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These delicious Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cookies are buttery, sweet and loaded with blueberry flavor, with no rolling, cutting out or patting.
Know what one of my favorite things about blogging is? You might think it's coming up with delicious recipes like these Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cookies, and I do enjoy that. But really, that's not the best part. Nope, the thing I love the most is YOU!
Yes, this blog would be nothing without faithful, encouraging readers like you. I love that, through this blogging adventure, I've had the opportunity to make new friends - all over the world! It's so fun to open my computer and find a letter from someone I've never met before. Some are just one-time letters of query or comment, but lots of them are ongoing conversations. Over time, these conversations have developed into delightful relationships.
Early last spring I received a fun email from a Café follower from Canada. She introduced herself, shared how she'd discovered The Café and wrote some kind words of encouragement. Then she asked me for a favor:
This is an excerpt of what she wrote:
Why I am writing you today is that I need your help. I visited a friend a few months a following shoulder surgery. We stopped off at the Cinnamon Bear Café in Coleman, Alberta on the Crow's Nest Pass on the way and there I picked up the most delicious Lemon Blueberry Cookies that I have ever tasted!!! My friend and I tried to recreate the recipe but couldn't. When she was bringing me back to the airport, we stopped off there again and I picked up more of those cookies to try to figure out the recipe. I did ask the woman owner for it and the lovely woman stated that they were made with margarine and lemon peel and were primarily a shortbread cookie. So at home I made several more attempts to replicate the taste and amazing consistency, to no avail. So I am wondering if I asked you nicely, if you could ask her nicely and somehow obtain the recipe. I know it is wishful thinking on my part, but I have always been a bit of a dreamer and I thought I would ask.
I love dreamers. I also enjoy challenges like this. I couldn't ask the owner of the Café for the recipe, as she didn't have a website or email that I could find. I did however, within a few days, come up with a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Shortbread based on my New York Times Rosemary Shortbread. I used lemon peel (zest) like the Cinnamon Bear Café, but not margarine (never been a fan).
The cookies were delicious and I took them to our church small group with lots of rave reviews. I decided then and there that buttery, sweet shortbread, blueberries and lemon were a wonderful combination. But had no idea if my recipe was anything like my Canadian friend's beloved cookies and it seemed like I had no way of finding out.
Was I ever wrong! A couple of months later Scott came in from getting the mail with a little package postmarked, Canada. It was a lemon blueberry cookie for me to try - from The Cinnamon Bear Café! How fun! The cookie had traveled well and was accompanied by a sweet note. I immediately noticed it was a drop cookie rather than a classic shortbread which is rolled and cut into circles, squares, etc. or patted into a pan.
I poured a glass of cold milk and took a bite. The flavor was wonderful - lemony with bursts of blueberry and the texture was quite sturdy (it had traveled halfway across a continent!), yet light. Hmmm....
I tried several recipes without success before coming up with one (adapted from Allrecipes) that seems to be fairly close. At first, I had a bit of trouble making them look attractive (important for a food blog), but I found using the tiny wild dried blueberries (or chopping regular size dried blueberries) and scooping the dough with a cookie scoop helped a lot.
So I hope my Canadian friend doesn't have to travel all the way to The Cinnamon Bear Café when the craving for these delicious cookies comes over her. You too can whip up a batch of these Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cookies any time you want. Hey, you could even open your own little Café and sell them. Who knows? There might be someone from half a continent away begging you for the recipe...
LOTS OF PEOPLE ASK WHAT KIND OF COOKWARE, SMALL APPLIANCES, CUTLERY, ETC. I USE IN THE KITCHEN. HERE'S WHAT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE.
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Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup dried blueberries*
- 1 tablespoon apple juice or water
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- finely grated zest from 2 small lemons
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup white sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine dried blueberries and apple juice or water in a microwave-safe cup or bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high or 45 seconds. Set aside to cool. Blueberries will absorb the juice (or water) and plump up a bit.
- Preheat oven to 325˚F (150˚C). Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir well, then add cooled blueberries and lemon zest. Stir again, then set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients, mix until completely combined.
- With a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop dough onto prepared sheet pans, 1 ½ inches apart. I use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop (size and number of cookies will depend on the size of your scoop). Sprinkle each cookie lightly with sugar and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
I use a 2 tablespoon size cookie scoop and get about 2 dozen cookies - size and number of cookies will depend on the size of your scoop.
