Are they dessert or breakfast? Does it really matter? You’ve landed in blueberry paradise and you’re going to love every single bite! These soft blueberry muffin cookies are irresistible. Packed with blueberries and brightened with a hint of lemon, these cakey cookies taste like muffin tops and are so easy to make. Top with sparkling sugar and a sweet lemon glaze for a truly unforgettable treat!
As soon as I made a successful batch of lemon ricotta cookies, I knew I was in trouble. A giant new world of soft cakey cookies was right in front of me and I couldn’t soften butter quickly enough (check out that trick if you haven’t already—it might come in handy!). While dense and chewy cookies will always have my heart, I have definitely undervalued soft, cakey cookie for too long.
Adapted from my blueberry muffins, these blueberry muffin cookies tastes like a cross between blueberry muffins, blueberry scones, and butter cookies. You will INHALE them.
Tell Me About these Blueberry Muffin Cookies
- Texture: The super-soft cookie contrasts beautifully with the crunchy sugar-coated top and crumbly edges. (Same great textures you experience when you eat scones.)
- Flavor: Rich buttery centers with juicy sweet-tart blueberries, a sugary coating, and a tangy lemony glaze. What’s not to love here?
- Ease: Simple. With fresh, easily accessible ingredients, anyone can make these mouthwatering cookies.
- Time: With minimal chill time, you can have 3 dozen cookies prepped and ready to bake in about an hour.
Video Tutorial
Blueberry Muffin Cookies: What Works & What Doesn’t
Here are a few tips and helpful hints I learned while testing these blueberry muffin cookies.
- Be careful with those blueberries. Fold them in very gently. If you’re too rough with the batter, the berries can burst and tint your cookie dough green.
- Minimal dough chilling. The dough is thick—sort of like a cross between cake batter and cookie dough. When you have an especially thick cookie dough, that usually means it’s sturdy enough for minimal dough chilling. Just cover it and pop it in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes before scooping and baking.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
Even if you have a shocking amount of self-control around baked goods, these blueberry muffin cookies are too tempting to resist. These key ingredients/additions will make sure of it:
- Coarse sugar: For a contrast of texture, the cookies can be sprinkled with coarse sugar before going into the oven. You could also sprinkle it on top as the baked cookies cool. Either way, you’re promised a sparkly crunch. I love adding coarse sugar to my strawberry biscuit cookies, too.
- Lots of blueberries: Every bite of this cookie has a juicy blueberry. They’ll burst open, leaving beautiful purple streaks down the tops, which look beautiful under the lemon glaze. (Who isn’t a sucker for a pretty cookie?)
- Lemon glaze: Smooth lemon glaze finishes the blueberry muffin cookies. This glaze is slightly different from the lemon glaze on my lemon ricotta cookies. I subbed some half-and-half in for the lemon juice so it’s a little creamier. You can skip the dairy entirely and just use all lemon juice if you prefer.
While these blueberry muffin cookies taste good without the crunchy sugar topping and lemon glaze, they definitely taste better with both.
Use a Cookie Scoop
This is a thick and sticky dough, so a cookie scoop is ideal. Scoop 1.5 Tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto the baking sheet, evenly spacing them 3 inches apart. I like this cookie scoop for measuring the dough.
If You Love Blueberries:
- Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Homemade Blueberry Pie
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Blueberry Muffin Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 32-36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Adapted from my Blueberry Muffins, these soft and cakey blueberry muffin cookies are completely irresistible. Packed with blueberries and a hint of lemon, these cake-like cookies taste like muffin tops and are so easy to make. Top with sparkling sugar and lemon glaze for a truly unforgettable cookie!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
- 2 cups (280g) fresh or frozen blueberries
- optional for a little crunch: coarse sugar
Lemon Glaze
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1–2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) half-and-half (or heavy cream or milk)
Instructions
- Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and milk. Beat everything just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Dough will be very creamy, sticky, and thick. With a spoon or silicone spatula, carefully fold blueberries into cookie dough. Handle with care because some may break a little. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes and up to 2-3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Scoop cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons each, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle each with a little coarse sugar. Gives the cookies an extra crunch. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until a cookie springs back when lightly poked with your finger. (That’s how I test them!)
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and half-and-half together until smooth. Add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more lemon juice/half-and-half to thin, if desired. Spoon over cookies. If applied lightly, the glaze will set within a couple hours.
