Craving the delicious lemon drop cookies from Panera Bread, but don't want to pay that much for one cookie? The simple solution is to make your own cookies at home, and you can enjoy an entire batch instead of just one. This fun twist on the simple sugar cookie gives you a delightful lemon flavor with hints of white chocolate, making them a favorite with both kids and adults.
Looking for more Panera desserts? You'll love our recipes for Panera kitchen sink cookies and Panera chocolate chipper cookies. Don't miss our collection of 8 Panera copycat dessert recipes, too!
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Ingredients
Fortunately, these lemon drop cookies are made with mostly pantry staples, which you'll probably already have, especially if you're an avid home baker.
- Flour: regular all-purpose is the best choice for this recipe.
- Leavener: baking soda reacts with the acid in the lemon juice to cause them to rise.
- Fat: unsalted butter that's been softened to room temperature is the most flavorful choice.
- Sweetener: regular white granulated sugar is what we'll be using here.
- Binder: two large eggs add richness and stability to the dough.
- Flavorings: lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and salt add lots of flavor.
- Mix-Ins: all we're adding is white chocolate chips.
- Decoration: there's no need for icings or glazes for this recipe! A dusting of powdered sugar does the trick.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Gluten Free: substitute with your favorite measure-for-measure gluten free flour.
- Vegan: use vegan baking butter and vegan white chocolate chips, and use ½ cup of applesauce instead of the eggs.
How to Make
Measure out all the ingredients before you begin.
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together until blended, then set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Add the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract along with ½ cup of the flour mixture and beat to combine.
Add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing until just combined, then stir in the white chocolate chips on low speed until they are evenly distributed.
Drop ¼ cup balls of cookie dough on a large cookie sheet, placing four balls on each 11x17-inch cookie sheet. This will give you a very large cookie.
Bake at 350 F for 12 minutes per tray, or until the edges of the cookies are a light golden brown.
Dust the cookies with powdered sugar to decorate, and allow them to cool on the wire racks.
Enjoy this delicious springtime treat!
Questions
What's in Panera's lemon drop cookies?
These cookies contain the standard ingredients of flour, sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, eggs, and vanilla extract. What makes them taste so lemony is the lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, and a hint of lemon extract. White chocolate chips bring extra richness, while a dusting of powdered sugar decorates these delightful treats.
How many calories are in a Panera lemon cookies?
According to Panera's website, the nutrition facts for one cookie is 430 calories, 20g of fat, 270mg of sodium, 60g of carbs, 35g of sugars, and 5g of protein. By contrast, our copycat recipe contains only 288 calories, 13.6g of fat, 173.7mg of sodium, 39.2g of carbs, 24.7g of sugars, and 3.4g of protein. To see full nutrition facts for our copycat cookies, please scroll to the bottom of the recipe card.
Keep in mind that Panera's cookies measure approximately 4 ½ inches in diameter, while this recipe makes cookies that are a little bit smaller, but comparable in size. You can cut back on calories even further if you make them smaller.
How much is a lemon drop cookie at Panera?
At our local Panera, it costs $2.39 for a 4 ½-inch cookie. Keep in mind that the price may vary depending from one Panera location to another.
Can I freeze lemon drop cookies?
You absolutely can! Simply seal them tightly in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost them at room temperature for 15 minutes, or in the microwave if you'd like a warm cookie.
Serve
Looking for other delicious cookies? You'll definitely want to try these recipes for Panera kitchen sink cookies, Panera chocolate chipper cookies, honey cookies, and vegan snickerdoodles.
Expert Tips
- Soften the butter to room temperature before you start baking. (Microwaving each stick of butter on high in 5-second intervals works well.)
- Add ½ cup of the flour mixture to the dough when you add the eggs and other liquids to prevent curdling.
- Handle the dough gently, and don't overmix, or it will get tough.
- Take the cookies out of the oven when they are light golden around the edges.
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Recipe
Panera Bread Lemon Drop Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two 11x17-inch cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon extract along with ½ cup of the flour mixture to prevent curdling. Beat until well blended.
- Mix in the remaining flour mixture in two additions, stirring on low speed until the dough is smooth. Be careful not to overmix, or the cookies will be tough.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed.
- Drop the cookie dough in ¼ cup sized balls, putting four cookies per tray. Each ball of dough should weigh between 57-67g, depending upon how many chocolate chips are in it. Be sure to place the cookies far apart, as they will spread in the oven.
- Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes per tray, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Let them cool for 2-3 minutes on the tray, then use a spatula to transfer them to wire racks.
- Dust with the icing sugar and let them cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature before you begin. (If you need to soften the butter quickly, microwave the stick of butter on high in 5-second intervals, flipping the stick to a different side between each interval.)
- Be sure to add ½ cup of the flour mixture to the dough when you add the eggs and other liquids. This prevents the dough from splitting or curdling.
- Don't overmix the batter once the flour is added, or the cookies will get tough.
- Watch the cookies closely as the end of the baking time nears. Take them out when they are light golden around the edges.
- The cook time means that each tray bakes for 12 minutes. If you bake four cookies per tray, it will take you 1 hour to cook 19 cookies.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Judy
Fantastic cookie recipe! I used 4 TBSP of lemon juice instead of 2 because I wanted a good lemony flavor. Came out perfectly. These are dangerously delicious and better than the Panera cookie version. Thanks.
Emma
That's great to hear, Judy! Thanks so much for your kind comment!
Andrea
My daughter is in love with the Panera lemon cookies and these are a perfect dupe! So delicious!
Emma
We're happy that you and your daughter are enjoying the cookies, Andrea!
Linda
Just as good, if not better, than the real thing. Everyone loved lthem!
Emma
Thank you so much, Linda! We're happy that everyone enjoyed them!
Cat
These were delicious, my only complaint is I wish there were more of a lemon flavor since I absolutely love the flavor. I may add a bit more lemon next time I make these. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Emma
I'm glad you enjoyed them, Cat!
Puckles
AWFUL recipe. they did not spread at all like depicted and there was barely any lemon flavor. These are NOT anything like panera.
Emma
I'm sorry they didn't work for you, Puckles. Cookies can have trouble spreading if the flour was measured incorrectly, if the butter wasn't softened enough, if a dark colored baking sheet was used, or if the tray was greased instead of being lined with parchment.
Dianne
Oh Em Gee, these are absolutely fabulous cookies with a couple minor tweets due to taste preference. First, I did not add white chocolate chips as they are not my favorite. Second, I chilled the dough for two hours before baking, this prevented the dough from spreading during baking. Third, instead of powered sugar as the "icing", I used sparkling sugar along with lemon juice powder to taste. I also used a smaller cookie scoop so my batch made nearly 2 1/2 dozen! I baked them for 13 minutes, rotating the pan after 6 minutes -- and I already ate two cookies! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe, this is going to be on my favorite cookie rotation!
BTW, this is my first visit to your site, I found it by looking up lemon drop cookies. I cannot wait to try your other recipes. Keep up the great work!
Emma
We're so glad that you enjoyed the lemon drop cookies, Dianne! We hope you enjoy many other recipes here on Savor the Flavour.
Nicole
Just an FYI, powdered sugar and icing sugar are the exact same thing
Sherry Ronning
This is such a great cookie recipe!! I made these for my daughters birthday and the whole family eat them in no time! And asked me to make them again!
Emma
Aww we love to hear that, Sherry! I'm so glad that you and your family enjoyed the cookies so much!
Diana
Can you freeze this cookie dough before baking?
Emma
I've never tried it, but I've frozen and baked other cookie doughs with success. Feel free to give it a try and let me know how it went!