Lemon Rhubarb Cookies
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here.
Lemon Rhubarb Cookies are soft, melt in your mouth cookies that are sweet and tart with bright flavors of lemon and rhubarb.
It’s rhubarb season! Rhubarb is growing like crazy. Thanks to a friend at work, I have a large supply of rhubarb from the beginning of spring until mid-summer.
Last year I used the rhubarb to make some jams and also in a pie. This year I will also be using it for canning but I wanted to try something new.
I knew what I wanted to try. I wanted to make cookies with the rhubarb. I thought about making strawberry rhubarb cookies but fresh strawberries don’t work all that well in cookies.
Ingredients:
- butter
- brown sugar
- sugar
- egg
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- rhubarb
- lemons
To make the cookies: In a large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the egg and mix. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt then mix well. The dough may be a little dry. Stir in the rhubarb, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix until well combined.
I decided to pair the rhubarb with lemon instead. Since both the rhubarb and lemon are tart I thought that they would work well together in a sweet cookie. I made the cookies with both white and brown sugar.
These cookies literally melt in your mouth. The are sweet, soft, and have a tartness to them from the rhubarb and the lemon. I don’t know about you but I love the sweet and tart combination. I gave some to my friends and they couldn’t eat just one!
What is rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a spring vegetable. The edible part of the plant is the bright pink stalks which are almost always cooked with lots of sugar because it is very sour. Do not eat the leaves of the rhubarb plant.
Where can I get rhubarb?
Rhubarb can be bought at the market. However, it’s very seasonal and is usually seen in late spring or early summer. Farmer’s markets are a great place to find it as well.
Can I use just one type of sugar?
You can choose to use just brown sugar or just the white sugar. Either is fine for this cookie and will have similar results.
Can I substitute a different type of citrus?
Yes! Orange and rhubarb go really well together and would make a great cookie. You can also use grapefruit or lime if you like those flavors. Use what you like!
My husband took his first bite and I could tell by the look on his face that he liked it. After finishing off the cookie and taking a second one he gave me a look.
He then told me that this may be his new favorite cookie! That’s saying a lot since I make a whole lot of cookies around here.
If you have any rhubarb available this spring or summer I highly recommend you give it a try. They are an easy to make and really tasty cookie, especially if you like that sweet and tart combination!
More Rhubarb Recipes:
- Berry Rhubarb Bars
- Mandarin Orange Rhubarb Crisp
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
- Orange Rhubarb Jam
- Honey Rhubarb Muffins
Lemon Rhubarb Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ c. butter softened
- ½ c. brown sugar
- ½ c. sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 1/4 c. flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 c. rhubarb chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the egg and mix well.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Your dough may be a little dry at this point.
- Stir in the rhubarb, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix until well combined.
- Drop the dough onto ungreased cookie sheets by heaping tablespoons. Place the cookies at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to brown slightly.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
I made these step by step. They turned out very moist, but they stuck together. Almost like they weren’t cooked but they were.
Tasty but too gooey. I tossed them.
I couldn’t understand a full tablespoon of baking powder too. ?
Thank you.
I actually had this issue the last time I made them too even though I’ve made them many times before without any trouble. The best thing to do is reduce the rhubarb to 1 cup instead of 1 1/2 cups. That will take some of the moisture out. I do add a full tablespoon of baking powder because the original recipe uses self-rising flour and the equivalent would be 2 cups of flour and 3 teaspons of baking powder. I’m going to adjust the amount of rhubarb in the recipe even though I’ve used one and a half cups of it before and never had an issue until the last time I made them.
Do you cook your rhubarb in sugar 1st or as is?
No. I just chop it and put it in, it gets very soft during cooking. I just made these again this week and they work great!
I just made these and they are a hit with my family! Next time I’ll dice the rhubarb tho cause I just chopped it this time and thought they’d cook down a bit more and look like the pictures in the recipe.. not so much. The big chunks look pretty tho.
Thank you for the recipe! I can’t wait to experiment with it more!
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorite rhubarb recipes and I make it every year. Yes, the size of the rhubarb will depend on your tastes!
Is it really a full tablespoon of baking powder or a TEASPOON? Seems like too much if I compare to other cookie recipes.
It is a full tablespoon because the original recipe uses self-rising flour. If you want to lower it 2 teaspoons will work.
Do you have to stew the rhubarb before adding it or just chop it up raw? Thanks Tracey
I just chop it up raw. I was a little worried about not cooking it before putting it in but it works just fine.
I have several rhubarb plants growing in my yard and I’ve always let friends/family/neighbors come & take whatever they want because I didn’t know what to do with it. I kept some for myself this year and baked these cookies. OMG they’re amazing. I may have to keep all the rhubarb for myself now! 😂
Can frozen rhubarb be used in this recipe and any changes in baking time?
I would probably thaw the frozen rhubarb before using it in the recipe. If you put it in the batter frozen there are all kinds of variables that could happen that I cannot account for. Just thaw it on the counter or refrigerator over night and drain any liquid from it.
Have you ever frozen these? Wondering if they would work best having dough balls frozen and cooking the dough from frozen or thawed. Or if cooking the dough and freezing the cookies would be better. Any thoughts?
I have not frozen them but they are similar to other cookies I have frozen and rhubarb doesn’t hold a ton of water so I think they would be fine. I would freeze them as dough balls then take out and bake as needed.
Made these cookies and they are delicious. I cut down on the sugar just a bit and substituted 1/2 of the butter with shortening. Used orange zest instead of lemon. You can play around with this recipe and make it your own. Next time I may try some cinnamon in them. Thank you for this great recipe.
Glad you enjoyed it! I’m all for playing around with recipes and making them your own!
I can honestly say I’ve never had a rhubarb cookie! What a great idea to make a cookie with it! Pinning this for when the store has rhubarb again!
Love this idea! I’m pretty obsessed with rhubarb, but I’ve yet to make a cookie with it! So good!
Very delicious huge hit made few times now just added bit more flour.