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Home » Recipes » Desserts & Baking

blueberry lemon thumbprint cookies

August 16, 2022 Leave a Comment

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These Blueberry Lemon Cookies are made with lemon sugar cookie dough, rolled in lemon sugar, and baked with a quick homemade blueberry jam in the center. These cookies are irresistible – thick, soft, and full of fresh blueberry and lemon flavor!

Lemon sugar cookies filled with a jammy blueberry center, drizzled with white chocolate, on a blue surface. this recipe

Why you’ll love this recipe:

  • Blueberry Jam – Adding blueberries to the cookie dough didn’t give enough blueberry flavor, and I found it to be a lackluster cookie. Adding blueberry jam to the center of the cookies in the thumbprint style adds more blueberry flavor and makes these the best blueberry lemon cookies.
  • Lemon Sugar Cookies – This recipe makes a thick, soft, chewy cookie, full of fresh lemon flavor! I didn’t want the cookies to be cakey like muffin tops – these are true soft, sugar cookies!
  • White Chocolate Drizzle – Drizzle these cookies with white chocolate for a polished look. This step is optional.
A close-up of a white chocolate-drizzled lemon blueberry sugar cookie.

Ingredient Overview

  • Butter – I always use salted butter, but use whichever you prefer.
  • Blueberries – You can use these with fresh or frozen blueberries.
  • Lemon – Be sure to use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.

Ingredient Substitutions:

  • Blueberry Jam – Use store bought blueberry preserves if you’re short on time.
  • Dairy-Free Cookies – You can use sticks of dairy-free butter instead of regular butter.

How to Make this Recipe Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Make the blueberry sauce. Add blueberries and sugar to a pot, and cook until they begin to release their juices. Then, add a mixture of lemon juice, cornstarch, and water to thicken the sauce. Add extra whole blueberries at the end for a nice variety of texture! Once the sauce is done, transfer to a medium bowl to chill for at least 2 hours, or up to a few days.

A pot of the blueberry sauce.

Step 2: Mix up the cookie dough by creaming together butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Then add your wet ingredients – the eggs, vanilla, and fresh lemon juice and zest. Add the dry ingredients last. You’ll have a soft cookie dough. Form into balls and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

A bowl of lemon sugar cookie dough.

Step 3: Roll the chilled dough balls in sugar mixed with lemon zest for extra flavor! Make an indent in the cookies with the back of a teaspoon.

A baking sheet with the cookie dough balls being rolled in lemon zest sugar and indented.

Step 4: Add 1-2 teaspoons of the chilled blueberry sauce to each cookie.

A cookie sheet with the blueberry filled thumbprint cookies before baking.

Step 5: Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes. The cookies won’t look super fancy when they come out of the oven, but they certainly taste like a million bucks! If your cookies are a bit lopsided, use a round cutter to scoot them into a circle (optional). 

A cookie sheet with the baked cookies.

Step 6: Let the cookies cool on a wire rack, and drizzle melted white chocolate chips over the tops of the cookies. Now for the best part – dig in!

White chocolate drizzled lemon blueberry thumbprint cookies on a blue background with lemon slices scattered around.

Expert Success Tips:

  • Scooping the Dough Balls: Chill the dough for 30 minutes before scooping, to make it easier.
  • Cookie Dough Balls- Let the dough balls sit out for 10-15 minutes before doing this so that they don’t crack like crazy when you make the indent. If they do crack, that’s fine – your baked cookies just won’t look as perfectly round. 
  • Lemon Sugar – Be sure to rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers before rolling the cookie dough balls.
  • Too Much Jam –  Add the amount of jam specified in the recipe card. If you add more, the jam can run out and make a mess.
  • Lemon Flavor – Be sure to use real, fresh lemon juice instead of bottled lemon juice or lemon extract. These other things can have a less fresh taste.

Recipe Variations:

  • Glaze – You can leave the white chocolate drizzle off and use a glaze instead, or serve them as is!
  • Jam Flavors – You can use blueberry jam, or you can try another flavor like blackberry, strawberry, or raspberry.

Serving + Storing this Recipe:

Serve the cookies once they’ve cooled to your liking. Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. Let soften a bit at room temperature before serving.

These are the perfect summer cookie! I know you’ll fall in love with these – they’re the perfect cookie.

