These brightly flavored, chewy lemon white chocolate cookies have both fresh lemon zest and lemon oil for a citrusy punch. The creamy, sweet white chocolate chunks perfectly balance the tartness of the lemon. No chilling required - bake these vibrant lemon cookies in less than an hour!
These chewy lemon white chocolate cookies with fresh lemon zest are bursting with bright citrus flavor and creamy pockets of melted white chocolate.
Both tangy and sweet, these white chocolate lemon cookies have a natural pale yellow color from the fresh lemon zest and egg. The dough doesn't require chilling, so you can bake them quickly.
I love a good lemon dessert. I've made flourless meyer lemon almond cake, vibrant lemon rhubarb bars, and creamy lemon mascarpone ice cream. My favorite citrus recipes are often bold in flavor. I achieve a bright, natural lemon taste in these cookies using both freshly grated lemon zest and concentrated lemon oil.
White chocolate is an excellent pairing with bitter, acidic flavors. I've combined it with earthy green tea powder in matcha white chocolate cookies, and with fresh raspberries in these easy raspberry and white chocolate blondies. Its sweetness helps temper the lemon and adds a creamy texture to the cookies.
For more lemon cookies, check out these glazed cutout lemon shortbread cookies, and these Italian egg yolk cookies.
You can also explore the entire collection of cookie recipes here.
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Ingredients
* See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
Unsalted butter - Butter should be at room temperature.
Granulated sugar - Using only granulated sugar instead of a mix of brown sugar and granulated helps ensure the yellow color of the zest and yolk come through without requiring food coloring.
Lemon zest - You'll use the freshly grated zest of two medium lemons to add a good amount of fresh lemon flavor. I use a microplane grater to zest the peel.
Lemon oil - I use lemon oil in this recipe to add an extra boost of lemon. Lemon oil is concentrated and helps achieve a powerful citrus punch that's difficult to achieve with lemon zest alone. I find it much more flavorful than lemon extract, and it has a nice natural flavor.
It should only contain lemon oil and a neutral carrier oil like sunflower oil. I have had great results with Simply Organic, Penzey's and Frontier Coop brands.
White chocolate - I use a block of white chocolate, chopped into coarse chunks that are roughly twice the size as white chocolate chips.
I like having the white chocolate melt into pools rather than remaining in chip form. You're welcome to use either here!
Instructions
Learn how to make lemon white chocolate cookies! These photos provide visual cues. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card.
Zest lemons over sugar to catch the zest and citrus oils. Massage zest into the sugar until moist and yellow.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together.
Add lemon oil, egg, and salt and mix until well incorporated.
Add flour and baking soda. Mix on low speed until just a few flour streaks remain. Use a spatula to incorporate the last of the flour.
Use a spatula to stir in the white chocolate.
Using a cookie scoop, portion into 1½ Tablespoon scoops. Bake for 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hint: Don't overbake these cookies! They are done when pale, still a bit soft in the center, and just beginning to color on the edges. They will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after they're removed from the oven and will firm up more when cool.
Immediately after removing lemon cookies from oven, place a round cookie cutter or the rim of a wide drinking glass around each baked cookie and gently swirl in circles. This will push the cookie into a uniformly round shape.
Variations
If you'd like to try a different twist on these lemon and white chocolate cookies, try these variations:
- Candied lemon peel - For triple lemon flavor, stir in some diced candied lemon peel when adding the white chocolate.
- Coconut - Add 30 grams (⅓ cup) shredded unsweetened coconut (desiccated) to the recipe after adding eggs.
- Macadamia nuts - Add 30 grams (1 ounce; ¼ cup) chopped macadamia nuts. For best flavor, toast them beforehand on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chocolate chips - Swap the white chocolate for an equal amount of milk or dark chocolate chips (or chunks from a cut up bar).
Storage
Store: Store these lemon white chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freeze baked: Store baked cookies in a large zippered freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months
Freeze unbaked: Although these are quick cookies to make spur of the moment, it's always great to have extra cookie dough on hand.
To freeze unbaked cookie dough, place scooped dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour or two. Once frozen, transfer dough balls to a zippered freezer bag. Don't forget to label the bag: lemon white chocolate cookie dough. Bake from frozen at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. Store for up to 3 months frozen, unbaked.
