These lemon raspberry cookies have buttery crisp edges, soft middles, and flavorful raspberry swirls. They’re packed full of lemon raspberry flavor and pockets of white chocolate. So easy to make - you don’t need an electric mixer, they come together in one bowl, and there's no chilling required. They’re the perfect bright and refreshing cookie to make in the spring and summer.
Jump to:
🍪 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Easy: You'll love how this recipe requires no chilling, you only need one bowl, and you don't need an electric mixer!
- Chewy: They have the perfect soft, chewy middles and crisp edges.
- Zesty and tangy: They're packed with lemon zest and frozen raspberries for lots of fruity, tangy flavor.
- White chocolate (optional): They give these cookies the perfect pockets of creamy sweetness.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Raspberries: Frozen raspberries will work the best and give you beautiful pockets and swirls of raspberries without making the dough too wet. Don't use fresh raspberries.
- White chocolate chips: Use good quality white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate. I used real mini white chocolate chips.
- Lemons: You need two lemons for this recipe.
- Melted butter: Use melted and cooled unsalted butter for the cookie dough. It gives you super crisp edges and a soft and chewy texture in the middle.
- All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
✔️ Ingredient substitutions
Frozen raspberries: I don't recommend using fresh raspberries because they won't hold their shape well when they're being folded into the cookie dough. Frozen raspberries also don't release their juice as quickly as fresh raspberries, preventing a wet dough.
Other berries: You can experiment with wild blueberries or other berries that aren't too juicy (not strawberries).
Dairy free: Use a dairy free butter substitute. I don't recommend using margarine because it's too soft. Use dairy free white chocolate.
Plain lemon: Make these lemon white chocolate cookies for a regular lemon version that's also easy to make and no chill.
👩🍳 How to make lemon raspberry cookies
Prep: Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Step 1: Zest lemons into a large bowl. Add sugar and whisk well until the sugar is fragrant and moistened.
Step 2: Add egg and egg yolk into the lemon sugar and whisk until thickened and lightened in color. It should fall off the whisk in ribbons, this will take about 30 seconds by hand.
Step 3: Add room temperature melted butter into the same bowl, and whisk just until fully incorporated and thick. Add salt and lemon juice, whisk to combine.
Step 4: Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Fold with a spatula just until no more dry streaks of flour remain.
Step 5: Add chocolate (reserve ½ cup for topping) and crumble the raspberries into smaller pieces, adding them right into the cookie dough.
Step 6: Fold the dough with a spatula, swirling the raspberries throughout the dough. You don’t want to mix too much or you won’t get any distinct pieces of raspberries in the dough.
Step 7: Scoop the dough into 2-3 tablespoon balls, and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes - leaving a few inches of space between each cookie dough ball because they will spread.
The bottom should be slightly golden and the middles should still be slightly under baked and puffed up.
Step 8: Transfer the lemon raspberry cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Top with remaining white chocolate and grate any extra lemon zest on top. Continue baking the rest of the cookie dough.
📝 Expert Cookie Tips
- Rub the lemon zest and sugar together to release all the fragrant oils from the lemon and enhance the flavor.
- Weigh the flour: This will give you consistent results and create the perfect texture. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
- Don't overmix: Overmixing after the flour is added causes a dense, tough texture.
- Don't overbake: For the perfect chewy texture, the bottom should be slightly golden brown and the middle will be puffed up and not yet set. The cookies will continue to bake out of the oven.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
I don't recommend making the cookie dough ahead of time and baking later, because of the raspberries in the dough. They will start to lose raspberry juice and the consistency won't be the same. For a cookie that requires chilling, check out these lemon curd cookies or these strawberry cheesecake cookies.
The lemon raspberry cookies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
To store them longer, store them in an airtight container or freezer safe bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
❔ Can you chill the cookie dough?
I don't recommend chilling this cookie dough. As the raspberries defrost in the dough, the raspberries will start to disintegrate and lose juice. I recommend baking them as soon as you make the dough. The dough is ok to stay at room temperature while you bake the batches.
