These soft lemon blueberry cookies have the perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavors. You'll love the burst of freshness in every bite!
These soft lemon blueberry cookies are absolutely delicious!
They have a bright, fresh lemon flavor and are packed with juicy blueberries. There's nothing quite like easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing lemon blueberry cookies!
The first thing I noticed when I made these cookies was the aroma! The whole kitchen was filled with the such a lovely scent of freshly baked cookies.
I'm sure you will love these easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing lemon blueberry cookies. They're perfect as an afternoon snack and they pair really well with coffee or tea.
Love blueberry desserts? Try my blueberry chocolate chip muffins, my easy blueberry chocolate cake, or my easy blueberry pie.
Jump to:
Why you'll love this lemon blueberry cookie recipe
- It's easy. This is a really simple blueberry lemon cookie recipe.
- It has few ingredients. This recipe has a few easy-to-find ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry.
- It uses fresh blueberries. Fresh blueberries give that burst-in-your-mouth flavor that I love!
- These cookies are pretty quick to whip up. You'll be able to enjoy these delicious cookies in about an hour!
- These cookies are flavor-packed. With both the lemon zest and fresh blueberries, these cookies really pack a powerful punch!
"I LOVED these cookies! So good and easy to make!" - Martha
What you'll need
Ingredients for lemon blueberry cookies
- Flour & Leaveners: I use all purpose flour and baking powder. There isn't any baking soda in this recipe.
- Sugar: I use regular, granulated sugar. You could use light brown sugar, but the cookies might become a bit denser.
- Cinnamon & salt: I add a tiny pinch cinnamon which gives a little bit of a warm undertone that is perfect with blueberries, similar to a classic blueberry pie. As always, I use a little salt to make all the flavors pop.
- Room temperature Butter: I use unsalted butter at room temperature. If the butter is too cold, it will be extremely difficult to mix.
- Egg: I use one medium egg.
- Cornstarch: This prevents the blueberries from bleeding into the dough and losing all their flavor. It also helps to make the cookies more tender.
- Lemon zest: I use lemon zest from a small lemon for the right amount of lemon flavor.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract. If you want more lemon, you could add lemon extract, instead.
- Blueberries: I prefer fresh blueberries for these cookies, but you can use frozen blueberries (or even frozen wild blueberries), too. Just don't thaw them.
- Powdered sugar & lemon juice (not shown above): I also use both powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice for the glaze.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.
Equipment you'll need
- mixing bowls
- baking sheets
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- parchment paper
- cookie scoop (optional)
How to make lemon blueberry cookies
Step-by-step Instructions
1. Mix the cornstarch and the blueberries together in a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set it aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, lemon zest, and sugar together until it's well combined and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix again.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
6. Gently fold in the blueberries. Then put the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
7. Scoop about 1oz/25g of dough and place it on a baking tray.
8. Then bake the cookies for about 15 minutes.
When the cookies are done, take them out of the oven and leave them on the tray for about 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
After the cookies have cooled completely, drizzle with lemon glaze.
Recipe Notes
Make-ahead Options
You can make the cookie dough and keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze the dough balls for up to about 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
If you get a sudden craving and can't wait to thaw the dough balls, you can bake them frozen. Just take the dough balls out of the freezer while you preheat your oven. Then bake them as instructed in the recipe. You might need to bake them1-3 minutes longer.
Storage Tips
You can store these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a day or two. After that, you can keep them in the refrigerator for up to about a week. The cookies will soften a bit the day after they're made.
Freezing Instructions
Baked cookies freeze really well. You can store them in the freezer for about 2 months. I usually wrap individual cookies in plastic wrap and then place them in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers.
Variations
I love these soft blueberry lemon cookies with lemon glaze on top, but you could play around with more flavors, too! Here are a few ideas:
- Add chocolate - You could add some white chocolate chips, but the cookies will be sweeter. You could also make chocolate chip cookies with blueberries, too.
- Make cream cheese glaze - These cookies are phenomenal with a cream cheese glaze on top! Instead of the lemon glaze, just mix about 4 ounces (113g) cream cheese with about ½ cup powdered sugar and 2 - 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and whisk together.
- Add some crunch - Before baking, you can roll the cookie dough balls in some coarse sugar to make crunchy, crispy lemon blueberry cookies.
Tips for success
- Use a digital scale: For best results, weigh all the ingredients with a digital scale.
- Be gentle when folding in the blueberries. It's OK if a few get smooshed, but you need to be gently so most of the blueberries remain intact in the dough, otherwise, lots of crushed blueberries could make the cookies soggy.
- Use a cookie scoop. This dough is quite thick, so I found that using a cookie scoop is perfect for getting the right size for each cookie. The small cookie scoop I use is about 1 - 1 ½ tablespoons of dough. Cookie scoops are great because when all the cookies are about the same size, they bake evenly.
- Don't overmix the dough: Overmixing can result in hard and tough cookies. Just mix the dough until everything is just combined.
- Every oven is different: Ovens temperatures vary, so baking times may need to be adjusted accordingly. Keep an eye on your cookies!
Frequently asked questions
I prefer using fresh blueberries, but you can use frozen. If you use frozen blueberries, there's no need to thaw them. Also keep in mind that frozen blueberries will tend to bleed in the dough.
In this recipe, the cornstarch is used to coat the blueberries so that they don't easily bleed in the batter. The cornstarch also helps make the cookies chewy with a nice, tender texture.
Yes, but it may affect the texture of the cookies and make them a bit denser and chewier.
More cookie recipes to try!
Happy baking!
Let me know how these lemon blueberry cookies turn out for you in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!
Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Cookies
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- baking sheets
- hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- parchment paper
- cookie scoop (optional)
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 6 oz (170g) fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ¾ cups (215g / 7.5oz) all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- ½ cup (113 g / 4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (180g) sugar
- 1 medium egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the lemon glaze
- 1 ½ cups (200g) powdered sugar (+more if needed)
- 3-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Before You Start:
For best results, please read through the full post before beginning the recipe.
Instructions
Make the cookies
- Mix the cornstarch and the blueberries together in a small bowl. Set it aside.1 tablespoon cornstarch, 6 oz (170g) fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
- In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set it aside.1 ¾ cups (215g / 7.5oz) all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, pinch of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, lemon zest, and sugar together for about 5 minutes, until everything is thoroughly combined.½ cup (113 g / 4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature, ½ tablespoon lemon zest, ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (180g) sugar
- Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.1 medium egg, at room temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. You don't want to overmix the dough because it will make the cookies tough.
- Gently fold in the blueberries. It's OK if a few get smooshed.
- Put the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350℉ / 180℃ and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the freezer. Scoop the cookie dough with a small cookie scoop. Alternatively, use a tablespoon. Each dough ball should be about 1½ tablespoons. You could also weigh them. Mine weighed about 25g/1oz each.
- Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet, each about 3 inches (8cm) apart. I fit 9 on one sheet and bake the cookies one sheet at a time.
- Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. The edges will be lightly golden brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
Make the lemon glaze
- Whisk together the lemon juice and the powdered sugar. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice.3-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 ½ cups (200g) powdered sugar (+more if needed)
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies.
- Enjoy!
Martha
I LOVED these cookies! So good and easy to make!
Voula
So glad it was a success!❤️