Lemon White Chocolate Cookies

Lemon, white chocolate, and a bit of cinnamon. Like a lemon pie-cookie hybrid!

To be honest, I don’t like white chocolate. (My bias has always been dark chocolate!) I often find it too sweet, so I rarely eat it on its own. 

Paired with another flavor, though, it’s a different story.

I absolutely love white chocolate when complemented by the earthiness of matcha, the bitterness of a double shot espresso, or the tartness of some sour fruit: like raspberries, calamansi, or these zesty lemons. 

One day I had extra lemons lying around plus about a cup of white chocolate that was about to expire, so I pulled them together into this tart-but-sweet cookie. Added a touch of cinnamon, too, for warmth that reminds me of pie.

If you’re up for a different kind of cookie, this might just be what you’re looking for.

LMK if you try it out! You can also watch the tutorial below.

INGREDIENTS

• 160g all-purpose flour
• 2g baking soda
• 2g baking powder
• 4g fine salt
• 113g unsalted butter, melted
• 150g granulated sugar
• zest of 1 whole lemon
• 15g fresh lemon juice
• 5g vanilla paste or extract
• 55g egg (1 large)
• 150g quality white chocolate, chopped into chunks*
• Cinnamon powder for sprinkling
  
  *Tip: Make sure to choose white chocolate you truly enjoy. Preferably couverture white chocolate!

METHOD

1. SIFT DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk and set aside.
2. MIX WET INGREDIENTS. In a larger mixing bowl, rub lemon zest into sugar with clean hands. Pour in melted butter, vanilla, and fresh lemon juice. Whisk until well-combined, then mix in the egg.
3. FOLD. Use a large spatula to gently fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture, then fold in the white chocolate chunks until just distributed. Do not overmix. See tips.
4. FREEZE. Transfer cookie dough to an airtight container and freeze for 30 minutes.
5. PREHEAT. Preheat the oven 180°C and line 2 baking trays with parchment.
6. PORTION. Scoop balls of frozen cookie dough onto the parchment, spaced at least 3 inches apart. Using a small cookie scoop, the dough yields about 12 cookies.
7. BAKE. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Halfway through, rotate the tray for even baking. See tips.
8. SPRINKLE. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon powder over each piece. Cool and enjoy!

TIPS

What is couverture chocolate?
Compared to compound chocolate, couverture chocolate has a silkier mouthfeel and higher cacao content. For this recipe, I used Auro 32% White Chocolate coins, which I chopped into chunks. Feel free to use any brand you enjoy! Do keep in mind that the quality of your cookies would depend on the quality of your ingredients.

Avoid scrambled eggs.
When whisking your wet mixture, make sure the melted butter has slightly cooled before adding in your egg. Otherwise, you might cook the egg!

Don’t overmix. Ever!
Overmixing your dough can result in excess gluten development, making your cookies unpleasantly dense and tough. To avoid this, fold dry ingredients in batches. When you have just 10% of dry ingredients left, add and fold it in with the chocolate chunks.

Adjust baking time as needed.
Total baking time is affected by your oven, your cookie portion sizes, and how frozen your cookie dough is before scooping. To know when they’re done, it’s best to go by color (golden brown edges!) and not by time.

For bakery-style cookies…
Nudge those edges! I love rustic, homemade cookies—but for that professional bakery look, you can use a large spatula to gently push in the edges and make your cookies rounder. Do this once they come out of the oven, before they cool on the wire rack.

Thank you for checking out my recipes! Let me know when you try them out. If you have any questions, comment below or reach me on TikTok / Instagram!