These chewy lemon cookies filled with white chocolate chips are a treat that’s sure to make everyone happy!
A new McDonald’s opened up this week 5 minutes from my house. Before it’s opening, the closest McD’s was 40 minutes away… so we hardly ever went there. The McCafe serves giant white chocolate chip lemon cookies that are SO YUM! They are crisp on the edges and soft in the middle and full of lemon flavor. Unlike other fast food restaurant cookies, I just knew I had to recreate these cookies at home!
And what better time than right before my hubby is going away for a few weeks to train for his upcoming deployment. A big platoon of soldiers needs cookies to fuel themselves while training, right? 🙂 So into the kitchen, I went this morning to whip up a batch of these white chocolate lemon cookies.
You could have these white chocolate chip cookies made in about 30 minutes – they’re that simple yet so super delicious! I made a bunch of little cookies so they would go further, but you could easily make them bigger – like the one I got at McD’s!
Enjoy!
White Chocolate Chip Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, press the lemon zest into the white sugar until it's fluffy and fragrant. Add the brown sugar and butter and cream until smooth and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg.
- Mix in the lemon juice.
- Add the flour and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips.
- Roll golf ball size (1in) balls of dough in your hand and gently press them onto the cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart- slightly flattening them.
- Bake 9-11 minutes or until air bubbles form and the edges SLIGHTLY turn golden.
- Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheet 3 minutes. NOTE: If you remove them before 3 minutes, they will be too soft and will break.
- Move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an air tight container for 3-4 days or EAT IMMEDIATELY!
Betsy, your cookies look good. I love both lemon and chewy in a cookie. 🙂 I am going to give these a try. Can you give me some baking insight? I am trying to understand what makes a cookie chewy. I have found chewy recipes with corn starch, pudding mix (because of the corn starch), and brown sugar/molasses/honey. Any idea what ingredients help make these cookies chewy? Thanks! And my very best wishes for you and your husband on upcoming training and deployment.
I’m not exactly sure of the science of it – but I do know that when I underbake cookies, they often have that crispy edge and chewy center I like. Personally, I believe it to be that it’s still gooey cookie dough – not necessarily the ingredients. But, others have said that it has to do with the fat content. I don’t know. I haven’t done much research on it. Here’s what America’s Test Kitchen has to say: http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/03/secrets-to-thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Thanks, Betsy!
Sounds like an awesome combination! I would so love to try some.
How much cream should be added with the brown sugar and butter?
Thanks!
Hi –
I’d like to retract my question. Please forgive my “duh” moment.!
Thanks!
I made this recipe tonight, but I added a bit of lemon extract for a more lemony flavor. These cookies were so good, I was amazed! I had one question, in the recipe, at step 3, you say, “Add the brown sugar and butter and cream until smooth and fluffy.” However, in the ingredients, there is no cream listed. I don’t know if this is an error or if I’m not understanding it correctly. Could you help clarify? Thanks!
In this instance, “cream” is a term used to describe the process of beating the sugar and butter together until they are smooth, creamy and fluffy. Sorry for any confusion! I’m glad they turned out yummy for you! Great idea adding the lemon extract to the batter!
I have made these twice: for my daughter’s wedding shower and for a weekend at the family cabin. Each time people raved. In fact, these are downright dangerous; my daughter has celiac disease (can’t eat gluten) and kept sneaking these cookies anyway . . . and she’s 33 and should know better! ; )
Thanks for such a refreshing, unique and delicious recipe. I will be making them often, including today!
Awesome!!! xxoo
I was looking for a recipe similar to the lemon cookies panera sells, and this is pretty close! I just dusted some powdered sugar on top and it was practically the same thing. Thank you for sharing this ????
Made them tonight… decreased baking soda by 1/4 tsp because of elevation (6200 ft), chilled before baking, 10 mins at 350 plus those three minutes of cooling on the sheet… they are excellent! Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! Its Easter weekend and I’ve been wanting to make a dessert to go with dinner, these turned out great! Added a bit of lemon extract since i had it around and dusted powdered sugar on top after they cooled slightly. Better than Panera’s!! 🙂
These cookies are RIDICULOUSLY delicious! The batter itself was unbelievable. These are a new favorite. Wonderful recipe!
LOVED this recipe, so simple to follow and the cookies turned out perfect. Thank you so much ?
These cookies were the perfect thing to make for our party. I made them a week in advance and froze them. They turned out great! Have to say they were a favorite at our party! Will be making them again soon.
It comes out so impressive! Thank you much for sharing it! my daughter loves it much.
This is my favorite cake. It’s so delicious and convenient. Thank you for sharing!
Yum!!! I am going to put this on my dinner menu and pack the leftovers in thermoses for school!