you need to freeze it to help the cookie maintain its shape in the oven. If you don't freeze the cookie dough before baking them you'll find that your cookies will melt into puddles and the texture of them won't quite be right.
After you've creamed your butter, sugar, cream cheese, and eggs together, you'll add in your dry ingredients. It's important that you only mix this in until the flour and other dry ingredients just disappear. If you over mix the cookie dough the gluten in the flour will start to develop and your cookies will lose their tender texture and become dry and tough.
When you add in the blueberries, try to do it as gently as possible. The blueberries are fragile and have tendency to mush. So be careful when incorporating the blueberries so we can avoid mashed blueberries and streaking in these blueberry lemon cookies.
If you have a choice, when picking your blueberries, go for smaller blueberries. I've found that larger blueberries sometimes can burst in the oven, leaking juice, and can sometimes make them a bit too soft.
How to Store this Recipe
Room Temperature. These blueberry lemon cookies are okay at room temperature for 2-3 days. I don't like to keep them in an airtight container because I've found the blueberries tend to make the cookies go a little soggy. I like to cover them loosely with a cloth overnight.
In the Freezer. One of my favorite ways to eat them is to freeze them! The cream cheese in the blueberry lemon cookies keeps them soft even when frozen. Plus freezing them is a great way to store them long term. You can freeze these lemon blueberry cookies for up to 2 months. But we all know they won't last that long!
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Blueberry Lemon Cookies
blueberries, and sweet white chocolate chips. The sugar on the outside gives
them a crispy exterior, while the inside stays nice and soft.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar + 5 tablespoons for rolling cookie dough in
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups flour measured correctly
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and either grease or line 2 baking sheets, Cream together butter, 1 ¾ cups of sugar, cream cheese, for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat for 1 minute.
- Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour by hand until flour is just combined. Then gently fold in chocolate chips and blueberries-try not to mash any of the blueberries.
- Place 5 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Scoop about ¼ cup of dough and roll the ball of dough in the sugar. Freeze the dough balls for at least 1 hour before baking (You need to the freeze the dough or you'll end up with cookies that look like puddles).
- Bake for 13-16 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just barely golden. Let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. If you make small cookies be sure to decrease the baking time.
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Notes
Nutrition
originally posted August 22, 2018
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Lee Wolfley says
My daughter and I made these cookies for Christmas gifts and everyone loved them.
Pam says
They were tasty but mine were so thin and spread out and broke when picking them up. I froze them and everything.
Cameron says
These cookies are TOO GOOD. Cook time was a little bit off, but that could be due to the thickness of the cookies. Overall, they were delicious and we will definitely be making them again!!
Tiffany says
What kind of flour?
Roxana Jean says
These Blueberry Lemon Cookies are the BEST ever! I love to bake but either my husband nor I should have these wonderful cookies very often. When I bake these I usually share ... neighbors, friends, Dr & Dental offices, really anywhere and anyone. It has become one of the favorites for those I share with. They are light, delicious, freeze well and you cannot eat just one! I try to keep these some in my freezer for spur of the moment reasons. Just today I had and reason to stop by our church office bought several zip lock baggies of them to the office workers at church. The look on their faces when I give them to me, just warms my heart. Thank you for sharing these recipe as it brings smiles to faces and satisfies taste buds of so many.
Tiffany says
I first came across this recipe about 2 years ago and let me just say that every time I make them, people are fighting over them. These are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made and my friends and family get very excited when I mention bringing them to an event. I will say, typically they need to bake for about 20-25 minutes, which is longer than the recipe calls for, but they always turn out amazing. Highly recommend!
Roxana Jean says
I agree with the extended time for baking.
Rachel says
I am usually not a major fruity dessert girl and tend to make chocolate desserts, but this recipe is TO DIE FOR. These cookies were so delicious, and I got so many compliments on them from the guests at our get together.
Taylor M. says
I dont usually leave reviews but GIRLLLLL these cookies are IT!! I had a couple extra lemons and a box of blueberries lying around that I needed to use and I cant believe how great these turned out! Crunchy on the bottom with a super soft center really made these stand out, the only thing I did differently with the recipe is I had them in the freezer over night and after baking for 16 min (seeing they were still pretty tall) I smushed them down a bit with a fork and baked for an extra min or two and they came out gorgeous!! Thank you for this recipe! Ill be making these for all my friends and family!!
