The perfect spring cookie to bring sunshine to you kitchen. These Lemon and Blueberry cookies are so easy to eat and their fragrant lemon flavour with those occasional pops of juicy blueberries just leave you wanting more and more.
If there’s one thing I can’t resist, it’s a cookie. I never seem to be able to tear my hands away from the cookie jar when it’s full and I love having spares in my freezer so I can bake some fresh whenever the urge arrives. But my favourite reason for loving cookies is because the recipe can be so versatile. Even the base recipe can be mixed up and altered depending on how you want the texture, then once you’ve found your perfect base you can add almost any flavouring of choice. You cannot beat the classic chocolate chip but as we’re heading into summer I wanted to try a fruity combination and what better place to start than with the delicious and classic Lemon and Blueberry.
WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE GREAT?
Perfect spring flavour combination | I can’t not mention the flavour of these super zesty lemon cookies with that delicious pop of blueberry flavour. They’re the perfect flavour for spring baking and because they’re light and soft in texture you can keep eating them.
Really easy and quick to make | Other than the taste the best thing about this recipe is that it can be baked and ready to eat within 30 minutes, and that’s including a few minutes of cooling time. As this is a no-chill recipe you don’t need to rest the cookie dough in the fridge or freezer ahead of baking so if you have that cookie urge this is the recipe for you. Learn more about why we don’t need to chill the cookie dough below.
Versatile and easily adaptable | Whilst I highly recommend trying the flavour of these Lemon and Blueberry cookies the base ingredients are so easily adapted meaning you can swap out the lemon for orange and the blueberries for chocolate and you’ll have a chocolate orange cookie or you can make them triple chocolate like these Triple Chocolate Cookies. The only time you’ll need to adapt the recipe is when baking chocolate cookies as you’ll need to add cocoa powder.
TOP TIPS WHEN BAKING THESE LEMON AND BLUEBERRY COOKIES
- Cream the butter and sugar first | Exactly as you do with a cake by creaming the butter and sugar together first you’re aerating the dough and creating pockets of air that help the cookies rise when they’re in the oven.
- Don’t over mix the flour | As soon as you start mixing flour the gluten develops in the mixture which helps the dough to rise in the oven. If you over mix the dough you can end up with tough cookies so to get the best results you should mix the flour until it’s just combined.
- Slowly fold in the blueberries | Unless you want a dough that’s tinted grey be gentle when adding the blueberries so that they don’t pop. This recipe calls for them fresh but you could add them in frozen if you wanted and this would help prevent them from popping.
WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO CHILL THESE COOKIES BEFORE BAKING
One of the most common steps in cookie recipes is chilling or freezing cookie dough balls before baking. The main reason for this is because the process of chilling (known in the bakers world as ‘ripening”) allows time for the wet ingredients to hydrate the flour which gives a better flavour and an even bake. It also solidifies the butter after creaming so the cookies don’t spread as much during baking.
However, sometimes all you want is a cookie and whilst you can put any cookie dough straight in the oven, it’s the flour content in this recipe which means chilling isn’t at all necessary.
The flour type and content in cookies is what makes them light and fluffy so expect these to be lovely and soft as opposed to chewy. There is so much science to cookie baking of which I’ll dedicate a full post to but in essence the rule of thumb is this;
If you want a crunchy cookie | Ensure your recipe has a higher butter content vs any other ingredient, use caste sugar and only plain flour.
If you want a soft and chewy cookie | Your recipe should have a slightly higher butter and sugar ratio to flour and your flour should be plain. Regarding sugar it’s advised to use more brown over white as brown sugar caramelises making it chewy but because it’s still acidic it reacts with any raising agent in the recipe to keep the cookies from going flat.
If you want a soft and fluffy cookie | Make sure your recipe has both plain and self-raising flour and an equal measure butter and sugar.
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED?
Large mixing bowl | A good large mixing bowl is an essential for baking. I hand mix my cookie dough so I like a large mixing bowl to give me plenty of room to mix the ingredients together.
Hand mixer | Whilst a standing mixer would work well for this recipe, I much prefer using a hand mixer for this cookies as I have more control of the batter and it means I’m not at risk of over mixing.
Fine grater | To get all the zest from those lovely lemons you’ll need a good fine grater. I love Microplane graters as they are perfect for zesting citrus fruits.
Ice cream scoop | One of my most used kitchen tools is the ice cream scoop and I rarely use it to scoop ice cream. This must have tool is perfect if you want even and round cookies.
Baking tray | All cookie recipes will ask that you spread the cookie dough apart to allow for spreading. Whilst these cookies don’t spread as much as some you will still need a few good large baking sheets to bake them on.
Non-Stick Baking Paper | To ensure the cookies don’t stick to the baking sheets, make sure you have non-stick baking paper to line the trays.
HOW TO STORE OR FREEZE THESE LEMON AND BLUEBERRY COOKIES?
Freezing the cookie dough | If you don’t want to bake and eat all the cookies then you 100% freeze the dough to use another time. Just ensure that it has been portioned into cookie dough balls ahead of freezing and then allow them to come to room temperature before baking otherwise they won’t spread out much at all.
You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months in a freezer bag
Storing the baked cookies | To store any left over baked cookies leave them in an air tight container. These cookies last quite well so they will store well for up to 5 days before starting to go stale.
OTHER LEMON AND BLUEBERRY BAKES YOU SHOULD TRY
Lemon, Blueberry and Almond Muffins
Blueberry, Lavender and Mascarpone Cake
Blueberry Pancake Bread Pudding
I would love it if you tagged me @mykitchendrawer on Instagram if you make these Lemon and Blueberry Cookies. It’s the biggest honour to see my recipes come to life in your kitchen and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message. Happy baking!
Lemon and Blueberry Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Hand mixer
- Baking Trays
- Ice cream scoop
Ingredients
- 125 g butter
- 110 g caster sugar
- 110 g soft brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 Lemons zested
- 150 g plain flour
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 100 g Blueberries fresh
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Cream the butter and two sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy, then add the egg and lemon zest and combine.
- In another bowl, combine the two flours, then add half to the butter and sugar mixture and mix it through. Add the remaining flour and combine it all together, then add the blueberries and gently fold them all through with a wooden spoon.
- Using an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, scoop balls of the dough on the lined baking trays, leaving enough space around each for them to expand when cooking.
- Flatten each ball out a little with the palm of your hand then bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until just golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
