Lemon White Chocolate Cookies: Recipe and 4 Baking Tips
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 19, 2022 • 3 min read
Crispy-edged with a tender interior, these lemon white chocolate cookies feature fresh lemon flavor balanced by creamy white chocolate chips. Make the cookies ahead and freeze them for an easy dessert, or bake the whole batch and serve them at your next brunch gathering.
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What Are Lemon White Chocolate Cookies?
Lemon white chocolate chip cookies are a type of drop cookie made with a simple cookie base flavored with lemon zest and studded with white chocolate chips. “Drop cookie” is a term that refers to cookie recipes where bakers “drop” cookie dough from a spoon or cookie scoop onto a baking sheet, rather than roll it out or cut it into specific shapes.
When making lemon white chocolate cookies, rub the sugar with the lemon zest to bring out the fragrant essential oils in the lemon peel and infuse the cookies with bright citrus flavor. Add white chocolate chips to balance the tart lemon flavor with the rich creaminess of cocoa butter.
4 Tips for Making Lemon White Chocolate Cookies
These flavorful lemon white chocolate cookies use the creaming method, in which you beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Follow these tips to get the best flavor and texture:
- 1. Infuse the sugar with lemon zest. Lemon zest is full of fragrant natural oils. Sugar coaxes the essential oils from lemon zest and saturates lemon desserts with bright flavor. Rub the sugars together with the zest and let the flavors meld while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- 2. Start with room-temperature butter. The key to creaming butter and sugar is getting a fluffy, aerated result. Softened butter allows air bubbles to form and get trapped within the dough, yielding cookies with a crisp bottom and chewy center.
- 3. Stir in the dry ingredients. To keep your lemon cookies tender and prevent gluten from forming, stir in the flour mixture by hand until just combined. Your cookie dough should be uniform in texture with no dry spots remaining.
- 4. Use a cookie scoop. Use a scoop to make sure each cookie is the same weight and size; this will ensure your cookies bake at the same rate. Instead of rolling the cookie dough into balls, simply scoop the dough and drop it onto a prepared cookie sheet. (That’s where the name “drop cookies” comes from.)
Easy Lemon White Chocolate Cookies Recipe
makes
18 cookiesprep time
10 mintotal time
25 mincook time
15 minIngredients
Note: The total time does not include 10 minutes of inactive time.
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 3
In a medium mixing bowl, use your hands to rub the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest together until evenly combined. Set it aside.
- 4
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined, and set it aside.
- 5
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the softened butter with the lemon-sugar mixture and beat until light and fluffy, at least 2 minutes.
- 6
Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla extract and egg, then beat for another 2 minutes.
- 7
Add the dry ingredients and stir in by hand until just combined, taking care not to overmix.
- 8
Add the white chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
- 9
Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into 18 evenly spaced dough balls. Freeze or refrigerate the portioned dough until ready to bake.
- 10
Bake the cookies on the center oven rack until golden brown along the edges, about 12–15 minutes.
- 11
Remove the cookies from the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- 12
Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
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