Nutrition
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Since others commented that the cookies weren't lemony enough (and I love lemon), I soaked the dried blueberries in fresh lemon juice along with a splash of lemon extract. The cookies turned out amazing. The short bread texture is perfect. Great recipe!
Hi Mindy, Thanks for the excellent review and for sharing your creative idea to soak the blueberries in lemon juice! It's lovely to hear how well these turned out for you - we appreciate you taking the time to let us know!
I have tons of frozen blueberries. Do you think 🤔 I could unfreeze and use my small deyhydrator to dry them? Or, maybe just put in dehydrator frozen? 🤔
Hi Granny Franny, I haven't tried to dehydrate frozen berries so I can't say for sure. It wouldn't hurt to try it!
I just love your site. All of your recipes are wonderful. Thank you for what you do.
Thank you for the kind and encouraging comment, Catherine!
OK, I think this is going to be a hot mess. LOl!
I had freeze dried blueberries, I'm guesssing that is the same as just dried berries???
I chopped them up because I couldn't find the mini ones. Added lemon juice and put in the mircrowave. It came out a mushy mess.
when I added to the cookie dough , the dough came out purple. OMGSH. They are in in the oven now, will see how they taste. LOL
Hi Maria, sadly, freeze-dried blueberries are not like dried blueberries and will give you a lot more liquid when hydrated.
I liked the cookie BUT I really didn’t think there was enough lemon flavor. Maybe if you measured your dry ingredients and grated the lemon peel and let it sit in the flour longer. I will do that first, them make the rest of the dough. I tried this cookie in a department store that had a coffee shop in it. The cookies were large and they heated them. Delicious and this recipe is very close to that cookie
Hi Mary, thanks for your review. You could also add a little lemon extract or extra lemon zest if you prefer more lemon flavor.
I have read this trick elsewhere: vigorously rub the sugar and grated lemon peel together with your finger tips. This will infuse the sugar with the lemon oil and bring out the lemon flavor.
By the way, this cookie recipe is lovely and I am going to try it.
Thanks, Pamela!
This is one of the best cookie recipes I've tried in a long time. The cookies are light and lemony. You can use blueberries or without. Especially love these are drop shortbread like cookies. Huge hit at my house!!
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Chris!
Hallo 🙂
So want to try this recipe for giving out Christmas cookies.
My question is how long would they stay fresh in air tight containers?
Thank you 💗
Hi Shamma, they stay good in an airtight container for 3-5 days but they also freeze well.
Lovely recipe! I made a couple small changes but they turned out great. I subbed Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks instead of Butter because my son has a dairy allergy, I also used fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of water/apple juice for the blueberries, and I added an additional 1/4 cup sugar because I noticed you used sweetened dried blueberries and I bought unsweetened ones. They turned out fabulous and I think I am going to add these to my list of Christmas cookies this year. Thank you so much 🙂
Thanks for sharing your results, Kathleen! So happy you enjoyed them!
Just wondering why dried berries instead of fresh since you're rehydrating them? Sorry if I missed the answer in your blog; thanks in advance
Hi Priscilla, even though the dried berries are somewhat rehydrated, they don't have anywhere near the juice of a fresh berry so they don't make the cookies soggy like fresh berries would. The rehydration just makes them a little more moist.
Chris,
It is raining here today in Washington so getting your email was perfect day. I have made all of your shortbread cookies with the exception of the Lemon Blueberry. I immediately got out the ingredients and got to work. Amazing flavor and just melt in your mouth! Thank You! I would love to sit in your kitchen as you try out and tweak all the amazing recipes you send out! They make me and everyone around me very thankful and happy.
Gayle
Thank you for the kind words, Gayle! This is a great rainy day project!
In the mood to bake, and in Covid lockdown. Could I use frozen blueberries instead?
Hi Janet, you can almost always sub frozen berries for fresh berries but neither frozen or fresh will work in these cookies as the moisture will make them too soggy.
Diabetes runs in my family along with other issues so I'm always trying recipes with alternate ingredients. I used 1/2 unsalted butter, sugar blend, and 1/2 wheat flour. I also used lemon juice for the blueberries to add more lemon flavor. They turned out great!
So good to know, Denise! Thanks so much for sharing your review and adaptations. I know this will be so helpful to other readers with dietary considerations.
The flavor of these shortbread cookies are truly delish! However, mine flattened out like crepes. The batter seemed thick enough, but could it be that since I used fresh instead of the dried berry/juice combo, there was too much moisture?
