These Blueberry Cookies with Lemon Glaze are packed with fresh blueberries and complemented with a light lemon glaze. Soft and cake like, they are a version of my Nanny's old fashioned recipe that she used to always have in her cookie box.
Blueberries are my favorite fruit. So, it's no surprise I decided to re-create my grandmother's recipe to include this particular fruit. The tender crumb of this cookie, the bright citrus flavor,
I believe the one memory every one of my cousins and I have, is going to visit Nanny and Poppy and eating her cookies. She made the best cookies out there!
Nanny loved each and every one her grandchildren and made us all feel special. She loved to offer us a cookie when we would visit. I like to emulate her, which is probably why I love to bake her cookies. Doing so brings me memories of her and keeps her alive in my heart and mind. Plus, I just love to make people smile when I offer them a soft blueberry cookie!
How to mix the dough for the perfect blueberry cookies
- Don't skip sifting the flour before measuring.
- Scoop the flour lightly with a large spoon into the measuring cup. Then, level it off with a knife being sure to not pack the flour tight into the cup.
- If your mixture is too wet, add a little more flour at a time until you form a dough ball.
- If your mixture is too dry, add a little more milk at a time until it forms a dough.
- Be gentle when folding the blueberries into the dough so you don't crush them.
- Try not to handle the dough too much. Doing so will make the cookies drier and tougher.
Below is a photo of what the blueberry cookie dough will look like if there is not enough liquid. This is where I would add a couple more tablespoons of milk. Then I would add the blueberries and gently fold them in.
Cut and Roll
- Be sure you have a pastry mat on your surface that you have generously sprinkled flour over top of.
- Pat the dough into a ball. Be gentle when doing this so you don't burst the blueberries.
- Flatten the dough out with the palms of your hands.
- Flour your rolling pin and applying light pressure, gently roll the dough out, keeping it fairly thick. About ¾ of an inch.
- To prevent your cookie from sticking to the cookie cutter, be sure to dip in flour before you cut each circle.
Icing Tips
- Be sure you cookies have cooled completely.
- Your glaze should be thick enough to spread, but thin enough to drizzle down the side of the cookie.
- Let the icing dry completely before storing the cookies.
- If stacking the cookies in a storage container, place a sheet of wax paper between the cookies to prevent them sticking together.
💭 Top Tips
- If you don't plan to eat them within a couple of days, place them in the freezer until an hour before you are ready to serve them.
- You can freeze these cookies with or without the frosting. However, my first choice would be to freeze them without frosting them.
- These cookies can be stored in the freeze for up to 4 weeks.
About Fresh Blueberries
These cookies are very soft and tender due to the fresh blueberries. Because of this, they will tend to weep a blue color through the cookie onto the icing. The longer they sit, the more they will do this.
It does not affect the taste, just the visual. If you prefer, you can add the lemon glaze to the cookies right before serving. This way you will have a visually perfect cookie every time!
For those who always wonder what Grumpy thought of this recipe, well, he made several trips to the kitchen to return to the living room with a cookie. One of those times I asked him if he grabbed another cookie. His response was "
PIN and share Soft Blueberry Cookies
If you like soft, old fashioned cookies, then you may also like:
Soft Blueberry Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3-½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
For the Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 lemons juiced
- 1 lemon zest
Instructions
- To make the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together sugar, egg, canola oil, and vanilla and milk. Set aside.
- Stir together baking powder, baking soda, salt and 3 cups flour. Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour liquid into well. Stir until almost combined, then add 2 cups fresh blueberries. Continue to fold ingredients together being careful to not stir too hard in order to keep blueberries intact.
- Turn dough out onto well floured board and gently knead dough to form a soft dough that holds together well, adding more flour as needed. Pat dough down to about ¾ inch thick. Cut cookies with biscuit cutter and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cookies have puffed and no indent is made when top of cookie is touched with your finger.
- Remove from oven and cool at least 15 minutes.
- To make the icing
- Stir together powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add more powdered sugar if you want a thicker glaze. Frost cookies with glaze and let sit until glaze has completely dried. Store in airtight container.
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama
I just adore lemons and blueberries together, and I am sucker for thick, soft cookies. These look delicious, Shelby! 🙂
Sandra
I wouldn't be able to resist a handful of these cookies either! I love blueberries and lemon together. What a special recipe, Shelby!
Elena Salika
Please can i replace the freshh bluberries with frozen? thank you!!!!
Shelby
Hi Elena, Yes, you can replace the fresh blueberries with frozen. Enjoy!
Lisa
How do you make the icing on the blueberry cookies
Shelby
Hi Lisa, it is the last step in the recipe card. I updated the card so it is easier to see the step. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Nola
This was just what I was looking for! A little lemon with some blueberries, so refreshing and light. I can't wait to make them. Thank you for a great recipe!
Nola
PART 2: They WERE delicious!! Thank you, Shelby!
