Blueberry Muffin Cookies

I was attracted to this recipe because it promised to "taste like a muffin tops". It was cakey soft and full of juicy blackberries.

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 and 1/2 cups
Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp 
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter - 3/4 cup, softened to room temperature
Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Light or dark brown sugar - 1/4 cup, packed 
Large egg - 1, at room temperature (I used egg replacer)
Pure vanilla extract - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Lemon zest - 2 tsp
Fresh lemon juice - 2 TBSP
Milk - 1/4 cup
Fresh or frozen blueberries - 2 cups (280g) 
optional for a little crunch: coarse sugar
optional Lemon Glaze

Confectioners’ sugar - 1 and 1/2 cups,  sifted

Fresh lemon juice - 2 TBSP
Half-and-half (or heavy cream or milk) - 1–2 TBSP

Steps

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. 

3. With the mixer running on low speed, add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.

4. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and milk. Beat everything just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Dough will be very creamy, sticky, and thick. 

5. With a spoon or silicone spatula, carefully fold blueberries into cookie dough. Handle with care because some may break a little. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes and up to 2-3 days.

6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
7. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Scoop cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons each, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle each with a little coarse sugar. Gives the cookies an extra crunch. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the cookie springs back when lightly poked with your finger.

8. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

9. To make the glaze, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and half-and-half together until smooth. Add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more lemon juice/half-and-half to thin, if desired. Spoon over cookies. If applied lightly, the glaze will set within a couple hours. ( I skipped this to reduce sugar count)

Lemon Meltaway Cookies

I tried this recipe for this year's Christmas cookies. It is simple and soft shortbread with refreshing lemon taste.  

Ingredients

Unsalted butter - 1 cup, softened
Granulated sugar - ¾ cup
Fresh lemon zest - 2 TBSP 
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Cornstarch - 2 TBSP
Salt - ½ tsp
Lemon Icing

Powdered sugar - 1 ¾ cups 
Fresh-squeezed lemon juice - 2 TBSP
Lemon zest for garnish optional

Yield 36 cookies

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest and use an electric mixer to cream until light and fluffy.

3. In a separate, medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until completely combined.

5. Scoop dough into 1 Tablespoon-sized balls, rolling gently between your palms to create a smooth ball. Place on baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. When cookies are finished baking, immediately use a clean, flat surface to lightly flatten the surface of each cookie (a measuring cup or glass works well). Allow cookies to cool completely before adding lemon icing.

7. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until completely combined and smooth. Mixture should be slightly thick and, when the whisk is lifted, should ribbon back into the bowl and hold its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the bowl. If your icing is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it’s too thin, add more sugar.

8. Spoon a small amount of glaze onto the completely cooled cookie, and use the back of the spoon to spread evenly over the top. If desired, garnish with lemon zest.

9. Allow cookies to sit until glaze is firm before enjoying. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Like the double Chocolate crinkle cookies, this is another holiday cookie  from Sally's holiday cookie collection. 

Ingredients

All-purpose flour - 2 and 1/2 cups
Cornstarch - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 3/4 cup, softened to room temperature
Granulated sugar - 1 cup + 2 TBSP
Egg - 1 large, at room temperature (used egg replacer)
Fresh lemon juice - 1/4 cup (60ml)
Lemon zest - 2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, for rolling

Yield: about 30 cookies

Steps

1. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Mixture will appear curdled and that’s ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Dough is thick, creamy, and sticky.

3. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.

4. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
6. Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, into balls. (Each dough ball should weigh about 20g.) Roll each ball in a bowl of granulated sugar, and then very generously in the confectioners’ sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.

7. Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.

8. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can chill for up to 3 days, so this is a great make-ahead recipe. Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls (that are not coated in confectioners’ sugar) freeze well up to 3 months. When it’s time to bake the cookies, remove them from the freezer and thaw on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Roll into confectioners’ sugar as instructed and bake.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

I made this for Halloween following Sally's recipe. The cookies were soft, chewy, and very sweet. 

Ingredients

All-purpose flour - 2 cups+1TBSP
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon - 2 tsp
Pumpkin pie spice - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Old-fashioned rolled oats - 1 and 1/2 cups
Unsalted butter - 1 cup, melted and slightly cooled
Pure maple syrup - 3 TBSP
Light or dark brown sugar - 3/4 cup, packed 
Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup
Egg yolk - 1
Pumpkin puree -3/4 cup 
Pure vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 1 and 1/2 cups

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and oats together in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. Blot the pumpkin puree by squeezing the puree with paper towels.

4. Whisk the melted butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg yolk, blotted pumpkin, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour into dry ingredients and mix everything together until completely combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Scoop cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.

6. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes
Make Ahead Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. 

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

I followed this recipe and used beet root powder instead of food color. The cookies were not as red as I expected. For a truly "red" velvet cookies, maybe this need more beet root powder or some food color. This definitely need some more experiments.

Ingredients

All purpose flout - 3 cups

Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 1 cup, softened to room temperature
light or dark brown sugar - 1 and 1/2 cups, packed

Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup 
Egg - 2 large, at room temperature ( used egg replacer)
Milk or buttermilk - 2 TBSP

Pure vanilla extract - 4 tsp
Beet powder - 3 TBSP
Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 2 cups, plus a few extra for after baking

Yield about 40 cookies

Steps

1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, beet powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Once mixed, add the food coloring and beat until combined. Turn the mixer off and pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed. On low speed, beat in the chocolate chips. The dough will be sticky.

3. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow dough to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. 

5. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Scoop 1.5 Tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Place 9 balls onto each baking sheet. Bake each batch for 13 minutes. The cookies may have only spread slightly, that’s ok. Simply press down on the warm cookies to slightly flatten, which helps form crinkles. If desired for looks, stick a few chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies.

6. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (See step 3.) Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Click here for my tips and tricks on freezing cookie dough.

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookie

The orange flavor is a great addition to the traditional cranberry shortbread in this recipe. It is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

Ingredients

Unsalted butter - 1 cup, softened to room temperature

Confectioners' sugar - ½ cup 
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Orange zest - 1 TBSP
Salt - ¼ tsp
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Dried cranberries - ½ cup, chopped

Steps

1. Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add vanilla, orange zest, and salt and beat until incorporated. Add flour and cranberries and beat until mixture forms into a dough.
3. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. Then, roll the dough into a log, 2-inches in diameter or to your preference. 
4. Wrap the log tightly with plastic cling wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, up to overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a half sheet baking pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Cut the dough into ¼-inch to ½-inch slices, and place on the baking sheet about ½-inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until just starting to brown on the edges.

7. Allow cookies to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

This Ultimate Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe uses cream cheese to replace eggs. I baked large size cookies and they ended up lightly crispy around the edges and moist in the middle.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour - 2 1/4 cups 
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp 

Butter - 1 cup, at room temperature
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Brown sugar - 3/4 cup, packed
Cream cheese - 1 pack (8 oz.), at room temperature

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 2 cups
Yield 18 large cookies (ice cream scoop size)

Steps

1. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. 

2. In large mixer bowl, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. Gradually blend dry mixture into butter/sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. 

3. Use cookie scoop or ice cream scoop (about 4TBSP size) to shape into round dough. Put in freezer to chill for at least one hour. 

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 6 balls per sheet and bake for 20 min, or until golden brown around the edges. (it will be shorter if your ball of cookie dough is smaller)

5. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. You can store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in a airtight container and in the freezer for 1 to 2 months. I prefer to store the unbaked balls of cookie doughs in freezer. Nothing beat the smell of freshly baked cookies. 

Soccer Ball Cookies

I made these cookies for soccer team. The dough is the same recipe from the egg free sugar cookies. I made two batches of dough, one white, and one brown. To make the brown dough, replace 1/4 all purpose flour in the recipe with 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.

I used hexagon shape cookie cutter to cut out small white and brown hexagons, then arranged them into soccer ball patterns, finally use a round cutter to cut out the ball shape. 

Pusheen the Cat Cookie

These were the egg free sugar cookie with the egg free royal icing for my daughter's Pusheen birthday party.

"Laughing" Sesame Ball(开口笑)

These sweet and crisp balls are traditional Chinese snack, originated in Beijing. The Chinese name literally means "Laughing". These small flour balls will be crackled during frying, like laughing. I modified the recipe from Xiachufang.

Ingredients

Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
All purpose flour - 1 and 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Oil/clarified butter - 1 TBSP
White sesame - 1/2 cup

Steps

1. Add sugar and water in sauce pan, boil util sugar is fully dissolved. Set aside to cool down. 

2. In a mixing bowl, mix flour and baking soda; then add oil and sugar water to knead lightly  into a dough. If the dough is too dry, add up to 1 TBSP water. Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

3. Portion the dough into small balls. Prepare a small dish of water. Dip each ball in water before roll it in sesame so that the sesame will stay on the ball.

4. Add oil in a sauce pan and heat up until 320°F, turn off heat, put in the sesame balls. The high temperature should cause the sesame ball to expand quickly and crack the surface. When the balls are starting to float, turn on low heat to fry until the balls are turning yellow. At the end, turn on high heat to quickly brown the balls.

5. Serve after the sesame balls are cool down.