Lemon Blueberry Cookies

Cookies show up for pretty much every occasion, but these fruity lemon blueberry cookies are unusual enough to be a pleasant surprise. They have fresh flavor and a wholesome appearance thanks to fresh blueberries and bright lemon zest. Bring these cookies to an afternoon tea, sell them at a school bake sale or put them on the dessert table at a pool party or barbecue.

Ingredients for Lemon Blueberry Cookies

• Dairy products: Unsalted butter and some half-and-half cream make these cookies soft and tender. We prefer to use unsalted butter instead of salted butter in baking recipes because it allows us to control the amount of salt that’s incorporated into our batters and doughs.
• Sugars: The cookie dough uses granulated sugar, but if you want to make the cookies a touch more elegant, you can also dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar.
• Egg: Use one large Grade A egg, and bring it up to room temperature before mixing it into the batter. This usually takes around 30 minutes, depending on how warm your room is. Baking with room-temperature eggs results in more volume and easier incorporation.
• Lemon zest: Rinse your lemon before zesting it, and consider buying an organic lemon to avoid potential pesticide residue on the peel. Once it’s zested, you can squeeze the juice and use it to whip up a lemon glaze to drizzle over the cookies, or use it in another recipe with lemons.
• Pantry staples: This lemon blueberry recipe is made with all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt, which are easy-to-find items that are kept in most folks’ pantries. Make sure you know how to measure flour the right way for best results.
• Blueberries: If they’re in season, the cookies will be extra luscious with berries you either picked yourself or purchased from a farm stand or farmers’ market. If you have extras, there are plenty of other recipes to make with fresh blueberries.

Directions

Step 1: Beat the wet ingredients

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they’re light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, half-and-half cream and lemon zest.

Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients and combine with the creamed mixture

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Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add them to the creamed mixture and mix well.

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Fold in the blueberries.

Step 3: Bake the cookies

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Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonful onto parchment-lined or greased baking sheets leaving 3 inches between the cookies. Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

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Cool the cookies for two minutes before transferring them to wire racks. If desired, dust them with confectioners’ sugar.

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Lemon Blueberry Cookies Variations

• Add a topping: As mentioned above, a lemon glaze would punch up the citrusy flavor of your blueberry lemon cookies, but other icings and toppings would also work wonderfully. Try a cream cheese frosting or an easy vanilla buttercream frosting, or learn to make old-fashioned ermine frosting for something different.
• Make a frozen treat: What better way to use up extra cookies than to slap them together with some ice cream in the middle? Try making ice cream sandwiches with lemon gelato or blueberry ice cream, or get tropical and make the sandwiches with vegan coconut ice cream.
• Use different fruit as the mix-in: Don’t have blueberries? You could swap in raspberries or blackberries or use your favorite dried fruit, such as cherries or figs.
• Try other kinds of citrus zest: If you don’t have a lemon, this fruit cookie recipe would also be great made with orange or lime zest.

How to Store Lemon Blueberry Cookies

Store these cookies on the counter in a sealed bag or a cookie tin. You could also put them in the fridge if you prefer the texture when they’re cold.

How long do lemon blueberry cookies last?

Eat up your batch of cookies within five days.

Can you freeze lemon blueberry cookies?

Cookies are great candidates for freezing, whether they’re baked or unbaked. To freeze baked cookies, cool and store them in a freezer-safe bag or another airtight container prior to tossing them in the freezer. Place pieces of parchment paper between layers to keep them from sticking together. Store them for up to three months.

To freeze unbaked cookie dough, drop tablespoonfuls onto sheets of parchment paper as if you were about to bake the cookies. Then, pop the trays in the freezer instead of the oven. Once the balls of dough are frozen through (which will take about an hour), transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. Use your cookie dough within a month and make sure to put them in the oven while they’re still frozen.

Lemon Blueberry Cookies Tips

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Can you use frozen blueberries for lemon blueberry cookies?

To turn this into a recipe with frozen berries, you’ll need to complete a couple extra steps to keep your dough from turning lavender. As soon as you remove the berries from the freezer, rinse them in a strainer under cold water until the water is pale blue rather than deep blue. Very gently and quickly pat the berries dry, and mix them right into the dough (skip the chopping step).

Why are my lemon blueberry cookies tough?

When flour and water are combined and then stirred, a protein called gluten begins to form. Gluten is wonderful if you’re making bread or bagels, but not if you want your baked goods to be delicate and tender. What that means is that you should beat the cookie dough for this lemon dessert as little as you can while still enuring the dough is fully combined.