This Panera Lemon Drop Cookie recipe is packed with a sweet and tangy lemon flavor and loaded with white chocolate chips. They’re crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle, making for the perfect copycat recipe for all lemon lovers!
![overhead shot of panera lemon drop cookies on a white and yellow striped serving platter.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-23.jpg)
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You’ll never have to return to Panera Bread again, now that you have this delicious lemon drop cookies recipe in your back pocket! Using simple ingredients, you can make this copycat Panera lemon drop cookie recipe anytime!
![a panera lemon drop cookie on a bag with a sliced lemon next to the cookie.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-2.jpg)
![a homemade copycat version of panera's lemon drop cookie on a yellow serving dish.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-22.jpg)
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card. Happy baking friends!
The Players for this Lemon Drop Cookie
![ingredients for panera bread lemon drop cookie recipe on a black counter top.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-3.jpg)
Ingredients:
- Butter –I’ll be using salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you have that!
- Sugar – Plain white sugar is all you’ll need for the lemon cookie dough.
- Eggs – Two large eggs at room temperature is what we’ll be using.
- Lemon Juice – Fresh lemon juice is essential for this favorite Panera lemon drop cookies recipe. Using real lemon juice will bring out a vibrance and freshness to our cookies.
- Lemon Extract – Using pure lemon extract will bring forward that fresh lemon flavor in conjunction with the lemon juice.
- Lemon Zest – You’ll need 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon zest.
- Flour – All purpose flour is what you’ll need for these lemon white chocolate cookies.
- Leaveners – You’ll need to use both baking soda and baking powder per the ingredients from Panera’s website.
- White Chocolate Chips – One cup of white chocolate chips is needed for our lemon sugar cookies.
- Powdered Sugar – A light dusting of powdered sugar will go over the tops of our cookies once they have cooled completely.
Tools:
- Cookie Sheet – You’ll need some cookie sheets to bake our delicious cookies on. While I love to use the Williams Sonoma Gold Touch Baking Sheet when baking cookies, these baking sheets look like a great dupe!
- Silicone Mats – To bake our Panera’s lemon drop cookies, you’ll need either some parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
How to Make Panera Lemon Drop Cookies Recipe
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
In a large bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, begin to cream butter on low speed for 1 minute. Add in your sugar and beat for an additional minute.
Add in your two eggs and mix well.
![two sticks of butter in a stand mixer bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-4.jpg)
![a cup of sugar in a measuring bowl about to be poured into the mixing bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-5.jpg)
![two eggs added to the creamed butter and sugar.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-6.jpg)
Pour in your lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest into the bowl, and mix well.
![fresh lemon juice in a bowl about to be added to the bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-7.jpg)
![a box of pure lemon extract being held over the mixing bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-8.jpg)
![one tablespoon of fresh lemon zest about to be added to a mixing bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-9.jpg)
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
![white all purpose flour added to a separate blue mixing bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-10.jpg)
![1 teaspoon of baking soda being added to the flour.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-11.jpg)
![1/2 teaspoon of baking powder being added to the other dry ingredients in a blue mixing bowl.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-12.jpg)
Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix for 1 minute. You might need to grab a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
To your cookie dough, add in your white chocolate chips and stir.
![dry ingredients in blue bowl being added to the wet ingredients.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-13.jpg)
![white chocolate chips in a measuring cup about to be added to the dough.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-14.jpg)
Bake the Lemon Drop Cookies
Drop 1/4 cup size dough balls onto your prepared cookie sheets, ensuring to leave enough space in between the cookies for them to spread. This will make 5-inch cookies, so aim for about 6 cookie dough mounds per cookie sheet.
![1/4 cup measuring cup holding lemon cookie dough about to be placed onto cookie sheet.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-16.jpg)
![6 cookie dough mounds on a cookie sheet bound for the oven.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-17.jpg)
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on the edges of the cookies. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.
![6 baked lemon drop cookies cooling after baking on a black counter.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-18.jpg)
![measuring tape held out to 5 inches showing how large the lemon drop cookie is.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-15.jpg)
Once the cookies have cooled, dust the tops of the cookies with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
![panera lemon drop cookies on a wire rack with powdered sugar on top.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-19.jpg)
Baking Smaller Cookies
If you don’t want large 5-inch cookies like Panera Bread’s Lemon Drop Cookies, you can make 2-inch dough balls and bake them for 11-12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
![6 panera lemon drop cookies on a wire rack on a white background with lemon slices next to the cookies.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-21.jpg)
Storage and Freezing Instructions
To store your baked lemon white chocolate chip cookies, keep them in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap. They can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 days on your counter.
If you don’t want to bake all of the cookies at one time, you can freeze the dough and use it in the future! Make a disc shape out of the lemon cookie dough and wrap it in saran wrap. Place it into a freezer bag and it will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Pin it for Later!
If you end up making these Copycat Panera Lemon Drop Cookies, leave me a comment. I’d love to chat with you!
![a yellow serving platter holding 6 panera lemon drop cookies with a lemon towel next to the cookies.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/paneras-lemon-cookie-recipe-pin-683x1024.jpg)
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![overhead shot of panera lemon drop cookies on a white and yellow striped serving platter.](https://ourcrowsnest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/panera-lemon-cookie-recipe-23-360x361.jpg)
Panera Bread Lemon Drop Cookie (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 3/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for 1 minute. Add in your sugar and beat for an additional minute.
- Add in your eggs and mix well.
- Pour in your lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix for 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula along the sides of the bowl to scrape any dough that is not being incorporated.
- Add in your white chocolate chips and mix.
- Drop 1/4 cup size dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once the cookies have cooled, dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
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