- Glazed cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions:Â You can chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (see step 2), but you can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking. Unglazed and baked cookies freeze well for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before glazing and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Coarse Sprinkling Sugar
- Blueberries: If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw. Frozen blueberries have the tendency to bleed quite a bit in the batter/dough. I prefer to use fresh.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
I don’t think it makes a bit of difference, BUT the bowl size directions had me adding the wet ingredients to the dry! I needed the room to gently fold the blueberries in.
You see, Sally I follow your recipes exactly! I hope the directions never say “go jump off a bridge “ LOL! I probably would, just to get the the recipe to turn out! Thanks Sally , another winner!
When my people ask who’s recipe and I reply SALLY, all SMILES!
Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes, Kelly!
Could I use Lemon extract instead of lemon juice In the cookie dough? If so how much?
Hi Erin, we haven’t tested using lemon extract in these cookies. We would replace the lemon juice with the same amount of milk to keep the wet to dry ratio the same. You could try adding a very tiny amount of lemon extract or just leave it out. Let us know what you try!
The cookies were flavorful, but a little heavy on the lemon for our taste, which didn’t really let the blueberries shine. The cookies did have a nice cake texture, but just needed a bit more support. They came out a little flat and VERY delicate. I would try to increasing the flour by a quarter cup next time, as well as reduce the lemon rind to 1 teaspoon. I did let the dough chill in the refrigerator overnight, as recommended and they were impossible to scoop without cutting/ crushing the berries. They needed to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping.
These are absolutely DELICIOUS and so unique! I will definitely be making these again. Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
Hi! I’ve made this recipe two times now. The first time, I forgot to add the milk and thought they wouldn’t turn out, but they did! The second time, I made sure to add the milk, and they turned out really good, but I think I, personally, like the first batch without the milk better. They were a bit firmer after baking and held up well to travel.
Thank you so much for all the hard work you do!!!!! I love your site, have all your cookbooks, and I don’t know what I’d do without you!
Hi Sally this is an awesome recipe! I did not have blueberries but had fresh cranberries. I replaced the lemon juice with orange juice ( same measurements) and replaced the lemon zest with orange zest. They were fantastic! Thank you!
Would dried blueberries work?
Hi Tracy, You can definitely use dried blueberries. You can use the mixer to beat in 1 and 1/2 cups. If you think it needs more, add another 1/2 cup.
These cookies are genius! A mixture of my two favorite baked goods muffins and cookies.
Hi Sally. Can I omit the lemon zest and juice and replace the blueberries with chocolate chips?
Hi Ann, We haven’t tested this recipe that way but it should be fine. You may wish to replace the 2 TBS of lemon juice with the same amount of milk to keep the same amount of liquid in the dough. But it should be fine to leave out the zest and use chocolate chips instead of berries. You may also enjoy these chocolate chip muffins!
These are perfect. I made them for my daughters and the first thing that they said was, “This are just like Elaine’s muffin tops on Seinfeld.” Then they asked me to make more because they were all gone. As usual, you have given us a gem. Thanks.
So glad to hear they were a hit, Dean!
I had blueberries..and why eat fresh fruit when you can bake it???
These were delicious. Even with my current issue of forgetting to put the egg until after the flour…sigh….they turned out really good.
They were a hit with my husband and at work. 🙂
I bake a lot but and this recipe was a disaster for me. Maybe because I used frozen blueberries. The dough was so thick and tough it was next to impossible to blend in the berries. They taste ok.
We had a bountiful black currant harvest this year, so I subbed these in for blueberries and it was fantastic! Delicious and unique recipe.
Made the cookies but they can out thin what did I do wrong did everything in the recipe
Sally I have never figured out why I like this recipe so much as I am a crunchy cookie kind of girl, but I do. Made it today with cherries & used pink decorating sugar for color as my cherries were not the dark red ones. Turned out great !
These look SO good! Can I scoop them into balls and then chill? Or do I have to chill first because it is too sticky to scoop? Thanks!
Hi Jessica! We find the dough to be too sticky to scoop first so we prefer to scoop after chilling.
I tried these cookies cuz im a sucker for blueberry muffins and I was craving some. I usually fail at cookies as they tend to become really hard and stiff at the end of the baking process and weirdly enough I had no problem with these. They are like gift from the heavenly gods and I adore them. Just a question, how many calories are approximately in one.
