Summer Blueberry Lemon Cookies, What?

Do you all remember how I vowed to bake more this year after overcoming my long term baking phobia? I hope someday to serve up baked goods as beautiful and delicious as Claudia, Elra, and Reeni . Get this, my sweet and lovely neighbor. Laurie asked if I would assist her in perfecting a Blueberry Lemon Cookie recipe. WHAT?? Oh My Gosh I was so flattered.


This is how it went; she stopped by to ask if I would gather her mail while she was on vacation. Both being internet geeks, we chatted about her You Tube videos and web designing then on blogging, which for me includes cooking, of course. That is what prompted the thought of asking me for help. Disclosing first my newbie baking status, and sharing lessons learned, I happily agreed to assist.

We planned a Saturday baking date. First thing on the agenda was to review and discuss the outcome of her first attempt at baking these cookies. The texture and density were the problem, not the flavor. With the original version, Laurie described the cookies as similar in texture to a cake or muffin.


Original Blueberry Cookies
Adapted from All Recipes, our changes in italics

Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten, 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk, 3/8 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, 1 pint
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheet.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar. Beat in eggs, lemon flavoring and lemon zest. Mix in milk and flour mixture alternately in three parts, starting with the milk. Gently mix in blueberries. (The final product is thick, more like a cookie dough rather than a batter as in the first attempt)

4. Drop batter by tablespoons onto prepared sheets 1 1/2 inches apart. (Press cookies gently with fork to fatten slightly.)
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.


Laurie described these as the perfect summertime cookie, I concur. The combination of lemon and blueberry was fabulous. Each bite began with a splash of fresh lemon flavor followed by an ooze of fresh blueberry. Laurie noted the blueberries retained their shape and juice, not popping nearly as much while baking as the previous batch did. We decided to sprinkle some of them with powdered sugar. In my opinion this added just the right amount of sweetness to the light yet crusty tops, whereas Laurie preferred them without it. Merely dropping by spoonfuls presented a muffin like cookie, which was significantly better than the original however not what we were looking for. We agreed the flattening made these true cookies and hands down the best cookies of all. Needless to say I had a great time, and hope we'll do this again soon.



If you have fresh blueberries and need an idea try these cookies. I am certain you will not be disappointed!

I linked these cookies to



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