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Chewy lemon sugar cookies are swirled with tart raspberry preserves in these giant raspberry lemon sugar cookies.
It doesn’t matter what season or time of year it is, I love lemon.
And I really love lemon paired with fruit. Whether it’s lemon blueberry bread, watermelon lemonade, strawberry lemonade cupcakes, or even rhubarb lemon pie. I want it all.
And these chewy raspberry lemon cookies really do have it all. They’re big, bakery-style lemony sugar cookies swirled with raspberry preserves.
Could it get any better? I don’t think so.
BIG, CHEWY RASPBERRY LEMON SUGAR COOKIES
As you know, occasionally I see a recipe come up on my TikTok FYP and I have to try it immediately.
TikTok rarely leads me wrong. I mean, we love the TikTok cinnamon rolls and my giant s’mores cookies. So when I saw a video of Jenna from Butternut Bakery making giant sugar cookies swirled with strawberry preserves, I was totally hooked.
I headed into my kitchen that night and grabbed a jar of raspberry preserves from my fridge. I pulled up my favorite chewy lemon sugar cookie recipe and got to work.
I mean, I totally couldn’t pass up the chance to combine the sweet-tart raspberry preserves with bright lemon for the ultimate fruity cookie.
Just like Jenna did, I decided to make these cookies BIG. These are some bakery-sized cookies and I am not mad about it.
You can totally make them “regular” sized, but we’ll talk through that a little later (skip down to FAQs for more).
If you love raspberries, lemon, and big sugar cookies, these are totally the cookies for you.
HOW TO MAKE RASPBERRY LEMON COOKIES
These raspberry lemon cookies take a little bit more time to make than the original lemon sugar cookies, but I promise that they’re worth it. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself, ok?
Ingredients you’ll need
The ingredients list for these raspberry lemon cookies is pretty straightforward. You’ll need:
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Zest of two large lemons
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup raspberry preserves
I like to use Bonne Maman raspberry preserves, but you can use your favorite brand. Just make sure it’s a really good one – save the Smuckers for your peanut butter and jelly bars.
Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly and how to cream butter and sugar before you get started so these cookies come out great every time.
You also need to make sure your butter is softened before you start baking. If you forgot to set it out ahead of time, check out my tips for how to soften butter quickly.
Making this recipe
Start by whisking together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set this mixture aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and the lemon zest with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter into the lemon sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice until well combined, then slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until the dough just comes together.
Use a spoon to dollop the raspberry preserves across the top of the dough, then use a rubber spatula to fold the preserves into the dough. You want some streaks of preserves swirled throughout the cookies, so only fold the dough 3-5 times. Don’t mix the preserves in completely.
Now, grab an ice cream scoop (2 ounces/4 tablespoon size) and scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Check out the FAQs section for a tip on this!)
Since we aren’t baking the cookies yet, you can place the dough mounds close together.
Pop the baking sheet into the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Don’t cover the baking sheet – just leave it uncovered.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place no more than 6 of the dough balls onto a lined baking sheet. Keep the rest of the dough balls in the refrigerator until ready to bake them.
Bake the raspberry lemon cookies for 14-16 minutes; they’re done when the edges are golden and the centers are puffed but still appear slightly underdone. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
FAQS
Do I have to let the cookie dough chill overnight?
No, BUT! These raspberry lemon cookies are way better if you let the dough chill for at least 4 hours, but even better if they chill overnight.
If you bake them right away, they spread a lot more. The flavors also have more time to develop while the dough chills and the flour has time to hydrate, so the flavor and texture of the cookies are better after chilling.
Just like when you make my favorite chocolate chip cookies, I promise your patience will be worth it.
Can I make regular-sized cookies instead of giant raspberry lemon cookies?
I know that making extra-large cookies is fun, but you might not want giant cookies every time you make this recipe.
You can use a standard cookie scoop (about 1 ½ tablespoons) to scoop out the dough – you should be able to get 24-30 cookies. After chilling, they will bake for 8-12 minutes.
Keep in mind that the larger cookies allow for bigger swirls of raspberry preserves. So smaller-size cookies may not have as many big swirls, but they will still taste delicious.
What kind of preserves should I use?
These raspberry lemon cookies are one place where you want to use a really good brand of preserves. I like Bonne Maman, but any high-quality preserves will work.
Can I use other flavors of preserves?
Of course! If you don’t like raspberries, try strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry preserves instead.
How do I get the pretty swirls in my cookies?
When you scoop the dough, try to position the scoop over the larger swirls of preserves within the bowl. This way, when you place the dough onto the pan, the preserves will be at the top of the dough mound.
When the cookies bake, you’ll get nicer ribbons of preserves across the tops of the cookies.
Of course, this is just for pretty cookies. Even the cookies that don’t get big ribbons or swirls of preserves will still taste great.
Could I freeze this dough?
Yes! After scooping out the dough, let the dough balls rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, then follow the instructions for how to freeze cookie dough. This will allow you to bake as many raspberry lemon cookies as you like and save the rest of the dough for another time.
Raspberry Lemon Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Zest of two large lemons
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup raspberry preserves I used Bonne Maman
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
- Using the stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter into the lemon sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice and beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Dollop the raspberry preserves in spoonfuls across the top of the dough, then use a rubber spatula to fold the preserves into the dough. Only fold the dough 3-5 times – you want to have streaks of preserves swirled into the dough, rather than mixing it in completely.
- Use a 2oz (4 tablespoon) scoop (ice-cream-scoop size) to scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can place the dough balls close together since they will not be going into the oven yet.
- Place the baking sheet, uncovered, in the refrigerator to chill overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place no more than 6 of the dough balls onto a lined baking sheet; keep the remaining dough balls in the refrigerator until ready to bake them.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are puffed but still appear slightly underdone. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe tastes absolutely fantastic!
The reason for 3 stars is even though I followed the recipe *to the letter*, the cookies came out virtually flat like a lace cookie. I made a second batch and portioned some off to try as a thumbprint cookie and had a better result, although still pretty thin.
Hi Jane – Sorry that the recipe gave you trouble with spreading too much. Sometimes this can be caused by being slightly off with a flour measurement or from baking powder that is past its prime. Glad you enjoyed the flavor! Happy baking –
Jamie
Oops, “Xanthum,” embarrassed emoji…
Can I make this recipe with GF flour that contains Xynham, GFjules all-purpose flour.
Hi there – I haven’t tried it with that substitution, but I believe it should work ok as long as it’s a one-for-one GF flour blend. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes for you. Happy baking!
Jamie
Yummy and delicious
They really are! Thanks for stopping by! Happy baking –
Jamie
Can I use gluten free flour?
Hi Mary – I haven’t tried this recipe with that substitution, so I can’t attest to the result. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how they turn out for you. Happy baking!
Jamie
Why do you show fresh raspberries in your picture but the recipe calls for preserves? I was very disappointed. I have fresh raspberries. Not enough to make preserves.
Hi Jan – Because they make the photos look a bit prettier and give context clues as to the flavors in the cookies. This is a pretty common thing for food photography – having clues to the flavors in the recipe. The post is also very upfront about the use of preserves in the cookies from the first sentence. If you have fresh raspberries you’re looking to use, I’d recommend my raspberry lemon scones: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/lemon-raspberry-scones/
Jamie