Hi PK, that is definitely why they flattened. You can't use fresh blueberries in cookies. They just won't get crisp due to the moisture. I wanted to use fresh blueberries but had to resort to the dried to make things work.
I made these and some of them flattened out. I followed the recipe exactly and they were still flat. Maybe theres not enough baking powder. Or perhaps I didn’t mix them well enough.
Hi Shay, I'm not sure what went wrong with some of your cookies. The baking powder amount is correct. It's hard to say but I will go back and re-test this recipe when I have a minute.
Great recipe! The cookie were light, flavorful and perfect for our summer picnic. Thank you for sharing 😊
You're welcome! I'm so happy you enjoyed them and appreciate you taking the time to share your results!
Hi, I tried this recipe and the cookies are delicious, however, they spread a little too much. I am wondering about the butter. Does it need to be room temperature or cold? Thank you!
Hi Elsa, I'm not sure exactly why your cookies spread. The butter should be at room temperature so it will blend with the other ingredients. Certain brands of butter have a higher water content than others which can make cookies spread. You could refrigerate the scooped up cookies for a bit before baking to prevent spreading.
Can I skip the waterfor the dried blueberries
You could skip it although it does help plump up the blueberries. An alternative to using the microwave would be to pour boiling water over them and allow them to sit for a while and then drain as instructed.
Why do you indicate it takes over 9 hours prep. time and then in the instructions you work the cookies with out the rest time? Is the 8 hour rest time important or not?
Hi Jessica, a while back I switched recipe plugins and it messed up all of my times. I've been slowly going back and correcting the times but it's taking a while with over 1200 recipes! I'll fix this one now.
HI Chris, Greatly enjoy your blog. A couple of questions: 1. Does the dough need refrigerated at all due to spreading? 2. Do you use salted or unsalted butter? Thanks!
Thanks so much, Rick! This dough does not need any refrigeration before baking. I use salted butter. Enjoy!
Chris, Thanks for your very quick reply. I made these last night for a meeting I have this evening and, of course, had to sneak a taste to make certain they were "share worthy". I gave the other bite to my wife. My exact words, "I think I've found my new favorite summer cookie!" They are gems of a cookie. Thanks for sharing!
These cookies were fantastic! My husband said they were the best cookies ever.
Hi Maureen, yes you could definitely use fresh berries for this jam.
Can they be made Gluten free?
Hi Sheri, I'm sure they could however I have not tried it so I wouldn't want to advise. Please share your results if you try it!
I am so happy to have found this recipe. I have been to the Cinnamon Bear Cafe and have been looking for a recipe for those amazing lemon blueberry cookies. Can't wait to make them. Thank you!
That's so awesome Louise! I can't promise that they're exactly the same but I can promise that they're delish!
Hi Chris. This recipe came up on Pinterest and I laughed and again felt so warm and happy inside as I read all the beautiful comments. It has been a year since we had our lovely little exchange but I continue to enjoy all that you continue to offer us on a daily and weekly basis. We have just celebrated Father's Day aND I was again grateful for your wonderful compilation of recipes so I am never short on ideas.🤔 Thanks for the work you do with so much love and thoughtfulness. And thanks to your wonderful husband for making the finished product look so mouthwatering that I just can't help but make the recipes. As we begin the summer of 2017, I look forward to all your wonderful summer salads. Still with gratitude, Sheila😋
Thanks so much Shelia for such a sweet, kind comment 🙂
I just made this recipe for a cookie exchange at work. They are just delicious! My husband got home from work and commented how good it smelled. He ate one and said it was very good!
What a great recipe!
I have made many of your recipes on pinterest, and thought I should tell you how much I enjoy your recipes....Thank you for sharing your gift!
Thanks so much Kari for taking the time to let us know. So happy you enjoyed them!
What a small world. I too had contacted the owner of Cinnamon Bear for her recipe after my four year old begged me to make these cookies with him. I can't wait to try this version!
That is a small world Erin. Who would think? We really realized that when Scott looked up the location on Google maps!
I am online searching for a lemon blueberry cookie recipe because I am craving the one from the Cinnamon Bear! Thanks for doing the leg work here. I'm making these now!
Oh my gosh! That is amazing 🙂 Hope you enjoy them!
Chris, those cookies look delicious. I am a novice cookie maker and was wondering if fresh wild blueberries could be used in place of the dried ones ?
