White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

• These cookies are filled with mini-white chocolate chips, plus a few that are sprinkled on top after they are baked but while they are still warm so that they get all melty and delicious.
• They use frozen raspberries, which makes it easier for most of them to hold their shape while you mix them into the dough. Result = big, juicy chunks of raspberry in every bite.
• They are all kinds of soft and buttery. Basically, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

These super buttery white chocolate raspberry cookies are the kind of easy to make, quick to bake that I'm into right now. I'd put them solidly in the category of my favorite super easy Berry Cobbler or 1-hour Buttermilk Caramel Cupcakes for their level of ease and power to delight nearly everyone you decide to share them with.

They are huge and soft with a touch of lemon zest and plenty of big juicy raspberries. I tested this recipe with both fresh and frozen raspberries and the frozen raspberry cookies won out in both taste and texture. This was tremendously good news to me because that means we can make them year-round, not just during berry season. 👏👏👏

And they even stay soft while frozen so you can keep a bag in your freezer for cookie emergencies.

Ingredients Needed to Prepare this Recipe

Here's what you'll need to make these white chocolate raspberry cookies:

• Butter! I used salted, but you can use unsalted if you prefer cookies with a lower salt content. It's important that the butter be "softened", which simply means that it's been allowed to come to room temperature. The egg should be at room temperature as well, so pull them both out of the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to start baking. OR - here's how to quickly bring dairy and eggs to room temperature.
• Granulated sugar (regular white sugar)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature.
• Lemon zest - from 1 large lemon
• Vanilla extract. It's important to use real vanilla extract not imitation vanilla extract which tends to give these cookies an unpleasant aftertaste.
• Lemon extract OR Lemon Oil.
• All-purpose flour.
• Baking soda and Baking powder
• Table salt. You can also use kosher salt, but if you do, double the amount to 1 ½ teaspoons.
• Mini white chocolate chips. I've made these cookies with both regular and mini white chocolate chips and much prefer the minis. Mini chocolate chips distribute better throughout the batter, giving the cookies a better texture, and better flavor. A good alternative if your supermarket doesn't have mini chocolate chips is to purchase a chocolate bar(s) and chop it up into small pieces.
• Frozen raspberries. When testing this recipe, I made these cookies with fresh raspberries, raspberry jam, chopped frozen raspberries, and whole frozen raspberries. The cookies made with whole frozen raspberries were better in every way. I've found that bags of frozen raspberries can be difficult to find, so I usually just purchase a pint of fresh raspberries and pop it in the freezer for at least 6 hours before I want to make these cookies.

*See recipe card below for precise quantities.

Variations and Substitutions

• Use a different kind of berry in these cookies. I think any kind of frozen berry would work well in these cookies. If the berries are small, like raspberries, keep them whole. If they are large, like most strawberries, cut them into smaller pieces.
• Use dark chocolate instead of white chocolate. I am an equal opportunity kind of gal when it comes to chocolate. Swap some semi sweet or milk chocolate chips in there instead of the white chocolate if you like. Or, use a blend of white and dark chocolate.
• Use a different kind of citrus zest. The little bit of lemon zest in these cookies adds a freshness that brings out the flavor in the berries. But, the same would be true for lime or orange zest. Use whatever sounds good to you.
• Add some chopped nuts. If you like cookies with a bit of crunch, toss in some roasted pistachios, almonds, pecans, or walnuts.

Step-by-Step Photos and Instructions

Mixing up the dough for these cookies takes all of 10 minutes and each tray of cookies only needs about 18 minutes to bake. So, even after baking 2 trays of cookies, your time investment here is well under an hour.

Having said that there are two important tips that will make a difference in the quality of your cookies:

Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is light in color and looks fluffy. This will take about 3 minutes, and you'll want to stop once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the egg and beat for another minute or two then beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, and then add it to the mixing bowl.

Beat on low speed until the flour is about 75% incorporated. Dump in the white chocolate chips and then use a spoon to bring the dough together.

Divide the dough in half (12 ounces each, if you want to be exact about it).

Add half the frozen raspberries to one of the bowls of dough and use your fingers to very gently distribute the raspberries in the dough.

Keep the other half of the raspberries in the freezer for now.

Divide the dough into 5 or 6 balls and set them on a parchment lined cookie sheet leaving about 4 inches of space in between each one. Bake in a preheated 350° F (176° C) oven for 16-18 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining dough and frozen raspberries.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet until they are stable enough to be removed without falling apart. Then, let them continue to cool on a wire rack.

Completely optional final step: To add some interest to the photos you see here, I sprinkled some additional white chocolate chips over the tops of the cookies. The cookies were not completely cool, causing the chocolate chips to stick to the cookies and get kinda melty.

Turns out, melty white chocolate chips on the tops of the cookies are a delicious touch. A kind of "extra" that I went ahead and added to the recipe.

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