The cookies will likely need an additional few minutes in the oven since the dough is frozen. I always recommend baking one or two cookies first as a test to confirm the correct bake time for the rest of the batch.
Frequently asked questions
These cookies should have some lift to them. There are several reasons your cookies might have come out too flat:
The butter was too warm. This will cause the cookies to spread too much when baked! I like to bake two cookies as a test batch before I bake the remainder. If the dough is too warm, chill it in the fridge for up to 30 minutes before baking.
Your baking soda is too old and has expired. An opened package is good for about 6 months to 1 year. Test freshness by mixing a small spoonful of baking soda with an acidic liquid such as lemon juice or vinegar. If it fizzes vigorously, it's still good. If it doesn't bubble much, it has expired.
You didn't add enough flour. The opposite is generally true (too much flour) if you're not using a digital scale when baking, but it is possible to add too little flour. This means the cookie dough doesn't have enough structure and will be too thin.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below, and scroll down to leave a review. Your comments, suggestions and adaptations are very helpful to other bakers. Thank you for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Lemon White Chocolate Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 150 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- lemon zest, from 2 medium lemons
- 85 grams (3 ounces) white chocolate, chunks or chips
- 113 grams (8 Tablespoons; 4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons lemon oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 180 grams (1½ cups) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- optional: additional white chocolate chunks or chips for topping dough balls
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius, Gas mark 4).
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the granulated sugar. Zest the lemons directly over the bowl to catch the zest and citrus oils. Massage the zest into the sugar until it is moist and yellow.150 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar, lemon zest
- Add the butter. Cream the butter and lemon sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.113 grams (8 Tablespoons; 4 ounces) unsalted butter
- Add lemon oil, egg, and salt and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl.1½ teaspoons lemon oil, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add flour and baking soda. Mix on low speed until just a few flour streaks remain. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl and incorporate the last of the flour.180 grams (1½ cups) all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Use a spatula to stir in the white chocolate chunks.85 grams (3 ounces) white chocolate
- Using a 1½ Tablespoon cookie scoop (medium, size 40), portion 6 scoops of dough out onto a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 9-10 minutes. Cookies should still be pale, just turning golden brown on the bottom and somewhat soft in the center. They will continue to cook on the hot baking sheet and will firm up as they cool.
- Immediately after removing cookies from oven, place a round cookie cutter or the rim of a wide drinking glass around each baked cookie and gently swirl the edges of the cookie. This will push the cookie into a uniformly round shape.
- Fully cool cookies on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
susan yarnall says
Hello Kathleen! I tried these after having a lemon white chocolate cookie that had a strong lemon taste which I want to recreate. My cookies are a bit flat and don't have the nice crinkles or the prominent white chocolate bits in your photos. I did freeze them and bake from frozen which took about 15 minutes. Everything was according the the recipe, boyajian lemon oil, measured flour (King Arthur), fresh baking soda, 30 g scoop, etc. They might be a tiny bit artificial tasting due to the high amount of the oil, and smelled a bit strange while cooking. My dough was very soft when finished but scoopable after refrigeration. It was easy to fit 8 30 g portions on a standard half sheet. I might try these again with less oil, more zest, and 30 grams more flour. The finished cookie is soft with crisp edges.
Kathleen Culver says
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your detailed comment!
A few thoughts for you:
-I tend to do the cookie scoot, as described in the process instructions: swirl a slightly larger round cookie cutter around each cookie as soon as they come out of the oven.
This helps the cookies look uniform, and it also thickens them up slightly.
-For the prominent white chocolate pieces, you'll want to place a few pieces on top of each cookie dough ball before baking, like in the process photos.
-I haven't used Boyajian lemon oil. I looked it up online, and while it does get good reviews overall, a few people mentioned getting really bitter, bad batches. A possibility?
My go-tos are Simply Organic, Penzey's and Frontier Coop.
You mentioned refrigeration and freezing both. The dough should be firm enough to scoop without refrigeration.
Is it possible your butter was too warm? That's my likely guess.
I've clarified the wording on the recipe to make sure it's room temperature.
Please let me know the outcome of your next batch!
Kathleen