Hi Tony, in muffins and cakes, you can use fresh blueberries but sadly, in cookies, they would make them get too soggy because of the moisture.
Lemon and blueberries are a match made in culinary heaven and this look scrumptious. I am anxious to try them out on my husband who says he doesn't like sweets.
That is a very nice story, I enjoyed reading it. And the cookies do look delicious, I can just imagine their taste and texture. I will keep them in mind for Christmas baking, that seems to be the only time I bake cookies... 🙂
Dear Chris, a beautifully written blogpost and a gem of a recipe. Unfortunately, it is a bit difficult to find dried blueberries in stores around here but fortunately we have got the internet and it is a cinch to order them online. I simply must give your wonderful recipe a try, dear friend!
Great post!
Andrea
You are so sweet Chris - I love this story and the relationships we find in this unexpected virtual world! Congratulations on developing a wonderful recipe that looks and sounds perfect! What a great combination - blueberries and lemon and in a cookie form is perfection! Have a wonderful week and thanks for sharing this lovely story.
Thanks Tricia! "Unexpected virtual world" - wha a great way to describe it!
That is such a wonderful story, Chris! Your adaptation looks flaky, delicious and one that I would love to try.
Thanks Susan, I love recipes with a story and that you can go back in time a bit each time you make them!
What a fun story with a happy ending Chris, and your version of these cookies look like little bites of heaven! Love the scoop tip too-
Thanks Jenna, love your description!
Great story and beautiful cookies! I love those little dried blueberries and the texture of the cookies looks so perfect 🙂
Thanks Jennifer! Yes, I try to keep a bag of the dried blueberries in my pantry. I love them on salads!
What a great story Chris, and such a wonderful ending for all of us. Love this recipe. These do look scrumptious!
Thanks Cheri!
I'm making these today but using local (Idaho) wild huckleberries; I also love lemon--the two together sound luscious. Thanks for working out this recipe for us; great post as usual.
Oh yum - wild huckleberries sound wonderful!!
What a fun cooking adventure! I have not seen this kind of cookie before, but you really did make them look mouth watering! And with cold milk...I say about ten would make an extremely delicious dinner!
Haha, I love it Ginny. You're a girl after my own heart!
What a fun origin story --- and I agree with Monique, these little gems almost have a scone-like quality --- I need to make them for myself, and I even have dried blueberries in the cupboard 🙂
Yes, I love recipes that have a history!
Oh, my! They look simply divine!!!
Thanks Denise - it's hard to go wrong with shortbread ingredients!
Isn't it just amazing. The internet makes us all like neighbors!! Such a wonderful recipe, the cookie is so light and full of flavor. I can just imagine sitting at a cafe in the heart of Canada sipping tea and eating these wonderful cookies!! So glad you could help her to figure out a recipe and such an amazing company to send you a cookie to sample and base your recipe from. Nothing like finding friends across the world. Happy travels to all of you and may you find lots more recipes to add to your collections.
Thank you for your sweet comment Cindy. And yes you're right, the internet can draw us closer together. It has it's negatives but can be used in so many positive ways too! I love your image of enjoying these cookies 🙂
These cookies somehow remind me of the best muffin tops I had a while ago...they look glorious!
Ha! They do look a bit like muffin tops Angie!
First of all..I agree..once in a while..I have a dear email..thanking me..or telling me they enjoy my blog..heartwarming..
I love the relationships we form..I know they are virtual..but they are there..and real.:)
We can be in our pjs.. we can have a broken arm..no one sees and we are all pretty much equal..no one really knows how much or how little money someone has..I like that.
anyway..secondly..you are amazing at creating recipes..always..the lsit of qualities goes on and on re your blog guys..
Thirdly..how NEAT of that co to send you a cookie..that is SO nice and sweet pardon the pun..
Ad lastly..thank you for this recipe..looks shortbready/sconey/goodie:)
Yes Monique, they are real. I've had the opportunity to meet (in person) some of the virtual friends I've made over the years, and it's like we've known each other all our lives when we actually get together 🙂
Oh, it wasn't the Café that sent me the cookie, it was the reader from Canada. A friend of hers was going past the little bakery and picked some up for her 🙂
Oh mercy these look so wonderfully tasty. I love lemon. I actually don't think I have tried lemon and blueberry together but these really look good. I just don't care for fresh blueberries but I think I would like the freeze dried.
Thanks so much Charlotte. Blueberry and lemon seem to be a match made in heaven!