These soft and buttery lemon white chocolate cookies are the perfect summer treat! Loaded up with fresh lemon flavor and packed with white chocolate, these lemon cookies are made in just 1 bowl with no chill time.
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This of this lemon white chocolate cookie as the citrus twist of the classic chocolate chip cookie!
Based off of my lemon blueberry cookie recipe, these sweet and tangy cookies are made with lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract. They're then stuffed with all the white chocolate.
If you can't get enough of lemon recipes, you have to try my lemon poppy seed cupcakes, lemon curd cake, and lemon curd muffins!
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Why you'll love this recipe!
- No Chilling: no need to worry about chilling cookie dough! You'll have warm, soft and gooey cookies ready in 35 minutes.
- Soft & Chewy: these cookies are perfectly soft and chewy with slightly crisp edges.
- So Much Lemon! These cookies are packed with lemon flavor thanks to lemon sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour: I've only tested this recipe with all purpose flour.
- Lemon Extract: I have tested this recipe with and without lemon extract, if you don't have any on hand the cookies will still taste delicious and lemony!
- Sugar: we're only using granulated sugar in this lemon cookie recipe.
- White Chocolate: I've used a chopped up chocolate bar, but you can also use white chocolate chips if you prefer.
- Lemon: you'll need one lemon for both the zest and the juice.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius, and grab some parchment paper to line your baking sheet. To create lemon sugar, we want to get oils from the zest into the sugar. You can do this by either whisking them together or using your hands to massage together. You can even use a food processor to blend the two until the sugar starts turning a pale yellow.
Step 2: Once your sugar is all zested up, it's time to combine with your room temperature butter. You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer for this step. Mix on medium-high speed for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is combined.
Step 3: Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then, add the egg, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Beat the mixture on medium speed until everything is well combined.
Step 4: Next, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the bowl while running the mixer on low speed. Keep mixing until a dough forms and there are no visible streaks of flour left. Stop the mixer and stir in the white chocolate.
Step 5: Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, portion out 3 tablespoons of the cookie dough. Place each cookie dough ball on the prepared baking sheet, ensuring that there is space between each cookie.
Step 6: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges have set and are turning light golden brown. The center will still be slightly underdone, but they will continue baking on the sheet. Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet. For an added burst of lemon flavor, zest another lemon over the cookies as they cool.
Expert Baking Tips & Tricks
- Weighing Ingredients - I really recommend using a weighing scale as it is the most accurate way to bake! When scooping out flour with a measuring cup, you're more likely to pack in too much flour. This will lead to dry and crumbly cookie dough!
- Room Temperature - make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before starting this recipe. If the butter is too cold then it won't mix properly with the sugar.
- Lemon Zest with Sugar - to get a strong lemon flavor we're going to make lemon sugar! By massaging the lemon zest with the sugar, you release the lemon oils. This is going to give you a much stronger lemon taste.
- Bakery Style Cookies - as soon as these cookies come out of the oven, use a large biscuit cutter or a glass to 'scoot' the cookies into a perfect round shape. I then add some more white chocolate on top of each baked cookie.
- Good Quality Chocolate - a lot of white chocolate bars and chips you'll see hardly contain any cocoa butter, so try to use a good quality white chocolate!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don't have lemon extract then you can just leave it out! I've tested this recipe with lemon zest and lemon juice and it is still nice and lemony.
Fresh lemon juice is going to taste better, plus you'll need a lemon anyways to get lemon zest!
Sure thing, just use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out 1.5 tablespoons of dough. They might need slightly less time in the oven.
Have you made this recipe? Please rate the recipe below! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @alpineella and Pinterest!
Recipe
Lemon White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 4 oz (111 grams) white chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl or in a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar turns a very pale yellow. You can also do this with your hands instead. You want to release the lemon oils from the zest to make lemon sugar.
- Add the room temperature butter and beat on medium-high speed with a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy - about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon juice. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything is getting evenly mixed.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Pour in the chopped chocolate and stir it into the cookie dough.
- Scoop out 3 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Place the cookie dough balls on your baking sheet. If your baking sheet can't fit all 9 cookie dough balls with a few inches between each one, place just 6 on the baking sheet and put the others in the fridge.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The sides should have set and turned very light brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before enjoying!
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Marla T says
I've made this recipe twice now and the flavor is great but my cookies never spread out.
Any suggestions?
Ella says
Hi! Are you weighing out your flour with a kitchen scale or with a measuring cup? Usually my cookies don't spread out if I've added too much flour!
Siobhan says
I just made these and they are so addictive! The lemon and white chocolate pair together so well to make the perfect spring/summer snack. I didn’t have any lemon extract so left it out and these are still super lemony.