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sourdough lemon drop cookies
hopewellheights

The Best Sourdough Lemon Drop Cookies - Easy Recipe

3 from 2 votes
These soft lemon cookies are made with sourdough starter and fresh lemon juice and are the ultimate chewy cookies for lemon lovers.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 253

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup browned butter 225 g
  • 2 ½ cups sugar 500 g
  • 2 egg yolks about 34 grams each
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice, juice from one medium lemon 30 g
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest, zest from one medium lemon 6 g
  • ¾ cup sourdough starter 180 g
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla 5 g
  • 2 ¾ cups flour 345 g
  • ½ teaspoon salt 3 g
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda 5 g
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips, rough chopped 175 g
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Brown the butter on medium-low heat until brown flecks appear.  Remove from heat and allow the browned butter to cool for 5 minutes.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk/mix browned butter and sugar together for 2 minutes.  Add the egg yolks, sourdough starter, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix well.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix together.  Stir in the chopped white chocolate chips.
  6. 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.
  7. Bake at 350°F 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.
  8. Set the cookies on a wire rack to cool before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 253kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 163mgPotassium: 43mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 260IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Notes

Add extra lemon.

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.

Add a lemon glaze.

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. 

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