More of the Best Cookies to Bake:

  • Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
  • Bakery-Style Monster Cookies
  • Key Lime Slice and Bake Cookies
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
  • Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!


White chocolate drizzled lemon blueberry sugar cookies on a blue surface.

Lemon Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies

These Lemon Blueberry Cookies are made with lemon sugar cookie dough, rolled in lemon sugar, and baked with a quick homemade blueberry jam in the center. These cookies are irresistible – thick, soft, and full of fresh blueberry and lemon flavor!
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Keyword: Spring Cookies, Easter Desserts
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Dough Chilling: 4 hours
Servings: 20 cookies
Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Blueberry Sauce

  • 2 cups frozen blueberries, plus 1/2 cup more Do not thaw
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp warm water

For the Lemon Sugar Cookie Dough

  • 1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature 16 tbsp or 226 grams
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large lemon, zested
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 and 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

For Rolling Dough Balls:

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large lemon, zested

For Serving:

  • 3 ounces white chocolate optional

Instructions

  • Make the Blueberry Sauce: Add the 2 cups frozen blueberries and the sugar to a medium pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes so the berries begin to release their juices. (Cook for 1 additional minute if using fresh blueberries.)
    Add the cornstarch, lemon juice, and warm water to a small bowl and stir until the cornstarch dissolves. Add this to the berries, and bring to a heavy simmer over medium-high heat, then continue simmering over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries, and cook for 2-3 minutes more, until thick enough that the blueberries hold for a second when you drag a wooden spoon through the pot (like you're parting the red sea). It should feel like a jammy sauce and shouldn't feel thin and runny. If it's thin, bring it back to a simmer and cook for a few more minutes until this texture is reached.
    Pop this in a bowl to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. If chilling longer than 2 hours, cover the bowl once it's not piping hot anymore.
    Alternative: You can also use a jar of store-bought blueberry jam if you want a few less steps in this recipe!
  • Make the Cookie Dough: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the sugars to the butter mixture and mix until creamed together with the butter, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until just combined. Add the lemon juice and zest, and mix until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients last, and mix until a dough forms.
  • Chill the Dough: This dough needs a bit of a longer chill time so that it can contain the blueberry sauce when it bakes. I recommend pre-scooping your dough balls – thoroughly chilled dough is hard to scoop. (You can chill about 30 minutes first to make it a bit easier, though.)
    Scoop the dough into balls that are 60-65 grams with a medium cookie scoop (about 2 and 1/2 tbsp), and place in an airtight container to chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
  • Assemble the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Mix the sugar and lemon zest together in a small bowl, rubbing the zest into the sugar. Roll the dough balls generously in this mixture, then place on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined sheet pan. (I can fit about 6 on a sheet). Use the back of a tablespoon measuring spoon to press an indent into each cookie, and fill with 1-2 tsp of the blueberry jam.
    Note: If you chilled the dough overnight, let it sit out for 10-15 minutes on your counter before beginning this step, so the balls don't crack like crazy when you make the thumbprint indent.
  • Bake: Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The edges should appear just set, and the centers will appear a tad underdone. The cookies will set up as they cool.
    When they come out, if the cookies aren't perfectly round anymore you can use a round cutter to scoot them into place. If you don't have one, they'll be fine either way.
    Let cookies cool on the baking sheet about 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating and serving.
  • Serve + Store: Drizzle cooled cookies with white chocolate or eat them as is. They're delicious either way. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days, and after that I recommend refrigerating. Let cookies come back to room temp a bit before serving.
  • Glaze: You can make a tangy lemon glaze to top these cookies in place of the white chocolate. Add 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar to a small bowl with a little bit of lemon juice, milk, and a splash of vanilla. Adjust until you have desired taste and consistency. Drizzle over the cookies.

Notes

Saving under baked cookies: I accidentally under baked a pan of these cookies during my recipe testing, but was able to save them with a simple trick. You’ll be able to tell that they’re under baked once they’ve cooled and you break one open and see the texture of the inside, or a wet-appearing spot on the bottom of the cookie. Simply preheat the oven back to 350 degrees F, and add the pan of cookies once the oven is preheated. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the cookies inside the oven as it cools down, for about 10 minutes. Pull them out, and they should be properly baked, but not dry. 
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