eat make read

Here comes another daydream realized. There have been a lot of daydreams lately, so please bear with me. I guess that’s what’s kind of fun about shopping at the farmers market or using a CSA, it makes you get creative with the food you’ve got. Anywho, I had these blueberries and I had a craving for cookies. Like chocolate chip cookies, but I didn’t really want the chocolate part and I thought, hm, maybe I could use blueberries instead of chocolate chips. Once I got the idea in my head I just couldn’t wait to try it out. But then the temperature rose to 80-something degrees and our apartment felt like a sauna and I thought, hm, maybe I can wait. Well, good news. The temperature dropped a bit and I finally got to make these tasty blueberry cookies.

I haven’t made chocolate chip cookies in a long time, so I wasn’t sure which recipe to use for the base of the cookie. I ended up looking in my Baked cookbook because those guys know how to make some delicious baked goods. I tweaked it a little by adding some fresh ground cinnamon (I just got a new microplane, so geeky I know) and of course, adding the blueberries instead of the chocolate. I mixed the dough, covered it and popped it in the fridge for a while.

Later in the evening I got my dough scooper out and placed little balls of dough on a sheet. I sprinkled them with raw sugar and put them in the oven, fingers crossed. When I pulled them out, they didn’t look as lovely as I wanted them to, they were a little blobby. Looks aren’t everything though, so I let them cool on the pan for a bit and then transfered them to a cooling rack. When I couldn’t wait any longer, I tasted one and I was a happy lady. They are tasty and refreshingly familiar. They’re more on the cakey side of a cookie, but the flavor is rich and buttery with hints of brown sugar and cinnamon. That dough plays really well with the juicy, bright flavor of the blueberries. Come to think of it, these kind of feel like muffin tops. There could be worse things.

blueberry cookies
adapted from the chocolate chip cookie recipe in Baked
I halved this recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blueberries
raw sugar (or large grain sugar)

1
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda together and set aside.
2
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butters and sugars together until smooth and creamy.
3
Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy.
4
Add the vanilla and beat for 5 seconds.
5
Add half the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
6
Using a spatula, carefully fold in the blueberries.
7
Cover the bowl tightly and put in the fridge for 6 hours.
8
Preheat oven to 375°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
9
Use an ice cream scoop or teaspoon to make golf ball-sized balls of dough. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 1-inch apart and sprinkle with raw sugar.
10
Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating pans one during the cooking time, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown and the tops just start to darken.
11
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.