Shelby
So happy to hear this!! 🙂
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables
These look amazing! I loooove soft cookies, especially with blueberries! 🙂
Diana
These blueberry cookies looks amazing! I wouldn't be able to resist 🙂
April @ Girl Gone Gourmet
It's the recipes passed down that mean so much, right? I love how making certain things brings back memories -- loved reading yours about your Nanny. Beautiful cookies 🙂
Britni
I don't think I have ever had blueberry cookies before and this looks like the perfect recipe to start with!
claudia
Well I have to say I am very surprised I didnt at least comment on how fabulous these were last year when I made them ... these were the best cookies with blueberries I ever had. I made a different recipe I posted no where near as good. Sorry it took me so long to visit this and thanks for posting to remind me its time to make them soon! XO take care
Shelby
Thanks Claudia! Those word mean a lot to me, I know how fabulous of a cook you are! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
This looks so delicious! I wish I could grab these cookies out of the screen!! Thanks for sharing the recipe
Heather
These look absolutely scrumptious! My family will adore them. I am betting they won't last a day in my house!
I am wondering if the canola oil can be replaced with another type of oil and it still yield the same amazing results? Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!!!
Shelby
Yes, you could use vegetable oil or you could try butter or even coconut oil. I would stay away from corn oil or peanut oil though. They would have a definite flavor change.
Shelby
If I used butter, I would melt it...as well as the coconut oil.
Pat
Cookie dough is very dry, not able to roll it out and cut the cookies. I had to get some in my hand and pat them out, very messy! But they were delicious!
Shelby
Hi Pat, not sure why the dough was dry but likely too much flour. I would cut back on the flour some and only add a little as needed if you make these again. Glad you enjoyed them though and I hope you do try to make them again! Thanks for stopping by to let me know. 🙂
Alina
Followed the recipe exactly and they were very crumbly. I couldn't really rol them . There were too many blueberries. They tired out okay. Didn't really look like cookies tho. The icing I found very lemony and I only used the juice from one lemon. All in all dissapointed
Shelby
Hi Alina, I'm sorry these didn't turn out for you. When you find you have a dough that is too dry, you can always add a little extra milk. Also, how you scoop the flour can make a difference in the texture, I always stir my flour in the canister then spoon lightly into a measuring cup so as to not pack the cup. Depending on how you measured your flour could have made a difference in how dry they were. Good luck finding your perfect cookie!
Priscilla
Ahhhh these were so great! My son has a milk allergy, so I love recipes that only have one dairy item that I need to substitute for. I ended up needing about 1/2 cup almond milk as a substitute for the milk. They turned out great! I even made them with a star cookie cutter for the Fourth of July and that worked just fine! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Shelby
So happy these worked for you! Thank you for letting me know!
Carrie
Mine ended up being extremely messy and sticky. I followed the recipe but maybe too many blueberries?
Shelby
Hi Carrie, it could be one of several reasons however one way to fix a messy sticky mess is to add more flour, which will help draw up that moisture. If you think you may have put in too many blueberries, you could reduce the amount you add. Blueberries do release a lot of liquid when cooking so even though you could use fresh or frozen, I would tend to go fresh just because of the water in a frozen blueberry.
Priyamvada
Cani use dry blueberries ?
Shelby
Yes! You can use dried blueberries. Naturally the texture of the fruit is different, but it will still be delicious! 🙂
Barbara Schieving
These sound like a must try!
Julie
I am going to try these but wondered how your grandmothers recipe with pineapple was used? Thanks for sharing
Shelby
Hi Juilie! My grandmother's recipe with the pineapple is one of the original cookies in my Soft Cookie eBook that is free to subscribers of my blog and you can find the recipe there. I hope you enjoy these soft blueberry cookies!
Gail
I tried these and I was disappointed. They didn't turn into a cookie but more of a flat muffin. To fold this without breaking the blueberries was impossible 🙁
Shelby
I'm so sorry you were disappointed Gail. If you tell me what you did, maybe I can help you figure out what went wrong.
Gail
I followed the recipe. After mixing the dry ingredient a with the wet it was pretty firm so when I folded in the blueberries they started to burst and only got worse as I pressed the dough to 3/4"
Shelby
I would maybe decrease the flour and only add a little at a time until you had a soft dough and add the blueberries when it's still soft. When rolling them out they will be really soft and delicate like, but they will bake fluffy and tender. I would treat it similar to a biscuit dough - that you don't want to handle too much. If you do try again, I'd love to know and hopefully they turn out for you.
RACHEL WHITE
HI, I just made these, thankyou for sharing the recipe! I never thought to add blueberries to a cookie before.
They came out pretty good, although next time I will probably tweak a couple things to my liking. I think they could use more sugar..possibly less flour. mine came out kinda doughy. these remind me of mini cakes. (I didnt even attempt to roll them out. I just spooned them onto the baking sheet. they were messy) But I had fun making (and eating) them.
