My Lemon Raspberry Cookies are the perfect blend of zesty lemon citrus and sweet tart raspberries, creating a bright, delicious treat for spring and summer. This soft, chewy cookie bursts with fresh lemon flavor and pops of juicy raspberry, making it an irresistible addition to your baking repertoire. Ideal for spring gatherings or a cozy afternoon tea, this recipe is simple yet impressive, delivering a balance of tangy and sweet in every bite.
Raspberry Lemon Cookies are the best cookies for spring and summer events like Easter, Mother’s Day, baby showers, or summer parties; their bright, zesty lemon flavor and tart raspberry swirls complement the warm seasons.
They’re also a delightful addition to holiday gatherings such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day, offering a refreshing contrast to heavier desserts. Whether it’s a casual picnic or a festive celebration, these cookies bring a burst of citrusy sweetness to any occasion.
If you are looking for more lemon recipes, I highly recommend my lemon curd muffins and my lemon raspberry sweet rolls! This cookie recipe is also a variation of my lemon blueberry cookies, which would pair perfectly at a baby shower or gender reveal party.
Ingredients
The ingredients for lemon raspberry cookies, like flour, sugar, butter, lemons, and raspberries, are simple staples you likely already have or can easily find at any grocery store. With just a quick trip to the market, you’ll have everything you need to whip up this delicious cookie dough in no time.
- Dry ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Wet ingredients
- Butter (salted butter or unsalted butter, room temperature)
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Egg (room temperature)
- Lemons (room temperature)
- Raspberries (fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries work fine)
- For the glaze
- Powdered sugar for glaze
- Milk for glaze (room temperature)
- Fresh lemon juice for glaze
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Making lemon raspberry cookies is super easy. All you'll need to do is make the lemon cookie dough then stir in the fresh or frozen raspberries. You want to make sure you let the raspberries break up in the cookie dough so that they are swirled through with the lemon flavor and bake evenly. After that all you'll need to do is top with the glaze and voila!
If you don't have a stand mixer, just use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer to bring it all together.
Step 1: Make the cookie dough in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or large bowl with an hand mixer and add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir in the fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries (frozen pictured).
The cookie dough will harden quickly with frozen raspberries so make sure you work quickly. If you are using fresh raspberries, this won't be an issue, but you'll need to be more cautious with the stirring to ensure the raspberries swirl through the cookies rather than fully incorporate into the cookie dough.
Step 2: Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop into cookie dough balls and place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 3: Bake at 350F for 12 minutes, take out and and swirl the hot, soft cookies to perfect the shape.
Place back in the oven for an additional 2-3 minutes or until slightly golden brown on the edges and the tops are matte and set.
Step 4: For best results, allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack completely before mixing together the (optional) glaze and drizzling it on top. Top with fresh lemon zest before the glaze sets to add some extra lemon flavor and color!
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The cookies or cookie dough can be frozen for up to 6 months in an airtight container.
Hint: These cookies will spread more than a typical cookie due to the liquid provided by the frozen raspberries. For best results and perfectly rounded cookies, use the cookie swirl technique linked in step 3 above!
Substitutions
If some of the ingredients don't work for you, that's totally fine!! Here are some of my recommended substitution ingredients.
- Milk: Use high-fat non-dairy milk if you don't want to use dairy! I highly recommend Oatly oat milk (full-fat or regular would be ideal).
- Butter: Use a non-dairy butter like Country Crock's plant butter. While this butter is still pretty soft chilled, make sure it is room temperature for best results.
Variations
Lemon raspberry cookies are incredibly versatile, making it easy to swap ingredients like blueberries or strawberries for raspberries to create new flavor combinations. You can also adjust the citrus by using lime or orange zest, allowing for simple variations to suit any taste or occasion.
- Berries: Swap the raspberries for blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries.
- Citrus: Oranges or limes would be a great alternative to the lemon flavor.
- Toppings/fillings: Mix in half a cup of sweetened coconut flakes to the cookie dough and/or top with the coconut flakes.
- More lemon flavor: add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract to the batter or swap the vanilla extract for lemon extract.
Equipment
- Kitchen scale with a paddle attachment (please weigh your ingredients)
- Stand mixer (or large bowl with an electric mixer for beating the butter and sugar)
- Baking sheets or cookie sheet (I use a half sheet pan)
- Parchment paper
- Two-tablespoon medium cookie scoop
- A small bowl for the glaze
- a whisk or fork for the glaze
- A zester or grater for the lemons
- Cooling rack or wire rack
Storage
For best results, store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw from frozen either the baked cookies or the cookie dough balls in the fridge before baking.
Top tip
Weigh your ingredients for best results! I can't recommend this enough. Kitchen scales are easy to find, affordable, and beneficial to your baking journey. It is the best way to make sure your recipes turn out as accurately as possible. See my "equipment" section above for links to scales I recommend.
FAQ
Yes! See my "substitutions" section for my favorite dairy-free baking ingredients.
Individual cookies that have large concentrations of raspberries will be softer and "bendier" due to the amount of juice provided by the raspberries. You can avoid this by evenly distributing the raspberries through the lemon cookie dough and making sure there is an even amount of cookie dough throughout to hold the shape.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Lemon Raspberry Cookies
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (please weigh your ingredients)
- Stand Mixer (or large mixing bowl with an electric mixer for beating the butter and sugar)
- Baking sheets (I use a half sheet pan)
- Parchment Paper
- Two-tablespoon cookie scoop
- A small bowl for the glaze
- a whisk or fork for the glaze
- A zester or grater for the lemons
- Medium mixing bowl (for mixing together dry ingredients)
Ingredients
Lemon Raspberry Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (226g)
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar 300g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2.75 cups all-purpose flour 330g
- 1 teaspoon salt 3g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest 33g
- 1 cup frozen berries
Lemon Glaze
- 1 Cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon milk use more as needed
- extra lemon zest for decorating optional
Instructions
For the lemon raspberry cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and egg.1 cup unsalted butter, 1.5 cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg, 3 tablespoons lemon zest
- In a medium bowl, mix together your flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add it to your sugar mixture. Be careful not to add too much too soon or your dry ingredients might fly out of the bowl when you turn it back on!2.75 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Stir the frozen raspberries into your dough. If you are using frozen berries, the stand mixer is your friend here, as the chilled berries will harden your dough quickly and make it hard to evenly distribute the berries throughout the cookie dough. If you are using fresh berries, I recommend mixing by hand with a spoon because this will give you the most control over the raspberry swirls.1 cup frozen berries
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out the dough. Place the cookie dough balls on your prepared baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. Then remove them from the oven to reshape them using the scoot method before placing them back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Let them rest on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack.
For the glaze
- After the cookies have cooled completely, make the lemon glaze in a small bowl by whisking together your powdered sugar, lemon juice (or more milk for a vanilla glaze), vanilla, and milk until combined. Don't add all of the liquid at once; add it gradually and stop once you reach a good drizzle consistency where it will hold its shape on the cookies.1 Cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon milk use more as needed
- Drizzle the glaze over the cookies and top with fresh lemon zest. Let the glaze set before serving and enjoy!extra lemon zest for decorating
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