Hi Lil, we’re so glad you enjoyed these cookies! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
I used King Arthur’s 1:1 gluten free flour, and these turned out great!!! I did have to bake longer than the recipe says – about 25 minutes total. I left them in until they were starting to just get golden brown. Other than the flour swap and time adjustment, I made no changes to the recipe. I used fresh blueberries!
I see another commenter here used King Arthur’s gluten free with poor results – not sure what happened to them, but I wanted to note thats it’s always important to use the spoon and level method with all flours, to make sure you are measuring correctly. I had no issues with the cookie texture, and the cookies are delicious!
Very good! I had a lot of blueberries, my new favorite cookie. Instead of the 1/2 stick of butter I substituted whipped cream cheese. Not having made them before I don’t know if it made any difference. A very delicious cookie!
Hi Sally!
I’m interested in making those because they look delicious.
32-26 muffin cookies are a big batch for me. Can I make half the recipe?
Thanks,
Limor
Hi Limor, you can certainly give it a try! You also could freeze half the dough for later instead – if you don’t want to bother with halving the recipe – see recipe notes for freezing instructions. Let us know what you try!
Hi!! So want to try this recipe.
Could you please tell me how long the baked cookies can be stored in airtight jar? I want to make as presents.
Thank you.
Hi Shamma, glazed cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
These look AMAZING! Is it okay to scoop the dough into balls and then chill the dough?
Hi Jen, the dough will be a bit sticky and harder to work with, but you can scoop and then chill if you’d prefer. Enjoy!
Just made these following the recipe exactly and they came out looking exactly like the photo and are delicious! Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Disappointing result.
Perhaps, my first mistake was using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour.
It was almost impossible to fold the blueberries into the obnoxiously stiff dough.
Even using a cookie scoop, too many of the cookies were misshapen.
Again, I think because of the flour I was using, the cookies required triple the baking time.
Finally, making the glaze with 1 ½ C of powdered sugar, sifted, and 2 T lemon juice was a drippy mess, without adding the cream. Perhaps the recipe should have started with 2 C of powdered sugar and 1 T of lemon juice, before adding the cream and/or more juice as needed.
I had the same results. I normally ready the comments before I start, but didn’t this time. I would have used different flour.
Seems unfair to rate the recipe only 3 stars when you changed a critical ingredient and it didn’t work out for you.
Hey there! How could I make these into like a giant 5 oz cookie? I’m new to baking cookies and LOL I’m obsessed with the big giant cookies lol
Hi Andrea, We haven’t tried it but it should work. Let us know if you give it a try!
Another shining example of a great recipe! These delicious blueberry cookies that tase likes muffins are amazing! Thank you Sally!
Can you use different berries? Frozen raspberries? Thanks!
Hi Ashlee! We haven’t tested frozen raspberries, but fear they may be too wet for this cookie dough. Let us know if you give it a try!
Baked these a while back and loved them. I froze the extra dough and finally used it up. So I have returned to confirm that the dough does indeed freeze well and they bake up like it’s day one. Highly recommend!
The frozen blueberries I used were quite large and made the thick dough very cold. The berries did not want to incorporate at all, so I turned out the dough and pushed the berries into the cookies. On my second attempt I added frozen berries to the cookies as I shaped them and pushed a couole on top of each cookie. I also added extra lemon juice to the icing, which my family and I loved! The icing recipe definitely makes enough for two batches of cookies (even without the extra lemon juice) so consider cutting it in half or making 2 batches of cookies. This is an excellent cookie.
Great recipe! Lovely little cakey cookies. My only advice is to not use a cookie scoup it cut my blueberries on half making not so pretty cookies. My second batch I weighed my cookies at 28 grams like I usually do and they were just as pretty as delicious. Even good without the lemon glaze. I didn’t use it the first batch but did on the second.
I made these early this morning. They are so good. I have copied the recipe and will put it in my rotation. I found the blueberries did not collapse as I mixed them in because I used nice, large and very plump blueberries. I think that helps them stay whole when mixing them into the dough. Loved these cookies. I actually prefer them to blueberry muffins. I am going to make some for my daughter. She loves blueberries!
Exactly as you described and really delicious! If freezing do I freeze in a large dough lump? or should freeze in smaller balls?
I’ve used many of your recipes and they’re all great thank you so much!
Hi Jen! Form the dough balls before freezing.