Punchy lemon and raspberry flavor in a thin and crispy tri-colored cookie. These lemon raspberry cookies are unique and satisfying in every way!
Normally I am a soft and chewy cookie gal, I really am. And I’m loyal to the soft and chewy community. However, these lemon raspberry cookies are just so special. We use freeze dried raspberries and lemon zest in the dough to bring this punchy iconic flavor duo to life! Let’s get into some tips and ticks so that you can make the best lemon raspberry cookies!
The Ingredients
To make these lemon raspberry cookies you will need:
Unsalted Butter
Granulated Sugar
All Purpose Flour
Baking Soda
Salt
Vanilla Bean Paste (or extract)
Eggs
Lemon Zest
Freeze Dried Raspberries (pulverized to a powder)
Pink and Yellow Gel Food Coloring
You likely already have a lot of these ingredients around. If you live in the states, I find that Target always has freeze raspberries or you can purchase them here on Amazon.
The recipe is straightforward, simply mix the cookie dough together as normal and then comes the fun part:
- Divide the dough into three equal parts.
- Add lemon zest and a few drops of yellow food coloring to one bowl and mix to desired color.
- Add freeze dried raspberry powder and a few drops of pink food coloring to another bowl and mix to desired color.
- Scoop 1 Tbsp of each of the three doughs–the raspberry, the lemon and the plain
- Press them together and roll in granulated sugar, then bake!
The bake time is a little longer than average for these cookies because the baking soda slows down the process–this is what gives us that crispy texture!
Although these lemon raspberry cookies technically have summer flavors, I’m including them in my Christmas cookie roster this year. I thought it would be fun to shake things up and add some bright flavor to the typical deep flavor profile we experience during the holidays.
Like raspberries? Try my Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies!
Can baking be therapeutic?
I often talk about baking being a therapeutic hobby but I’d like to share more about why I feel that way as well as how it can become a relaxing hobby for you!
When I bake, it’s my creative time. I may put on my favorite nostalgic movie or tv show in the background, or a Spotify playlist titled “French café” and leave my troubles behind.
Sometimes I pour myself a glass of wine and light a candle. Then, with the mood set, the mixing of batter, kneading of dough and smoothing of icing is my only care in the world.
When I say baking is therapeutic, sometimes people respond saying “not for me it isn’t!” I completely understand why someone might feel that way. There have been plenty of times where I spend hours on something only for it to fail or something breaks that shouldn’t or I forget to clean as I go and am left with a disastrous kitchen to clean.
So I should in reality, have a caveat to my “baking as therapy” claims…
Baking is therapy when you curate the experience to be relaxing.
How do you curate that relaxing experience for yourself, you ask?
How to make baking therapeutic…
- Prepare your mind–know that it’s okay if the cake doesn’t rise, or the butter wasn’t chilled enough. Shift your mindset from seeing your failures as mistakes to seeing them as opportunities for learning.
- Prepare your space–I cannot and will not bake on top of a messy kitchen. If I were to do this I would be starting from a place of stress! Take an extra 10 minutes to clean any dishes in the sink and wipe down the counters, this small effort will pay you back greatly in brain space and clarity.
- Clean as you go! I’ll tell you the one way to make baking stressful and tiresome, is to not clean as you go! After I use each ingredient that I no longer need, I put it away.
After each major step in the process, I wipe down the counters and put dishes that are no longer needed in the sink. If there is chill time or baking time I don’t sit, I do the cleaning then. Make this shift and you’ll really notice the difference!
By the way, this last tip really helped me when I was on The Great American Baking Show–and the crew that cleaned up behind us made a point to tell me that my workspace was always so clean they didn’t have much to do!
I would reply by saying “it’s how I stay sane in this tent!”
Additional suggestions:
*Maybe try printing off the recipe instead of looking at it on your phone, tablet or laptop and use this time to unplug from technology for a few hours
**Invite friends or family over to share your creation with you. Time spent with loved ones over food is a universally special experience
And that’s how I discovered baking for my mental health. If you try any of these suggestions, let me know how it went for you! I’m really invested in spreading this message to others in hopes that baking will enhance your lives more than it already does!
Happy Baking!
Lemon Raspberry Cookies
Ingredients
For the Lemon Raspberry Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup freeze dreid raspberries pulverized to a powder
- pink and yellow gel food coloring optional
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
For the Lemon Raspberry Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 365°F (roughly 185°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together 1/2 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature with 1 cup of granulated sugar for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk at room temperature and 2 tsp of vanilla bean paste or extract. Mix again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, and 1/2 tsp of salt and whisk until incorporated.
- Scrape down the bowl of the wet mixture using a spatula and add the dry ingredients to the wet. Give it all a mix, making sure not to overmix the dough.
- Divide the dough into three equal parts and place into three bowls.
- To one of the bowls add 1 1/2 tsp of lemon zest plus a little bit of yellow gel food coloring if you'd like. Mix and set aside.
- Place 1/2 cup of freeze dried raspberries into a food processor and pulverize into a fine powder. There will be some bigger pieces of raspberry left, you can choose to include these, or sift it if they bother you.
- To another bowl add the raspberry powder and a few drops of pink gel food coloring and mix.
- Place 1/2 cup of granulated sugar into a bowl. Scoop out 1 Tbsp of each of the three doughs and press together. Avoid rolling into a ball of dough or the colors may come out more marbled than the photos.
- Roll each ball of dough in granulated sugar and place on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the cookies look just done in the middle. Remove from the oven, serve and enjoy!
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