Thick and chewy cookies with chunks of white chocolate and a hint of bright, sunny lemon.
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The BEST Lemon White Chocolate Cookies Recipe
Soft, thick, and chewy sugar cookies with a hint of lemon and studded with white chocolate chunks – you’re going to love this flavor combo!
I got the inspiration for this recipe from La Madeline’s Lemon White Chocolate Chunk Cookies - a lemon cookie baked with white chocolate chunks topped with a light lemon glaze.
I left off the glaze because it made the cookie overly sweet. I also used bigger chunks of chocolate than La Madeline. Their chunks were so small that they were hardly noticeable in the cookie. Use whatever size white chocolate chunks or chips that you prefer.
Super Easy
Because it’s made with melted butter, this dough is super easy to mix up by hand in one bowl. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
Ingredients
- Butter – I use melted butter in this recipe. It makes the cookies chewy like my favorite chocolate chip cookie and it makes the dough super easy to mix up by hand.
- Lemon juice and zest – for a hint of lemon flavor.
- Sugar – granulated white sugar keeps the flavor fresh and bright.
- White chocolate – use chunks or chips. I cut up a Ghirardelli bar.
- Egg – for binding and moisture
- Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt
How to make
- Melt the butter – microwave (or heat in a pan) the butter until it is hallway melted, then stir it until the rest of the butter is melted. This makes cooling a lot quicker. Let it cool slightly.
- Whisk in the sugar, zest, juice, and eggs.
- Stir in the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days. This gives the flour a chance to absorb the liquid.
- You want your dough to be about 70° F before baking so it spreads to the proper thickness. Too warm and the cookies will spread too far and be flat. Too cold, and they will be mounds that didn’t spread far enough.
- Roll into 1.5 ounce balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes in a 350° F oven until the tops of the cookies are set and no longer shiny, and some of the edges are turning golden. I bake in the middle to lower-middle of the oven so the bottoms are a little crispy and the chocolate on top doesn’t brown.
- Don’t overbake or you’ll lose their chewiness. The cookies will firm up while cooling.
How to make in advance
The dough or dough balls can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 4 days. Bring the dough/dough balls to room temperature (70° F) before baking.
Unbaked dough balls can be frozen for up to 2 months. Bring the dough balls to room temperature (70° F) before baking.
Baked cookies can be frozen. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in a plastic freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Recipe
Lemon White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (4oz, 113g)
- ¾ cup white sugar (5.25oz, 149g)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (7.5oz, 213g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz chocolate chips or chunks (113g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle to lower-middle of oven.
- Put butter into mixing bowl and microwave until the butter is half-way melted. Remove the bowl from the microwave and whisk until completely melted. Let cool.
- Add sugar to melted, cooled butter and whisk until the butter is absorbed into the sugar.
- Add eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest and whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine with a wooden spoon.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
- Roll into 1.5 ounce (43g) sized balls and place 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake until just set and no longer shiny on top. This will take about 10 minutes but will vary depending on the oven. They will look undercooked but will firm up after cooling.
- Let cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Let the dough reach about 70 degrees F before baking for the proper amount of spreading.
- The cookies shown here have been chilled overnight.
- For a pretty cookie, I like to stick a couple of white chocolate chunks onto the top of the rolled balls of dough. You can also stick a few on top as soon as they come out of the oven, while they are still soft.
- I’ve used hand chopped Ghirardelli white chocolate bars in this recipe.
- I’ve sprinkled the tops of the cookies with lemon zest and coarse sugar for a burst of color and sparkle.
- For perfectly round cookies, press the edges of the cookies with the back of a spoon into a neat shape while they are still soft from the oven. I sometimes take them out 2-3 minutes before they’re done, shape them, and put them back in the oven to finish.
Nutrition
Enjoy, friends!
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Elise says
So I have never rated or written a comment about a recipe before, which goes to show how INCREDIBLE these cookies are. My partner and I were both blown away by how good they were. They taste like lemon cake with bits of white chocolate. SO good. I even reached out to my family a month before Thanksgiving and just asked them if I could make them as part of dessert for the day, because they're just that good! HIGHLY recommend!
Kelly says
So happy you liked them, Elise! Thanks so much!
Elise says
Kelly, I would love to make these again for a get together with friends but my friend hosting is GF. Have you ever made these with GF flour before? Do you have any recommendations?
Kelly says
Hi Elise! I don't have any experience with GF flour so I'm not sure how they would turn out.
Cheryl says
Love love this recipe. I’m a true novice when it comes to baking. This was so easy for me. I doubled the recipe, since I was serving it at our gals Bible study. We love our cookies. I made cookies smaller 1.0 oz instead of 1.5. I did use Kelly’s notes. Thank you for those. I had to adjust for my ovens temp. Overall so pleased. I took a picture of them but don’t know how to attach it. Lol. Thanks much.
Kelly says
So happy that you liked them, Cheryl. Thanks so much!
LYNNE King says
Made these for our Church Chicken BBQ. I know people will be happy not to see pain old choc chip cookies!
Kelly says
Thanks so much, Lynne! Yes, they are a very bright and cheerful substitution!
Beth Goldring says
I made these and they are now a family favorite! I love the lemon and white chocolate combo!
Kelly says
So happy you liked them, Beth! Thanks so much!
Terri C. says
I just need clarification on the amount of egg. Twice you said "eggs" and twice you said "egg" so is it one or two eggs?
Kelly says
Hi Terri, It's one egg in the recipe.
Easyfoodsmith says
You had me at lemon and although I am not such a huge fan of white chocolate yet I can imagine how well the lemon and white chocolate must have paired together.
Kelly says
It's a wonderful combination! Thanks so much, Taruna!
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Love lemon -- probably my favorite flavor for sweets. These look terrific -- such a great combo of ingredients. Thanks. And Happy New Year!
Kelly says
Thanks so much, John! Happy New Year!