Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Literally though, I am not kidding when I say this recipe is the best lemon cookie recipe.
It’s hard to believe me when people in the food world always call their recipe the best, but these are an exception! They are super soft and chewy cookies made with fresh lemon juice, white chocolate chips and a simple lemon glaze are full of lemon flavor and turn out perfect every time!
This cookie recipe is one of the rare cookies on my site that calls for softened butter and room temperature ingredients.
My lemon crinkle cookies and lemon blueberry cookies are perfect examples of my typical cookie base. They are soft, chewy, and have a cake-like texture.
You’ll absolutely love their tangy flavor, the simple lemon glaze of sugar and lemon on top and you will for sure want to double the recipe to have extra!
Ingredient Notes
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements. For this lemon cookie recipe you’ll need:
- All-Purpose Flour & Cake Flour: If you’ve been around my site for any length of time you know I love making my cookies with a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour. Cake flour is finer, softer and lighter than All-Purpose Flour and I find using a mix of both types of flour results in the most perfect cookies. You can find cake flour in most grocery stores, usually on the top shelf.
- Room temperature butter: Use unsalted butter that is room temperature. You’ll know it’s at room temp when you press it, your finger will make a slight indent. I usually remove butter from the refrigerator just 1 hour prior to baking and it’s perfect.
- Sour cream: My new secret is out! Adding sour cream to your cookies makes them stay extra soft, super moist and creates a melt in your mouth cookie. And no, you won’t be able to taste the sour cream at all! Lastly, just like the butter, be sure to take the sour cream out 1 hour prior to baking so it comes to room temperature.
- Egg: Also needs to be at room temperature.
- Lemon: To make these cookies extra lemon-y I’m using fresh lemon juice., lemon zest and lemon extract.
- Other ingredients needed: baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, sugar, vanilla extract.
Step by Step Directions
Preparing these cookies is pretty standard! Besides a stand mixer you won’t need any fancy tools to whip these up. And yay for no chill time! Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Remove the butter, sour cream and eggs from the fridge 1 hour prior to baking.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for 30 seconds on medium-high speed.
- Add in the sugar, lemon zest, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Beat in the egg, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon and vanilla extract.
- Turn the mixture to medium speed and gradually add in both flours.
- Add in the white chocolate chips just until combined. Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will still look very soft.
- Brush the tops of the warm cookies with the lemon glaze.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Garnish with more lemon zest and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you’re using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the cookie dough and the glaze. Pre-bottled lemon juice doesn’t compare, so go ahead and buy a few lemons if you plan on making these cookies.
- Let the cookies rest: If your cookies are turning out too gooey, let them rest longer. I recommend at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Your cookies aren’t ruined, just let them rest!
- Make homemade cake flour if you can’t find it in stores. Homemade cake flour: 14 Tbsp. All-purpose flour and 2 Tbsp. corn starch. Mix these together and sift them twice to get them fully mixed and aerated. This will make ~1 cup flour.
- Bake cookies just until edges are golden brown. To keep these cookies soft and delicious, you’ll want to be sure not to over bake them. I always say slightly under-baked is best. (Baking time can also vary depending on size of cookies).
- Use a large cookie scoop to make even cookies, I usually use a 3 Tbsp. cookie scoop for these.
FAQ
How do I store them?
Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. I usually store in a ziptop reusable bag.
Can I make the dough in advance?
Yes! Make the cookie dough, roll or scoop into balls and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Or freeze the dough for up to 3 months and bake when ready. (Bake a minute or so longer since they’re now frozen).
How many lemons do I need?
1-2 lemons is enough. I use the zest from 1 of the lemons which is ~1 Tbsp. zest and you’ll need 4 Tbsp. lemon juice which you might get from 1 lemon, depending on the size.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (8 Tbsp.)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp. lemon zest (or more for more lemony flavor)
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
For the lemon glaze (optional)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds on medium-high speed. Add in the sugar, lemon zest, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (8 Tbsp.), 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. lemon zest (or more for more lemony flavor), 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt
- Beat in the egg, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon and vanilla extract.1 large egg, room temperature, 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature, 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. lemon extract, 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Turn the mixture down to medium speed and gradually add in both flours.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- Add in the white chocolate chips just until combined.3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet. I like to use a 3 Tbsp. cookie scoop for this because the batter can be very fluffy/sticky. (recipe will make ~12-14 cookies)
- Bake in preheated oven for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will still look very soft*. (See tip below)
- Make the optional lemon glaze while the cookies are in the oven. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sugar and lemon juice.1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- Brush the tops of the warm cookies with just a little bit of the the lemon glaze. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Garnish with more lemon zest, if desired, and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- *Tip: While the cookies are still warm, place a circular cookie cutter or a circular drinking glass around one of the cookies (it should be larger than the cookie so you don’t cut off any edges) and give the cookies a spin. Swirling the cookie should help to smooth out any uneven edges to make the perfect circular lemon cookie!
