The Best Sourdough Lemon Drop Cookies – Easy Recipe

This is the absolute best sourdough discard lemon drop cookie recipe to add to your repertoire of lemon desserts!  These soft lemon cookies are made with sourdough starter and fresh lemon juice and are the ultimate chewy cookies for lemon lovers.

These Sourdough Lemon Drop Cookies are a favorite in my house any time of year!  You get all the rich depth in flavor from the sourdough starter without the sour taste.  These lemon drops are sweet as can be like chewy sugar cookies with bold lemon flavor.  The white chocolate chips go perfectly with lemon for a light, sweet treat.

Traditional lemon drop cookies are “dropped” onto the baking sheet, hence lemon “drops.”  But these are more along the lines of lemon crinkle cookies than lemon drops, since they’re gooey, chewy, and have a powdered sugar dusting.  But we’ve always called them lemon drops in my home so that’s what I’m calling them here!      

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Making cookies is a great way to use up extra sourdough starter.  This lemon cookie recipe isn’t sour though, it’s sweet!
• This is actually just my Sourdough Sugar Cookie recipe but with lemon.  It can easily be modified to make many different kinds of cookies.
• These cookies can be topped with a 3 ingredient lemon glaze which will be a must for lemon lovers.

Spend the day with me trying out some new sourdough cookie recipes (including this one!) in my homestead kitchen and decorating our farmhouse for Christmas.

What You’ll Need

COOKIE DOUGH INGREDIENTS

1 cup (225g) of browned, unsalted butter

2.5 cups (500g) of sugar

2 egg yolks (about 34 grams each)

2 tablespoons (30g) of fresh lemon juice, juice from one medium lemon

1 tablespoon (6g) of lemon zest, zest from one medium lemon

3/4 cup (180g) of sourdough starter

1 teaspoon (5g) of vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon (3g) of salt

1 teaspoon (5g) of baking soda

1 cup (175g) of white chocolate chips, roughly chopped

Powdered sugar for dusting

TOOLS

Large Bowl or Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment

Cookie Sheet

Parchment Paper

Wooden Spoon or Cookie Scoop

Wire Rack

(optional if you prefer weighing ingredients) Kitchen Scale

(optional if using a bowl) hand mixer

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the Cookie Dough

Brown the butter on medium-low heat until brown flecks appear.  Remove from heat and allow the browned butter to cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.

In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whisk/mix browned butter and sugar together for 2 minutes at medium speed.  Add the egg yolks, sourdough starter, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.  Stir in the chopped white chocolate chips.

Bake the Cookies

Spoon the dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets and use the back of a spoon to flatten it to 1/4” thick circles, or roll the dough into balls and flatten it before baking.

Bake at 350F in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  After baking, while the cookies are still on the baking sheet, lightly dust them with powdered sugar.

Set the cookies on a cooling rack to cool before serving.

FAQ

• Do I have to use sourdough discard or can I use active sourdough starter in sourdough lemon drop cookies?
  • You can use either.  This lemon cookie recipe does not need to be fermented because it includes baking powder and baking soda which will do the leavening.  You can ferment the dough in the fridge overnight or for a few days if you want sourdough flavor.
• Do I have to brown the butter to make sourdough cookies?
  • Yes. If you want the cookies to be chewy and soft.  If you don’t mind a cake-like consistency, you can skip browning the butter.  Browned butter will not only result in a better texture but also a better flavor.
• Can I use bottled lemon juice to make lemon drop cookies?
  • Yes. You can use bottled lemon juice, just be sure that it is 100% lemon juice with no artificial sweeteners or flavors.
• Can I make sourdough lemon drop cookie dough in advance?
  • Yes.  You can make this cookie dough in advance.  Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days before baking.
• Can I freeze sourdough lemon drop cookie dough?
  • Yes, you can freeze this cookie dough.  Roll into a log for easy cutting and baking, then wrap with plastic wrap and store for up to 3 months.  Or, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Tips

• Add a few drops of lemon extract and extra lemon zest to make the cookies extra lemony.
• Don’t over-mix the dough. Over-mixing will result in cookies that are dense, tough, and dry.  For chewy cookies, mix until the dough is just combined.
• Don’t over-bake.  Sourdough Lemon Drop cookies are best with a soft center and a chewy texture.  Remove them from the oven when the edges are just set, the middles will still be a bit gooey and set as they cool.
• Skip the powdered sugar dusting and add a lemon glaze for extra lemon flavor.  Mix 2 cups powdered sugar with 2 T milk and 1/2 t lemon extract.  Once the cookies are cooled, dip them face down in the glaze and place them on a wire rack to cool. 
• For Italian Lemon Drop Cookies, skip browning the butter and use whole eggs.  Don’t flatten the dough before baking, just drop it by the spoonful or with a cookie scoop onto the baking sheet. (Hence, lemon drops)

Storage

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, in the fridge for one week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

More Sourdough Cookies

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Cookies (coming soon!)

Sourdough Discard Iced Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

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