These super chewy Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with that tart lemon flavor and the subtle sweetness from the white chocolate chips! They are not to be missed.
A few weeks back when we were in Portland, I snagged about a dozen of assorted mini cookies from a local bakery from the Portland Farmers Market and proceeded to eat all of them before noon. They were incredible!
Surprisingly my usual fav – a traditional chocolate chip cookie – was NOT my favorite of the day! The one that stood out was a Lemon Sugar Cookie. It was glorious!! The lemon and the butter and the sugar combo = perfection. Soft, chewy, tart, sweet, all of the things you look for in a cookie!
As soon as we got back to Los Angeles, I decided that I needed to recreate it but obviously make it even better. I added the white chocolate chips, amped up the lemon and played with the sugar ratio! MORE IS ALWAYS MORE when it comes to cookies. These Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies are equal parts chewy, citrusy and sweet. The edges are just slightly crispy while the inside is soft and chewy. If you ask me that’s how every cookie should be!
What happens if you don’t have lemon extract on hand, you can use 1 tablespoon of lemon zest! If you don’t have white chocolate chips on hand, go to the market. Regular semi-sweet or dark chocolate chip won’t have the same balance as the white chocolate in this instance. If you’re into a little citrus in your baked goods, I can guarantee you guys are going to absolutely loves these!
Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces white chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large mixer beat together the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and lemon extract beat until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt and combine until everything is just combined. Turn the mixer on the slowest speed and add the white chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or sil-pats.
- Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, tap the baking sheet on the counter to release any air bubbles. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to a cooling rack until cooled. Repeat with any remaining dough
- Store cookies in an air-tight container or zip top back in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer indefinitely!
I can’t even imagine how good these are!!!
Mmmmmmm!!! I CAN’T WAIT to make these this weekend!!
I just made a lemon and white chocolate cake the other day. The combo is so good. These cookies definitely look buttery even without the butter!
These look so good! What perfect flavors for summer! I am definitely going to try them! Thanks for sharing!
Yumm!! My mouth watered just from looking at the pictures! I’m gonna have to find time to make these!!
I too have been having fun without butter….didn’t know it was possible. These cookies look too good for bikini season! xo
Gaby, If I didn’t want to buy Lemon Extract but I had fresh lemons on hand is there something I could do with the zest or juice?
I can’t wait to try these! Bikini or not! 🙂
Hi Gaby …love your recipes
As another reader asked , can I use lemon zest & juice instead of lemon extract & if so how much juice should I add
Hi Gaby
What brand of white chocolate chips did you use.
These look lovely, Gaby! I also love that they’re health concious and without butter – an impressive creation! I’ll have to give them a try as swimsuit season is swiftly approaching!
I’m coming in late to this thread (found it through your Recipe Index), but I have a suggestion. Next time add finely chopped candied lemon peel. It makes the cookie more lemon-y and adds a bit of chewiness.
I just made these and squeezed in a lemon and grated the zest into the batter before adding in the dry ingredients (in addition to the lemon extract)–they were great! I am also trying out freezing half the cookie dough to see if they can be made later, this recipe makes at least 2 dozen cookies. Great recipe and great site Gaby!
Freezing half the dough worked! I made them into balls and froze them on a piece of foil, then put them in a freezer bag and made them a few weeks later. As good as the originals!
I tried to bake these cookies using real butter and fresh lemons… They didn’t come out like I wanted. They were very puffy. More cake like than cookie. :-/ did I do something wrong or is it just because of the things I changed?
Hi Mandy! The butter shouldn’t have made a difference – but the fresh lemon juice might have! You might want to try it with the extract and see what happens.
Thanks!
OMG, thank you for basically handing me a recipe for this year’s Holiday Cookie Swap, No research required. Do you think I can use lemon zest instead of extract?
you sure can!
Ooooh, I love a great lemon cookie, and the white chocolate chips are the perfect compliment. I think these might find their way onto my Christmas cookie plate!
The recipe published here calls for butter
Many comments are saying that there is no butter
Am confused
Making this recipe now and am very excited. However the prep and total time should be adjusted to account for the 2 hour minimum of dough refrigeration needed. The first step should also not include the preheating of the oven since, again, the dough will need to be refrigerated for quite some time. Just some at-home-baker feedback. Thanks for always sharing recipes though!
What a great recipe. Thanks for it. I made them and everyone loves them!
Thank you for the recipe. I made these and everyone loves them.
These were a huge hit at my house and a refreshing change from the traditional chocolate chip. Accidentally bought mini chips and I think the bigger ones would have been better. Other than my own error, 10 out of 10!!
A nice change from all chocolate everything. I cut 1/4 c. flour cause I like less puffy 🙂 Yum Yum!
These were SO easy to make!!!
Used fresh lemon zest instead of extract and the flavour was amazing. Used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips.
In my oven, I needed more like 12 minutes but no biggie. Mental note made, since these will be on repeat.
My husband said these are easily the best cookies he’s ever tasted!! Flavour and texture were amazing! He loves lemon so I was excited to see what he thought!!!
Freezing these and will bust them out for Christmas Eve to wow our guests!!!!
11/10 is the rating I’d give this recipe!!!!!
Thanks Gaby!!!
How many cookies will this recipe make? Just 10? Thanks for sharing!
3 dozen! roughly 3 cookies per person 🙂
These are great! I thought the 3 teaspoons of lemon extract would be too much but it wasn’t at all, Highly recommend making these.
What a delicious combination!
I love chocolate chip cookies. They’re my jam. I’ll labor over them for hours and in my eyes NOTHING came close to the yumminess of a chocolate chip cookie with Maldon on top. BUT WHOA ARE THESE GOOD. They’ve given my old faithful a run for their money. I cannot wait to make them again.
Would this recipe work with 1:1 gluten free flour??
I would think so!!
I make these every Christmas and get so many compliments on them. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
These cookies are amazing!!! How long should you bake the cookies for if you store the dough in the freezer?