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
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Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon 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.
Jeanna
This recipe yielded a slightly sweet, more "scone-like" flavor. We had just picked very large Michigan blueberries and they did NOT work well. I think it may have turned out better with much smaller berries. The recipe was unworkable with the called for amount of milk and was better with doubling the milk, but it was still very difficult to work with. I think if the batter was MUCH wetter, it may have yielded better results.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Jeanna, it's too bad the recipe did not work out for you. I have never had any issues with this cookie recipe and unfortunately you are the only one to respond they were too dry and scone like. In the video within the recipe card, I indicate that if needed, to add more milk. As for the issue you had with blueberries, it sounds like smaller berries should have been used. The ingredient list does not indicate to use large berries. As always, a recipe is a guide and this is why there are tips within the post and video to share information that does not show up in the recipe card itself.
bella
i tried this and the dough was really crumbly. Mix a LOT. other than this it was great though!
Kelly
Just made these and they're absolutely amazing
colleen
Can you use other fruit like red raspberries?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Colleen, yes, you can use raspberries. 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
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
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!
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!
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!