Roxana Jean says
I totally agree on all of your comments, they are the BEST. Seems like summer time is an ideal time of the year to m.ake & share these
Andrea says
Not sure why but mine are staying in balls in oven, not flattening at all.
Also after folding in flour mixture was quite thick making it hard to mix in chips and blueberries
Robin says
These cookies don't last past the cooling rack! My family has requested them for every event or reason they can think of. Luckily I can get ahold of fresh blueberries year round as my kids have vetoed the reigning king of cookies, chocolate chip, and replaced it with these Blueberry Lemon Cookies. These are a winner!!
Jordyn says
I love these!! Recently made them for a girls day, now i can’t wait to make more of this dough to store for later events! <3
Leah says
Hi am I able to use other kinds of fruits instead of blueberries? Has anyone ever tried?
In Fine Taste says
Hi Leah, I personally have not tried using other fruits. But if you are looking to try I'd try raspberries, blackberries, or fresh cranberries. I'm not the biggest fan of strawberries in baked goods, I think they leak too much juice and turn mushy.
- Alyssa
Jordyn says
I don’t see why not, I can see adding strawberries to make a strawberry lemonade cookie! That would be bomb, just slice the fruit
In Fine Taste says
You can absolutely try it! Just be aware that sliced strawberries will release a lot more juice as the sit and are baked, which can make the cookie and fruit itself a little soggy. If you do try it I'd love to hear how it turned out!
- Alyssa
Kim says
I have made them with raspberries before. I did eliminate the lemon juice and I used raspberry extract instead of the lemon extract. They were very tasty.
Pepper Tidwell says
Oh my! We would give this recipe 6 stars if we could. The cookies are phenomenal. I made the first sheet as large cookies and the remainder as smaller cookies.
Kelsey says
I love making cookies and have made many recipes...this is definitely my new favorite. SO GOOD and perfect for summer! I will be making these again soon. I was in a hurry so I ended up freezing half of the cookie balls for just over a week. I let them sit out for about 15 minutes or so before I baked them at 350. I think they needed about 20 minutes to have a toasted edge as recommended. When they got out of the oven, I topped the cookies with a few fresh blueberries and broke up some white chocolate. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Linda says
Has anyone ever tried to make these cookies with gluten free flour? King Arthur makes a 1:1 gluten free flour but I have never tried to make cookies with it. I would love to hear if anyone has.
In Fine Taste says
Hi Linda! I’ve personally never tried the 1:1 gf flour, but I know people on Pinterest have reviewed several of my cookie recipes, including this one, saying that the 1:1 flour works great! If you try it, let me know how it goes!
-Alyssa
Peggy says
They turned amazing and is everyones favorite! What a delightful summer cookie!
I did not have to change anything.
Thank you for sharing!
Peggy says
Hi Linda,
I did! They turned out perfect. Make sure your King GF 1:1 contains xantum gum!
No changes needed!
Tiffany says
This is my favorite cookie recipe. They turn out fantastic each time and my friends and family love them. A great summer treat!
Chanze says
Can u just freeze the dough then scoop and bake???
My freezer is too small to fit the cookie sheets.
In Fine Taste says
Hi! Yes, that should work fine!
-Alyssa
Cassandra says
I think I’ve made these at least 8 times by now. Everyone BEGS me to make them, especially around blueberry season. I do make them a tad smaller and need to cook them longer but they are seriously amazing. I omit the lemon extract because I never have it and always forget to buy it haha. But I’m sure that makes them even better! A great summer cookie.
Jennifer says
These turned out amazing! Mine seemed more fluffy or cake like than the ones in the picture but they were so good! I will definitely be making them again. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Ashley says
Hi, can I pre-make the cookie dough and store in the freezer for a day ahead of time? Will it change the softness or flavor?
In Fine Taste says
Hi Ashley, I’ve never frozen for that long so I can’t say for certain, but I think it would be fine. I’d probably let the dough sit out for about 20-30 minutes before baking. If you are making the dough just one day in advance you could also just refrigerate it and cover it well. If it’s refrigerated for a day, you could skip the 1 hour freeze before baking.
-Alyssa
Nana C says
If you bake these longer, will they be crispy? Our favorite cookies are crispy.
M J Smith says
I agree with other raters that bake time was more like 30 minutes at 350 F. I would recommend using parchment paper especially since the blueberries can run during baking. I made smaller cookies and dough was very sticky. Might be a good idea to chill the dough before making dough balls.