Lemon Blueberry Cookies

These soft and chewy Lemon Blueberry Cookies are bright, zesty and bursting with flavor. They are a must-make for your Springtime baking and taste like pure sunshine. The lemony cookie dough is bursting with jammy blueberries and just enough richness from creamy white chocolate to balance it all out. When I first made them, I immediately fell in love with them, and I didn't think I could ever love a cookie that doesn't have dark chocolate in it this much! Think of classic blueberry muffin, but in cookie form with golden edges and a bendy texture. If you love this idea, try my Strawberries and Cream Cookies too.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make - you can easily make this recipe without a mixer and just use a wooden spoon or spatula to cream the butter and sugar.
• Soft and chewy cookies - they bake up perfectly tall although these are not cakey cookies - they're so soft and chewy and they get better as they age if you can believe that! They stay soft for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
• Bright lemon flavor - lots of lemon zest gives these cookies a big punch of lemon flavor, and lemon juice adds brightness to the blueberry swirl.
• Juicy blueberry cookies - a quick and easy blueberry compote creates the juicy fruity swirl in these cookies. It's so much better than blueberry jam or preserves because it is much less sweet and packs more blueberry flavor.
• Creamy white chocolate chunks - everything about these cookies is incredible from their soft chewy texture to their bold buttery lemon flavor with swirls of sweet/tart blueberry and creamy morsels of white chocolate that pairs so well with the tartness.
• Original recipe with thoughtful proportions - don't be fooled by other recipes out there that look just like this because Scientifically Sweet is the original with scientific proportions to prevent over-spreading and discoloration of the dough. Another "Broma" recipe has copied this one with jam instead of compote.

INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON BLUEBERRY COOKIES

• All purpose flour - AP flour is the best choice for making chewy cookies and it's easily accessible. Be sure to measure accurately to get the right texture of the cookie dough.
• Baking powder - baking powder will give puff and rise to the cookie dough to counteract spreading. It also adds leavening without neutralizing the dough which can cause discoloration. I want to keep the dough more acidic to maintain the violet color of the blueberries.
• Baking soda - just ¼ teaspoon of baking soda will ensure the cookies become golden without making the dough too basic (alkaline) which would cause it to turn grey. Blueberries get their violet color from compounds called anthocyanins which turn bright red in acidic conditions and then turn blue and green in basic conditions.
• Brown sugar and white sugar - a blend of light brown sugar gives a nice chewiness and hint of caramel flavor to the cookie base.
• Lemon zest - fresh lemon zest adds big bold lemon flavor to the cookie dough. Make sure to use only the yellow skin and none of the white pith which is bitter.
• Lemon juice - you'll add fresh lemon juice to the blueberries as you cook them down to make the compote.
• Blueberries - you can use fresh or frozen blueberries to make the compote. I used frozen wild berries since they are available throughout the year so you don't need to wait until Summer to make these delicious cookies! Also, wild blueberries have a lower moisture content so they are ideal for these cookies.
• White chocolate chunks - pure white chocolate adds sweet creaminess to contrast the tangy blueberries and lemon flavor.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

• STEP 1). Make the blueberry compote. Cook down the blueberries. Combine blueberries with sugar in a saucepan and simmer for 5-7 minutes until the juices have reduced by about half. Stir frequently and try not to mash up the blueberries. Stir in the lemon juice.
• STEP 2). Thicken it up. Take some of the blueberry juices and stir it into the corn starch to make a slurry, then stir this slurry into the compote. Let it boil for 15 seconds and it will thicken instantly. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. It should be very thick.
• STEP 3). Chill. Cover and chill until cold.
• STEP 1). Make the cookie dough. Cream butter and sugar. Beat the butter with both sugars and lemon zest for 2 minutes on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer (or using a spatula and your own arm power!) until well combined and smooth, but not quite pale and fluffy.
• STEP 2). Beat in egg. Add egg and vanilla and and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
• STEP 3). Mix in dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add to the butter mixture and fold it in with a spatula until just combined.

• STEP 4). Fold in chocolate. Add white chocolate chunks and fold them through.
• STEP 5). Fold in blueberry compote. Divide the dough into two portions before adding the blueberry mixture. Doing this will reduce the amount of mixing you need to do to get the blueberries into the cookie dough. Otherwise, over-mixing will turn all of the dough blue which isn't as nice. Spoon the compote in small dollops randomly over the cookie dough and use a knife to sort of push it through. No need to mix well since you want there to be streaks of blueberry.
• STEP 6). Chill. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill while you preheat the oven.
• STEP 7). Bake. Scoop heaped portions of dough onto prepared baking sheets with at least 2 inches of space between each cookie. Press a few extra white chocolate chunks on top. Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR LEMON BLUEBERRY COOKIES

• Have your butter at room temperature so that it is very soft and mixes well with the sugar and the dough remains soft to easily mix in the blueberry swirl without over-mixing.
• Measure the flour accurately using a kitchen scale. or by spooning it gently into the measuring cup and leveling it off. Do not pack it down. Too much flour can make the cookie dough stiff and harder to mix through the blueberry swirl.
• Let the blueberry compote cool completely and then chill it thoroughly in the fridge before using it. It is very important that it is cold so that it doesn't smear too much in the cookie dough.
• Do not over-mix the blueberry compote. All you need to do is barely swirl it into the cookie dough and push it through using a butter knife. I basically just "cut" it through the dough with 4 or 5 strokes. The blueberry will continue to get mixed as you scoop the dough. Do not use a spatula to do this because it will smear it too much.
• Bake these cookies quite thorougly. These cookies are hard to over-bake since they have a lot of moisture from the blueberry mixture. Let them get nicely golden brown on the bottom and on the sides. This is not a recipe that you want to under-bake.

RECIPE FAQ

STORAGE

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