- Make sure you’re using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the cookie dough and the glaze. Pre-bottled lemon juice doesn’t compare!
- Storage: Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. I usually store in a ziptop reusable bag.
- Make ahead: bake and cool the cookies as directed but do not glaze them. Place in a container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw cookies for 20 minutes, brush glaze over and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
This is a keeper, I just made them and they are absolutely amazing. I prefer this softer dough instead of thinner and more crunchy ones. The flavor is rich and lemony.
They look great! thank you soo much 🙂
I’d give these 100 stars if I could. I’m a 61-yr old divorced grandpa looking for a new cookie to make my twin 5-year old granddaughters and a 3-yr old grandson. I made these just because the recipe was a little different. These were SO delicious, they almost didn’t make it to the grandkids. But they, and my sons and daughters-in-law devoured them!! The key to this recipe, IMO, is the lemon flavoring is obviously natural and very subtle when you bite in. After a bit of chewing the soft cookie, a wonderful lemon flavor takes over but it is not overwhelming or sticky sweet. I also made them for my dialysis team of nurses and techs as part of my monthly “Thank You” cookie gift. Now, they want these every other month!! The only change in the recipe is using powdered sugar for the glaze. Other than that, you will love this recipe.
Just made these cookies. As in previous comments, these are more cake consistency than cookie. That being said, they are delicious and my family loves them. I found that I needed to flatten the cookie before it baked, which worked well. Not sure if I’ll make again, prefer lemon bars.
Thank you for making them Diane! The cake flour does make these ones a little more on the cakey side, but they should be soft and chewy still! I’d say to spoon and level the flour just in case you didn’t do that 🙂 You might like my lemon cheesecake bars! https://krollskorner.com/recipes/desserts/bars-brownies/lemon-cheesecake-bars/
I made this recipe for the first time. The dough was very soft. I had to add another 1 1/4 c white chocolate chips to give them structure and baked large 4 oz dough balls from frozen. After brushing on the lemon glaze I drizzled with a powdered sugar lemon drizzle and sprinkled on a bit of lemon zest. Everyone thought these were so good!
Hi! Oh no, I am sorry you had to add so much white chocolate to them. I note in the recipe this cookie dough makes a fluffy/sticky dough so using a cookie scoop is very helpful with this recipe. Or you could always chill the dough, too! I am glad they were enjoyed, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review and photo, I really appreciate it!
Hey! I have made many of your cookie recipes before and have never been disappointed – excited to try these for my husband whose favorite dessert flavor is lemon! Can I substitute sour cream for greek yogurt? (I do in a lot of recipes but wasn’t sure with desserts.) Thanks!
Hi! aw, thank you sooo so much! I haven’t tested that with this recipe, but I have a good feeling it should work. Please report back if you try it and let us know how it went because i am sure other readers will be interested in knowing as well, thank you 🙂
Just wondering- is the metric equivalent for flour correct? I’m thinking 1 1/2 cups flour equals 188g. I’m trying to make these delicious looking cookies and want to get it correct
Thats correct! sometimes the measurements can be off, I have just updated them manually! 🙂
These did not turn out right. The dough was VERY wet so I had to add more flour. 2 tbsp of each flour and had to chill the dough. Unfortunately, they turned out more like biscuits than cookies. Very disappointing.
Hi Natalie! I am so sorry to hear. I’m going to make the recipe again myself and see if I need to make adjustments. I’ll report back!
Not really what I expected. They have the texture of a cake rather than a soft cookie. Could also use more chocolate, and probably be better to make smaller scoops as the cookies don’t flatten much
Can you leave out the white chocolate chips if there is an allergy? What would that do or would they still bake right?
Feel free to leave them out, they’ll bake just fine! 🙂
Tasty soft cookie. I always make your cookies smaller to cut the calories but they bake just fine with your instructions. I’m not a big fan of lemon extract so I reduced the amount a little and replaced it with vanilla. Turned out great.
Thank you so much Barbara! I was given some lemons so I need to make these again, too 🙂 xo, Tawnie