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Lemon and White Chocolate Sugar Cookies - my husband says I should "charge admission" for this cookie recipe. They are really, really good with crisp, edges, chewy centers and lots of bright, lemon flavor!

Lemon and White Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Prep Time 3 hours 18 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 18 minutes
Author Adapted from Cook's Country by Chris Scheuer

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • zest of 1 medium size lemon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 14 tablespoons butter
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 large egg plus one egg yolk
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips or 6 ounces white chocolate
  • ½ cup Demera or Turbinado sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Place chocolate chips (or white chocolate) on a cutting board and, with a large, sharp knife, coarsely chop them. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, lemon zest, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave on high power. This should take 1-1 ½ minutes, depending on the microwave. Allow the butter to cool for 5 minutes. It should warm to the touch, not hot. Add the sugar, vanilla and lemon extract. Mix with a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon until smooth.
  5. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until well combined.
  6. Add flour mixture and stir just until combined and flour is incorporated. Mixture will be thick. Add white chocolate and mix to combine. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  7. Place Demera (or Turbinado) sugar in a shallow bowl. Remove dough from refrigerator, scoop up and roll into balls, about 2 tablespoons for each cookie. I like to use an ice cream scoop. Roll the balls in the Demera sugar and place on prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with a bit more Demera sugar.
  8. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they have puffed and are slightly golden at edges, about 12-14 minutes. Be careful not to over bake the cookies or they will be dry. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Demera or Turbinado sugar is a coarse natural sugar. It is also sometimes labeled Sugar in the Raw. You'll find it at most larger grocery stores in the baking aisle near the regular granulated sugar. I actually like the Turbinado sugar better for these particular cookies as it's just a little bit lighter in color than Demera but either one will work.