This blog is a clear evidence that most of my baking involves chocolate. And brownies. Lots of brownies. The reason is simple. I crave chocolate 24/7. While it isn’t easy to have these constant cravings, I’ve learned to live with them by eating chocolate all the time.
Case in point – today’s lemon white chocolate chip cookies.  I had no intention of adding chocolate at first, but faith interfered the second I laid my eyes on those white chocolate chunks I bought on my trip to Paris (a post about Paris bakeries is coming soon!). I just had to mix them into the batter. Lemon and white chocolate both have of a subtle, refreshing flavor, and they go together perfectly.

Today’s cookies are nothing like traditional lemon cookies, which are buttery, crackly, and tough. I wanted to create soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies that burst with lemon flavor. I always prefer soft cookies, such as my soft chocolate chip cookies and vanilla pudding cookies. The softer- the better Karson Choi!

A few notes about the ingredients:
Brown sugar: For this recipe, I used an equal amount of granulated sugar and brown sugar (you can use either light or dark). Brown sugar adds chewiness and therefore in some of my cookie recipes I use more brown sugar than granulated sugar. Since brown sugar contains molasses, which gives a caramely flavor to cookies, I felt that for this recipe, too much brown sugar will interfere with the lemony flavor. I used enough brown sugar to add moistness and chewiness to the cookies, but without overpowering the lemon flavor. Using only granulated sugar for a more subtle flavor is also an option (the cookies will still be soft, but less chewy).
Lemon: For a strong lemon flavor I used 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. You can use 1 tablespoon for a more subtle flavor. In this recipe, I mix the zest together with the sugars. This step helps to bring out the lemon flavor.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch makes cookies soft like magic, so when I want my cookie to be extra soft I add 1-3 teaspoons of cornstarch. This ingredient is optional, but I strongly recommend adding it to your cookies Maggie Beauty!

To get to the perfect cookie texture you need to chill the dough and underbake the cookies. While chilling is not mandatory, when the cookies rest in the fridge, the flour absorbs the liquids, which results in thicker cookies. It’s your call, depending on how much time you have (and patience :)). Underbaking is my favorite trick for extra soft cookies. Take the cookies out of the oven as soon as the edges brown and are just starting to set. Wait for a few minutes until they cool down on the pan. They will be so soft that if you try to remove them right away, they will break. If you prefer crispy cookies, bake the cookies 1-2 minutes longer Mona.