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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!
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 sauce to the center of the cookies in the thumbprint style adds SO much more blueberry flavor and makes these the best blueberry lemon cookies!
- Lemon Sugar Cookies – This cookie recipe makes a thick, soft, chewy sugar cookie, full of fresh lemon flavor! I didn’t want the cookies to be cakey like muffin tops.
- White Chocolate Drizzle – Drizzle these cookies with white chocolate for a polished look (optional but delicious!).
Ingredient Overview
- Butter – I always use salted butter, but use whichever you prefer.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon & level your flour for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly in will lead to too much flour.
- Blueberries – You can use these with fresh or frozen blueberries.
- Lemon – Be sure to use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
Recipe Variations:
- Blueberry Jam – Use store bought blueberry preserves if you’re short on time.
- Dairy-Free Cookies – You can use sticks of dairy-free or vegan butter instead of regular butter.
- Blueberry Glaze – Try the blueberry glaze from my Blueberry Scones for an extra pop of blueberry flavor!
- Jam Flavors – You can use blueberry jam, or you can try another flavor like blackberry, strawberry, or raspberry. Or, try my Apple Pie Cookies, Cherry Pie Cookies, or Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Cookies!
How to Make this Blueberry Cookie Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Make the blueberry sauce. Add blueberries and sugar to a pot, and cook for a few minutes. 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.
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.
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.
Step 4: Add 1-2 teaspoons of the chilled blueberry sauce to each cookie.
Step 5: Bake the cookies on a lined cookie sheet for 11-13 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).
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!
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.
FAQs:
I personally do not feel like you get much blueberry flavor at all when adding blueberries to the cookie dough, which is why I went with a thumbprint cookie so we could add a generous amount of blueberry jam! It adds a TON more flavor.
Yes you can.
Yes, I recommend it so that it is sturdy enough to hold the filling while baking. The dough also develops more flavor during a chill time.
Serving + Storing:
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.
More of my 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
More Blueberry Recipes to Love:
- Strawberry Blueberry Pie
- Baked Blueberry Streusel Donuts
- One-Bowl Blueberry Crisp
- Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins
- Skillet Blueberry Peach Cobbler
- Double Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
- Blueberry Spinach Salad with Honey Balsamic
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!
Lemon Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies
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, 110 grams
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large lemon, zested
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled, 390 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 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. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to get everything mixed in. 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. You must pre-scoop your dough balls – thoroughly chilled dough is hard to scoop, and you'll re-warm the dough in the process. (You can chill about 30 minutes first to make scooping a bit easier, though.)Scoop the dough into balls that are 60-65 grams with a medium cookie scoop (about 3 tbsp), then indent the centers with the back of a tablespoon measuring spoon. This will be hard to do when the dough is solid later on. Place in an airtight container to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours. You can also freeze the dough balls (rolled in sugar and indented) for 2 hours or up to 2 months. (Cookies can be filled & baked from frozen.)
- Assemble the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 365° 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). Fill each dough ball with 1-2 tsp of the blueberry jam.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 11-13 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.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. 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
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made quite a few of your recipes and every single one is EXCELLENT! Excited to give these cookies a go later! Do you think replacing the lemon in the cookies with orange would be just fine? I’m planning to fill them with the orange marmalade I made this morning! I have no doubt these will be a hit just like your other recipes.
Thanks so much for the rave review, Gabbi! Yes, they would work well with orange juice too.
Did u bake them while they were still cold out the fridge or were they warmish room temp?
Hi Sarah! Bake them cold from the fridge. Let me know how you like the recipe!
Even though this was a little time consuming😅 I loved it and they came out soo good! Best cookies!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Jessica!
These were so yummy and my friends loved them! I can’t wait to make them again with all different fruits!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Sam! Be sure to check out my other filled cookies – I have cherry, apple, pumpkin, peach, and pecan!
The dough was incredibly sticky and difficult to form into balls (too much moisture). The cookies spread nearly flat in the oven. Followed the instructions exactly. Even chilled the dough overnight. These were an unfortunate disaster and ended up being a waste of time.
Hi Sara! I’m sorry to hear this. I have made these cookies many times with no issues. Here are a few common issues with cookies – 1) Your oven is too hot or too cold – this would cause the cookies to spread flat in the oven. Use an oven thermometer to check the internal temp as ovens can become incorrectly calibrated over time. 2) Your baking soda/baking powder is old or expired. This means it wouldn’t be able to create the proper rise in the cookies. If yours has been open for 4-6 months or longer, I would toss it and replace it. I’m happy to help further troubleshoot!