Blueberry Muffin Cookies
Big thick levain inspired lemon cookies with lots of fresh lemon flavor, studded with fresh blueberries and chunks of white chocolate. These cookies have crunchy/crispy edges and softer middles.
The inspiration for these ‘blueberry muffin’ cookies came after my daughter and I had visited Levain bakery and I had one of their ‘lemon cookies’: a giant cookie with a subtle lemon flavor and white chocolate chips. I wanted to make something like it but with more emphasis on the lemon and with blueberries too. I consulted Modern Honey’s copycat levain chocolate chip recipe and reworked it to fit what I wanted to do here: no brown sugar but still moist in the center and crispy on the edges, lots of lemon (zest and extract) and with bursting blueberries.
I didn’t know what to call them but when I looked at them post-bake I saw a blueberry muffin top so… muffin cookies it is!
Recipe Ingredients
Sugar: fine granulated sugar. Reducing the sugar will reduce the moisture in the cookies and change the texture.
Lemon: we want as much lemon zest as possible, from fresh lemons. Wash the lemons and rub dry. Then use a microplane to finely zest (avoid the white pith) the lemons over the sugar.
Butter: I use american style butter in these cookies; if you use european (it has a higher butterfat percentage) the cookies might spread a bit more.
Salt: fine sea salt or fine kosher salt. If using table salt, halve the amount.
Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
Lemon extract: this will amplify the lemon flavor. Use a good quality!
Egg: one whole large egg and an egg yolk from a large egg. Reserve the white for another use.
Oil: any flavorless oil.
Flour: all purpose flour of a medium to high protein content.
Baking Soda: to leaven the cookie dough.
Blueberries: fresh blueberries that are firm. We don’t want them bursting while we mix the dough or the extra water will make for a cakey cookie.
White Chocolate: white chocolate chips. Chopped up chunks work too.
How to Make Blueberry Muffin Cookies
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Line two cookie sheets (standard size) with parchment paper. A little grease helps hold the paper in place.
Set the sugar in a large bowl and zest the lemons over it.
Rub the zest into the sugars to release the lemon oils.
Add the vanilla, baking soda, salt, lemon extract and butter to the bowl.
Use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar. This can take up to 5 minutes, since the butter is on the colder side. Take your time and scrape the bowl as needed in between breaks.
Add the egg, egg yolk and oil to the bowl and beat very well, until smooth.
Add the flour and beat it in until it’s halfway mixed in then stop.
Add the blueberries and white chocolate, and use a rubber spatula to mix them into the dough (the rest of the flour will get mixed in as you do). Be gentle when doing this, careful to avoid bursting any of the blueberries.
Rather than using a cookie scoop to portion this, use the spatula to lift a portion of the dough out and place it on the cookie sheet. Weigh them so they are around 100g per cookie (these are big!) or about a quarter of a cup. You can also make even larger cookies (think of a bakery style muffin size).
Place the dough mounds so they have space to spread, at least an inch around each cookie.
Bake them on the bottom rack (this will set the edges quicker) until nicely browned, for 9-10 minutes. Then transfer to the middle rack to keep cooking the interior, until just set. Total time should be around 12-13 minutes.
FAQ
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
I haven’t tried this, the dough is on the thicker side, designed to make a thick slightly dry cookie so a long chill period could dry them out negatively. I would not make them more than a few hours before I planned to bake.
Can I use frozen blueberries?
No, the extra water from the ice that sticks to the blueberries plus their tendency to burst when slightly pressed will lead to extra water in the dough and make for a cakey cookie.
Blueberry Muffin Cookie Recipe
Blueberry Muffin Cookies with Lemon & White Chocolate
Ingredients
- 250g or 1 ¼ cup fine granulated sugar
- Zest of 3 large or 4 small lemons
- 226g or 1 cup unsalted butter slightly softened
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks (can sub one egg yolk for 1 tablespoon of oil, if needed - cookie will be crunchier)
- 390g or 3 cups all purpose flour if using cup measurements shake the flour over the measuring cups and then level - never dip it in and overpack the cup
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 200g fresh blueberries
- 100g or ½ cup white chocolate chips
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Pour the sugar into a large mixing bowl and zest the lemons over it. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers for a few minutes, to release the oils.
- Add the butter, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and lemon extract and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer. Beat until airy and well creamed, for about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the egg, and egg yolks and beat until creamy. Add the flour, starch and beat until half combined. Add the blueberries (in the video I tossed my blueberries in the starch but this isn't necessary) and white chocolate chips to the bowl. Switch to using a rubber spatula (or your hands) to gently mix the berries and chocolate in, careful not to burst any of the berries. Stop as soon as the dough is evenly mixed.
- Use the spatula to spoon out a scoop of dough that’s around 100g (about a quarter of a cup) and place it on the prepared cookie sheet. You’ll have enough for 11 large cookies. Alternatively make even bigger cookies that are 150g each (these will need to bake longer). Leave enough space around the cookie balls for them to spread, at least an inch.
- Bake the first batch of cookies on the lower rack of the oven, closer to the heat source, for 9-10 minutes (this will help the edges set quicker) then transfer to the middle rack for an additional 2-3 minutes, until golden and the cookies look dry in the middle (not doughy). Let them cool on the pan. Bake the second batch the same way.
- Store cookies in an airtight container. They’re best within 24 hours of baking.
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These are gorgeous — just the chunkiest cookie, bursting with fresh flavours. I personally find them to be best day-of, as they get a little wetter throughout the next few days. (Nothing that popping them back in the oven for a few minutes doesn’t solve, though!)
Phenomenal as always! These cookies are delightfully thick and chunky, and absolutely loaded with add-ins! The trick of baking lower at first made the edges crispy and crunchy, but kept the insides chewy and moist. I made these cookies exactly as written, but I’d love to experiment at some point in the future with folding in a crunchy streusel or stuffing with cream cheese!
I’m definitely making these delicious-looking cookies but am wondering how best to store them after baking…? In particular do they need to be refrigerated because of the berries? Thanks — I love your writing and recipes!
Hi Gayle! Room temp is fine for the cookies, but fridge works too – you want them in an airtight container for the fridge.