cottage cheese lemon cookies

A plate of lemon cottage cheese cookies.

4 from 5 votes

cottage cheese lemon cookies

Recipe has been updated and retested to ensure fluffy cookies! These lemon cottage cheese cookies are soft, pillowy, and bright with citrus — and they get their 6 grams of protein per cookie entirely from real food. No powder, no supplements! Just cottage cheese doing what it does best .💃 We use over a full cup of blended cottage cheese to replace most of the butter, which is what gives these their bakery-style texture without the bakery-style fat content. This recipe has been revised after the initial comments to ensure it's foolproof!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

chill time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: chia seeds, cottage cheese, high protein

Servings:

Calories: 208kcal

Author: Mika Kinney

Ingredients

wet ingredients

4 tablespoons (54g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar (or 1:1 monkfruit)
1¼ cups (285g) cottage cheese blended completely smooth
¼ cup (62g) egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons (6g) fresh lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons

dry ingredients

1 ½ cups (220g) all-purpose flour may need a tablespoon more for a scoopable batter
1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (15g) chia seeds sub: poppy seeds 1:1, or omit + add 2 tablespoon flour — flax seeds do not work here

lemon glaze

½ cup (60g) powdered sugar or monkfruit powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon to sprinkle on top (optional)

Instructions

Blend the 1¼ cups (285g) cottage cheese and ¼ cup (62g) egg whites in a blender or food processor until completely smooth — no visible curds. Scrape down the sides as needed. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, use your hands to rub together the Zest of 2 lemons and the ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar until fragrant (important for getting all that lemon flavor!) Then beat the 4 tablespoons (54g) unsalted butter with it together until combined into a thick paste. It won't get fluffy — that's normal.
Stir in the blended cottage cheese mixture, 2 teaspoons (6g) fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fully combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups (220g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons (15g) chia seeds. Fold into the wet ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thick, don't over mix.
In my three rounds of testing, I did not ever need to chill the dough. If your dough is not scoopable, add a tablespoon or two more flour and/or chill the dough for a bit.
Scoop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. I find using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop that's overfilled works best for tall cookies.
Bake 15–17 minutes, until pale on top with just a hint of gold on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
Stir together ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies (or dip them into the glaze) and finish with lemon zest if desired. Let the glaze set 10–15 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Chilling: Fridge for 30–60 minutes is ideal. Freezer for 15–20 minutes works in a pinch. Freeze scooped dough balls to bake later — add 2–3 minutes to bake time from frozen.

Chia seed swaps: Poppy seeds work 1:1. Flax seeds do NOT work here. Omitting? Add 2 extra tablespoons of flour.

Glaze: Monk fruit powdered sugar is a 1:1 swap. Always glaze on completely cooled cookies.

Storage: Airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, fridge for up to a week (they get kind of soggy in the fridge though). Freeze unglazed for up to 2 months.

Make ahead: Dough keeps in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Scooped balls freeze well — bake straight from frozen, but add 2-3 minutes to the bake time.

My cookies spread thin: This will happen if your measurements are even slightly off or if your baking powder or baking soda is not fresh. Without the reaction, these won't rise! Your dough should be thick and scoopable. If it's too thin, add a bit more flour and if it's too thick, add a bit more egg whites or cottage cheese (although this is hard to do without overmixing).

It's also helpful to use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to keep them tall. We found that the larger the cookie, the more they spread out. Still fluffy but not domed.

Nutrition