Luscious super soft lemon cookies packed with fresh blueberries and chia seeds make these Lemon Blueberry Chia Cookies the best sweets on the block!
In Utah, (and only in Utah, sadly), there is an amazing cookie store called RubySnap. I have had several varieties of their cookies at the Everything Food Conference in Salt Lake. Man oh man. Their cookies are AH-MAZING. Super soft and thick with creative flavors, like Mango Dark Chocolate Chunk, (which is actually called “Vivianna,” because they name all their cookies after women), Spicy Chocolate with Chile Ganache (named Frida, after the famous Mexican artist, of course), and Chocolate Chocolate Chip with Caramel. (Visit their site and drool).
But what if you don’t live in Utah? That’s where I come in with my copycat recipes. Yes, there are only two so far, but I may make more. Then you can make some yummy RubySnap magic in your own home.
After creating the Mango Dark Chocolate Chunk cookies, I knew I wanted to try making these Lemon Blueberry Chia Cookies. I found a recipe for lemon cookies and then tweaked it to try to get that signature RubySnap tenderness and flavor. I must say, I think I succeeded! My cookies turned out a bit flatter than I had hoped, but I think that can be remedied if I freeze the dough and bake it straight from the freezer. Next time I’ll try that and let you know how it goes!
In the meantime, these cookies still look and taste beautiful, and are thick and tender. They’re topped with a lemon glaze and then sprinkled with more chia seeds, just because 🙂
What makes these Lemon Blueberry Chia Cookies soft and chewy?
There are three things that help these cookies come out moist and tender. The first is the cream cheese. You just need a little bit–only 1/4 cup. But it really makes a big difference in creating the pillowy texture.
The second is chilling the dough. This is SUPER important for these cookies. Otherwise, they will spread too much, and you will lose that thick, tender center.
The third is baking them on silicone baking mats. I LOVE these things and use them every time I make cookies. I used to use my stoneware, but cookies take longer to bake on there, and sometimes the texture and spread is just better on a regular metal pan lined with a silicone baking mat. Cookies almost always look different when you bake them on stoneware, too. Sometimes, I love the way they look, like my White Chocolate Candy Cane Drop Cookies. You’ll just have to try your cookies out on what you have to see what you like best.
Here’s a great guide from Delishably with tips for making soft cookies. She goes over which types of pans to use, how to measure ingredients correctly, and how to keep them fresh and soft when you store them.
Tips for making Lemon Blueberry Chia Cookies
- This recipe uses lemon extract for the lemon flavor. Don’t use lemon juice, as you would have to use more of it, and it would affect the texture of the cookies. You can use lemon juice in the glaze, which gives it plenty of lemon zingy pop.
- Use fresh blueberries, not frozen. Frozen blueberries will “bleed” in the cookies, which will affect their texture and appearance.
- If you don’t have chia seeds, you can use poppy seeds, or just leave the seeds out altogether.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookies. For large cookies, use a large (2-Tablespoon) scoop, and put two scoops together. Refrigerate and chill the scoops for a few hours. Then use your hands to roll them into smooth balls. The dough is pretty soft and sticky without chilling it first.
- Place only two cookies on a row on your cookie sheet so they don’t run into each other in the oven!
Once your cookies have cooled, drizzle them with lemon glaze and sprinkle some more chia seeds on top if desired. You’ll need to sprinkle the chia seeds pretty soon after you add the glaze, because the glaze will harden up after a while.
Are you ready to make some super yummy, super healthy(ish) cookies made with super foods? Here’s the recipe!
Note: I have changed the baking temperature so that these cookies stay puffy instead of flattening out like you see in the pictures. The Ruby Snap cookies are tall and more rounded than my pictures indicate.
If you want the cookies to flatten out like in the pictures, bake at 325 degrees F. for 15-17 minutes.
Today’s Freebie!
Super soft lemon cookies with the superfoods of blueberries and chia added for nutrition, flavor, and beauty!
- 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened (use full-fat)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (plus more for sprinkling)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk
Add the butter, cream cheese, and sugar to a stand mixer or large bowl and beat on medium-high speed until creamy, light, and fluffy (about three minutes).
Add the egg, lemon extract, and lemon zest and beat on medium-high speed, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
Add all the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and chia seeds. Beat on low speed just until everything is combined and the flour disappears. Do not overmix.
If using a stand mixer, remove the bowl from the mixer and add in the fresh blueberries. Gently fold them into the dough by hand, taking care not to smash them.
Use a large cookie scoop (2 tablespoons) or a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the cookies. (Use two scoops for a single cookie). Set the cookie dough on silicone-line baking sheets and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and roll each ball in your hands to make it smooth and uniform. Place back on the cookie sheets, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to chill for at least two more hours.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven 375 degrees F. Place the balls of dough far apart on silicone-lined baking sheets. (Put only two balls per row). Bake for 14 minutes, until the tops do not depress when touched gently with your finger.
Allow to cool for ten minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a small bowl, mix together the cup of powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk. Drizzle over the top of cooled cookies. Sprinkle with chia seeds if desired.
Be sure to scroll up and read the post for important tips for this recipe!
If you want to make smaller cookies, use a single 2-inch scoop, set your oven for 350 degrees F., and bake for eight minutes.
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Oh My!! These look soooo good!!! So many delicious ingredients added into them!!
Those look absolutely delicious!
Oh MY These look so so GOOD!!! I love a great soft and chewy cookie bursting with lots of flavor!!
Oh my!! I’ve never thought about putting blueberries in cookies, I LOVE IT! I would love to take a trip to Utah just to go to that cookie shop!!
I’m dying to know how to make something even remotely similar to her Memphis cookie…. if you ever happen to try it!
I’ve never heard of the Memphis cookie. But everything she makes is amazing!
Hi,
the dough turned out to be very very sticky, is it supposed to be this way or did i do something wrong maybe?
its in the refrigerator now
thanks.
Hi Netan. Thank you for your question. The dough should not be super sticky. But chilling should help a lot. If your blueberries released a lot of juice, that could have affected the consistency of your dough. Or perhaps you needed a little extra flour. At any rate, I hope they turned out to be delicious!
They did! my family loved it and they were super tasty and buttery. i’m sure i’ll use this recipe again! next time i will add some more lemon zest to make them more Lemon-y.
thanks ! really hope you will make some more RubySnap copycat (Snickerdudette? 🙂
Netan, so glad to hear it! Ruby Snap has so many luscious cookies! I do have another copycat recipe on my blog–Mango Dark Chocolate Chunk. I definitely need to add some more, though!
I having the same issue too
So sorry about that! I just remade these cookies today to make sure the dough was right, and it turned out perfectly for me! The only thing I can think is that maybe your blueberries are getting smashed in the dough and releasing too much juice. You want to fold them in very gently by hand and try not to smash any of them. Then your dough will not be super sticky. Good luck!
I tried adding a little more flour, but it didn’t help as much as I would like. Although the dough was still a little sticky the cookies still turned out good. Sadly didn’t it look like amazing as yours. But yes I will definitely your tip next time I make it again. Thank you, Melissa for the recipe and taking time to remake and testing out the dough.
Hey Laurel, thanks for being patient with me as I tried to test the recipe! The only thing I can think of is that maybe your blueberries got smashed and released too much juice? If that didn’t happen, then I’m not sure what the problem is. So sorry, but I hope they still tasted good!