Shelby
Hi Rachel! Thank you for letting me know how it worked for you. I'm sure when you make them again you can perfect them to your liking 🙂
Jolene
These sound delicious! QUESTION - do you think its possible to turn these into a scoop cookie? Even a scoop that you roll in your hands? I'm not a big fan of anything I have to roll out. LOL
Shelby
You can try! I know, I'm not the biggest fan of rolling out cookies either. I'm kind of lazy about that, but when I make Nanny's cookies I usually do it the way she did, but for sentimental reasons more so than anything. If you do, let me know. I would love to know how they turned out for you!
Sheila
Hello Shelby,
These blueberry cookies look amazing and I am sure they taste even better than they look. I would love to make them.
One request; is it possible to add a step by step video or pictures making the cookies? That would be awesome to watch/see and would make more admirers brave enough to attempt baking them.
Pretty please. Sincerely, Sheila
Shelby
Hi Shelia, Yes, I will do this! It may take me a few weeks because I have a lot going on this month, but I will make it my goal to do this for you!
Rachel
These cookies were delicious & everyone loved them!
I was careful to not pack the flour, used 3 cups & used out of the 1/2 cup for
flouring the board & the top of the dough (only using about 1/4c). The dough
was nice to work with. Just a little more time consuming when cutting out as I
didn't want to cut the blueberrie!!
Thank you for the recipe!
Shelby
Hi Rachel! So happy you let me know how you loved them and for sharing how you put them together 🙂 Thank you!
Tash
Hi from NZ! I'm wondering if you had any tricks on how to deal with the dough when you use frozen blueberries? It all siezed up and was impossible to work with. I did coat them in flour first. Would love to make these properly! Thanks 🙂
Shelby
Hi Tash, I haven't made these with frozen blueberries but my suggestion would be to let them thaw some prior to using them (still coat them in a little bit of flour first. Also, maybe use a little less flour in the dough at first. I will have to give these a run with frozen blueberries so I can come back in here and update. Please let me know if my suggestions helped and watch for an update to come in the next month! (It's about time I made these again anyway!)
Diana
Followed your tip with carefully measuring flour and these are delicious!! And easy...
Shelby
Hi Diana, thanks for letting me know! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
ashley
Beautiful cookies!
Leia
Blueberries in a cookie, I like your thinking!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
These cookies look amazing!!
alyssa | everydaymaven
My kids would love these!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
Blueberries are the best!
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen
Such a great combination!
Jennifer
Blueberries and lemon are my favorite combo!
Rebecca | Let's Eat Cake
Yum! I'm going to save this one for when I get get delicious fresh berries!
Richa Gupta
Wow I love anything that involves Blueberry!
Sylvia
These were a hit with my co-workers. Cakey and moist. I added a little milk until the batter looked more like it does in the video. I also cut the lemons in the glaze back by half. Used the zest of half a lemon and the juice of one and that was still almost too tart.
Shelby
Hi Sylvia, I'm happy to hear these were a hit! Thank you for stopping by and sharing!
Julia
Lemon and blueberries? What a heavenly flavor combo! I would definitely have hard time sharing these with someone 🙂 🙂
kim
Love the blueberry lemon combo! Will definitely be giving these a try! Yum!
Heidy
Lemons and blueberries are one of my favorite flavor combinations. These would be perfect to make for our church potluck.
Chef Markus Mueller
Blueberry season is almost upon us here in PEI Canada, I absolutely can't wait to try these with my homegrown blueberries! Pinned it for later too!
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats
Love how big and fluffy those look! Lemon and blueberry? Yes, please!
Lovelyn
Thank you for sharing your recipe. These were AMAZING! I would never have thought to make blueberry cookies, however, after blueberry picking, I needed to get creative. So glad I found your recipe. Easy to make. Happy it didn’t require any butter. LOVE the frosting. So refreshing and delicious!!!
Shelby
Hi Lovelyn, thank you so much for stopping by to share your experience! I'm so glad these turned out for you and that you loved them!
JenBird
These are wonderful! I added extra juice and zest to the icing because I'm crazy about lemon. Also baked them until they were a little brown around the edges because I prefer firmer cookies. That said, make these with or without changes; they're fantastic! Thank you, Shelby
Shelby
Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know how they turned out! Glad you liked them!
Cherie Moyer
Cookies look wonderful! I will be making them for my daughter's wedding next year. One question though: do you think I can freeze these? Thanks so much!
Shelby
Hi Cherie, yes, I think you can freeze them. I would do so immediately after cooling and I would not glaze them until they were defrosted and then not glaze them until the day of your event. I also would not freeze them more than 6-8 weeks. I would be concerned about freezer burn and them drying out if they were frozen for any longer than that. I definitely suggest giving them a trial run before your daughter's big day! 🙂 Congratulations!
Kathleen
My family really loves these cookies. I have one family member who is particularly fond of blueberries, so anythting with blueberries makes her day. I plan to make a double batch so I can have some take some to church.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Kathleen! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with me! I think it's awesome you are making a double batch and will be taking some to share with your church family also! ˜Shelby
jana
I just made these Blueberry Cookies im waiting for them to cool so that i can glaze them. Easy to follow recipe and they already taste great without the glaze. Thank you for posting.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Jana, thanks for letting me know. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe! Shelby