Cottage Cheese Lemon Cookies

These soft and cakey cookies are full of bright lemon flavors. They are a nice, healthy treat when you are craving something sweet for your afternoon break. Are you missing something sweet to go along with your afternoon cup of coffee (or tea)? I just have the recipe for you. These cookies are soft, with an almost cake-like texture. They are bright, citrusy, and give you a refreshing and comforting feeling. They are almost like a small lemon pie. My friends just love these tiny treats, and today I wanted to share them with you. I love baking, but it can be a hassle. However, this recipe is so easy to make that in just a couple of steps, you are going to have a batch ready waiting for you in the oven. But it’s not all about its flavor; they are also incredibly healthy. Each cookie gives you 3 grams of protein, making it more filling than a traditional processed cookie.

Ingredients and Substitutes

All-purpose flour (1 ¼ cups) – You can also use a gluten-free flour blend or whole wheat flour for a nuttier and healthier version.
Baking powder (¾ tsp)
Unsalted butter, softened (4 tbsp) – Swap with ghee, coconut oil, or a plant-based butter.
Cane sugar (½ cup) – Replace with granulated sugar, light brown sugar, or coconut sugar. You can also use a sugar-free alternative if you want to lower the sugar and carb content.
Egg (1 large)
Cottage cheese, 4%, blended (1 cup) – Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese are great alternatives.
Vanilla extract (1 tsp) – You can also use vanilla paste.
Lemon, divided (1) – Replace with lime.

Optional Glazing

Powdered sugar (1/2 cup) – If you are out of powdered sugar, you can blend granulated sugar to make your own or use a natural sweetener like maple syrup.

How to Make Cottage Cheese Lemon Cookies

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 375°F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Grab a bowl and mix the all-purpose flour and baking powder. Step 2. In a medium bowl, add the butter and the cane sugar. Step 3. Use a mixer to blend the butter and sugar. Step 4. Add the egg. Step 5. Give it another mix. Step 6. Add the cottage cheese, vanilla extract, and half of the lemon zest. Step 7. Use the mixer again to give the ingredients a good stir. Step 8. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Mix the ingredients until they form a sticky dough. Step 9. Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop and scoop the dough. Place each scoop into the baking sheet; just make sure you give them plenty of room to spread. You should end up having around 16 cookies. You might need two baking sheets, depending on their size. Step 10. Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until all the sides of the cookies turn golden brown. Step 11. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down on a cookie cooling rack for 20 minutes. Step 12. While they are cooling, squeeze the rest of the lemon and use 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice with the powdered sugar to make a glaze. Step 13. When the cookies have cooled down, pour the glazing on top of them. Step 14. Grate some lemon zest on top of the cookies.

How I Would Modify This Recipe

Add Poppy Seeds. If you want a classic poppy-lemon seed combination, mix 1-2 tablespoons of poppy seeds into the dough with the dry ingredients.
Make it Chocolatey: Fold in about ¾ cup of white chocolate chips for an extra layer of sweetness and indulgence.
Make Them Gluten-Free: Replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Just make sure it has a binding agent like xanthan gum.
Boost the Spices: Add a pinch of ground cardamom or ginger to the dry ingredients.

My Tips & Tricks

Use Fresh Lemon: Fresh lemon juice and zest provide the brightest, most authentic flavor. Avoid using bottled lemon juice if possible.
Blend the Cottage Cheese. To have the smoothest cookies, make sure you blend the cottage cheese to have lump-free cookies.
Don’t Overmix the Dough: Once you add the flour, mix just until the ingredients are combined. Otherwise, it can lead to tough cookies.

My Storage Tips

Place any leftover cookies in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you want to keep them for longer, you can place them in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can also freeze them. Just make sure you do so without the glazing. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Cals: 105 | Protein: 3g | Carbs: 15g | Fat: 3.9g Soft, cakey cookies bursting with bright lemon flavor, they’re like mini lemon pies in cookie form. Perfect for afternoon coffee or tea breaks when you crave something sweet, refreshing, and comforting!

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
½ cup cane sugar
1 large egg
1 cup cottage cheese (4%), blended
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon, divided

Optional Glazing

½ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine all-purpose flour with baking powder.
In a medium bowl, using a mixer, mix together butter and cane sugar until smooth.
Add in the egg and continue mixing. Then, add in cottage cheese, vanilla extract, grate in half of the lemon zest, and squeeze out the juice from half of the lemon. Mix with a mixer.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ones and gently mix to form sticky dough.
Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, giving enough space for the dough to spread when baking.
You should form around 16 cookies; you might need two baking sheets depending on their size.
Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes until the sides of the cookies turn slightly golden.
Remove and let them cool down on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, squeeze out the rest of the lemon and use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with powdered sugar to make a glaze in a small bowl.
Optional: once the cookies have cooled down, pour the glazing over them and serve.

Nutrition

Ingredients and Substitutes

Optional Glazing

How to Make Cottage Cheese Lemon Cookies

How I Would Modify This Recipe

My Tips & Tricks

My Storage Tips