These brown butter toffee cookies are great to make ahead and the cookie dough stores well in the fridge or freezer for make ahead cookies!
📖 Recipe FAQs
I don't recommend chilling this cookie dough. As the raspberries defrost in the dough, the raspberries will start to disintegrate and lose juice. I recommend baking them as soon as you make the dough. The dough is ok to stay at room temperature while you bake the batches.
I haven't tested it, but it should work with 1:1 gluten free flour.
You can substitute the white chocolate for semisweet chocolate chips for a lemon-dark chocolate flavor. Or use a good quality dark chocolate bar.
Yes, you can leave it out, and the cookies will still turn out great!
I haven't tested other berries, but you can try it with other low moisture berries like frozen wild blueberries. I wouldn't try strawberries because they have a lot of moisture. If you try it, let us know in the comments how it turned out!
Typically I top them before baking, but these cookies had very uneven edges because of this. So I topped them afterwards for the perfect melted chocolate topping and more even edges.
🍋 More related recipes
Did you make this recipe? I would love for you to rate this recipe and hear what you think in the comments below! Share your creation on Instagram and tag @flouringkitchen. Follow me on Pinterest to save and for more recipe ideas.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Raspberry Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour 270 g
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup white chocolate chopped chocolate bar or real white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup frozen raspberries packed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Zest lemons into a large bowl. Add sugar and whisk well until the sugar is fragrant and moistened.1 cup granulated sugar, 2 lemons
- Add egg and egg yolk into the lemon sugar and whisk until thickened and lightened in color. It should fall off the whisk in ribbons, this will take about 30 seconds by hand.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk
- Add room temperature melted butter into the same bowl, and whisk just until fully incorporated and thick. Add salt and lemon juice, whisk to combine.1 cup unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Fold with a spatula just until no more dry streaks of flour remain.2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Add ½ cup of chocolate (reserve ½ cup for topping) and crumble the raspberries into smaller pieces, adding them right into the cookie dough.1 cup white chocolate, ¾ cup frozen raspberries
- Fold the dough with a spatula, swirling the raspberries throughout the dough. You don’t want to mix too much or you won’t get any distinct pieces of raspberries in the dough.
- Scoop the dough into 2-3 tablespoon balls. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes - leaving a few inches of space between each cookie dough ball because they will spread. The bottom should be slightly golden and the middles should slightly puffed.
- Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Top with more chocolate chips and any extra grated lemon zest. Continue baking the rest of the cookie dough.
Notes
- Rub the lemon zest and sugar together to release all the fragrant oils from the lemon and enhance the flavor.
- Weigh the flour: This will give you consistent results and create the perfect texture. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
- Don't overmix: Overmixing after the flour is added causes a dense, tough texture.
- Don't overbake: For the perfect chewy texture, the bottom should be slightly golden brown and the middle will be puffed up and not yet set. The cookies will continue to bake out of the oven.
Jay
So fragrant and tasty! Love how the butter, lemon, and raspberry flavor mingle beautifully. I tried the previous and current ver. of recipes and both turned out well. Topping white chocolate adds smooth sweetness so better not to skip!
SJ
The cookies tasted pretty good but as per some commenters on the TikTok about this recipe, the batter was too crumbly, the cookies didn't spread while baking, and the final product was pretty doughy. Had to add more chocolate chips and raspberries than recommended to really get the flavour. Would recommend adding only 1/2 cup of sifted flour at a time to make sure the consistency is still smooth! Regardless, the cookies were incredibly tasty and fun to make!! Always love how Mary makes beautiful and exciting recipes so accessible!
Tuva
Super tasty! A perfect balance between the raspberries and lemon, with the sweet touch of white chocolate. The recipe was easy to follow and I really appreciate the option to get the measurements in the metric system. Overall, lovely recipe, will definitely do it again.