The *softest* lemon blueberry cookies – they’re made with a brown sugar cookie that’s loaded with lemon zest, topped with a rich cream cheese frosting and swirled with blueberry curd.
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lemon blueberry cookies
I loooooovvveeee citrus season – it might be my favorite flavor category to bake with. These sugar cookies are a spin on my blood orange cookies. They’re made with a super soft brown sugar lemon cookie, topped with a cream cheese frosting & swirled with the most delicious blueberry curd.
why you’ll love these lemon blueberry curd cookies:
- Blueberry curd: all curd is delicious – but the blueberry/lemon combo is classic and delicious.
- The softest brown sugar cookie: these use my base brown sugar cookie recipe that you’ll see a few times on my blog, because it’s truly *so* delicious and perfect.
- Cream cheese frosting: I mean, who doesn’t love a tangy cream cheese frosting.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your egg and butter about an hour before starting the cookies, and the cream cheese about an hour before making the cream cheese frosting.
How to get more flavor out of zest
It’s hard to put citrus juice into bakes because it can easily throw off the texture of the dough. So we’ll get lemon flavor into these cookies through the zest. To get even more flavor out of the zest, we’ll rub the zest into the sugar, which will release oils from the zest into the sugar and release more flavor into the dough.
try to avoid metal utensils when making the curd
It’s possible for the curd to take on a metallic taste if you are using a metal bowl or whisk, so to be safe I would recommend staying away from those when making the curd.
Mix the dough carefully
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
The secret to perfectly round cookies:
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for blueberry lemon cookies –
lemon sugar cookies:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. AP flour ranges from about 10-12% protein. If you use a flour closer to 10%, the cookies will be slightly less chewy. I use and love King Arthur Flour, which is 11.7% protein.
- Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise. Most baking powder is, but make sure your baking powder is “double acting.”
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetness and for moisture.
- Lemon zest: the star of the show!
- Vanilla: for flavor. You could also replace this with lemon extract if you want a stronger lemon flavor.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
blueberry curd:
- Egg yolks: thickens up the curd.
- Granulated sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the curd.
- Lemon: we’ll be using both the zest and the juice for maximum flavor.
- Blueberries: I used and recommend frozen – but fresh blueberries would work as well.
- Salt: like with the dough, a bit of salt helps with the flavor and sweetness of the curd.
- Unsalted butter: helps thicken the curd and make it creamy. You can substitute in salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the curd.
cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese: the tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness of the frosting and cookies so well.
- Unsalted butter: a little bit of butter helps thicken up the frosting.
- Salt: a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness and bring out the flavor of the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the frosting.
how to make lemon blueberry cookies
Below are a few images of what the process of making these cookies looks like. As always you can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post 🙂
lemon blueberry cookies recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again. I would recommend waiting to make the frosting until you would like to bake and frost the cookies. The curd can also be made 2-3 days in advance and kept in the fridge.
store the lemon blueberry curd cookies in the fridge
Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, these cookies do need to be stored in the fridge once they are frosted. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They are delicious cold, but if you’re not a fan of cold cookies, you can let them sit out at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before eating them.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Lemon Blueberries Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- 150 g light brown sugar (¾ c.)
- zest of 2 lemons
- 90 g unsalted butter room temperature (6 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Blueberry Curd
- 28 g unsalted butter cubed (2 tbsp.)
- 65 g granulated sugar (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 lemon
- 90 g frozen blueberries (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 2 egg yolks
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 100 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 160 g powdered sugar (1 ⅓ c.)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Add the brown sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl. Zest the lemons into the mixing bowl, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Add in the butter, then use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the mixture together until it's light and fluffy (~2-3 min.)
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined (1 min.)
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.* In the meantime, make the blueberry curd.*
Blueberry Curd
- Prep a small mixing bowl by adding the cubed butter to it, along with a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- Add the sugar to a small saucepan, then zest the lemon into the pan. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Juice the lemon, and add 28g (2 tbsp.) of lemon juice to the saucepan. Then add in the egg yolks, blueberries and salt.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly (this can be slowly – we just need constant movement happening!)
- Continue to stir the curd until it thickens and reaches a temperature of at least 170°F / 76°C (This took me about 3-5 minutes.)
- Remove the curd from the heat and pass it through the fine mesh sieve, over the butter. Mix the curd and the butter together until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the curd to the fridge to chill until you're ready to assemble the cookies.
- Once the cookies have chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet, evenly spacing them apart to allow room for spreading.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the sides of the cookies just start to turn golden brown, and the top of the cookies looks just slightly wet. Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
- Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before frosting them.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and salt until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in ½ of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then beat in the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla.
- Top each cookie with ~1.5 tbsp. of the frosting. Use a spoon to make crevices in the frosting for the blueberry curd to sit in.
- Pour 2 tsp. of blueberry curd on the tops of each of the cookies, and gently swirl it into the frosting.
- Top the cookies with more lemon zest and a little slice of lemon if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Making the dough ahead of time
You can make the dough and keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking it. Just be sure to bring the dough out to sit at room temperature for a little bit, until it becomes soft enough to scoop again. For longer term storage, scoop out the dough balls and freeze them on a baking sheet or tray. Once they’re completely frozen, you can transfer them to a ziploc or airtight container and keep them frozen for up to 1 month. I’d recommend letting the dough sit out for 20 min. before baking it, or thawing it in the fridge overnight before baking it. Please note that your cookies will likely bake up a little thicker.Curd notes:
You can also make the curd and keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days before assembling the cookies. You’ll have a bit more curd than you’ll need for the cookies. The extra curd will keep well for up to 1 week in the fridge!Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Hi Erin! I may have missed it but at what point do you incorporate the blueberries? Going to try and make these this weekend. Thank you 🙂
Hi Lacey! The blueberry part is just the curd that you’ll swirl on top after adding on the frosting. I hope you enjoy them! 🙂