More Refrigerator Sugar Cookies — Flavor Me “Blueberry-Lemon” and “Cherry-Almond”
Maylee at Beyond Gumbo
8 min read
Anyone who loves cookies knows that there is always room for one more cookie recipe, especially if includes an interesting “twist.” I knew that I had to try this recipe which popped up on my Facebook feed sponsored by the Pioneer Sugar brand. The twist is that the cookie recipe for “Blueberry Lemon & Lavender Cookies” includes cornstarch in the ingredient list but not eggs. Mistake? Apparently not. Hum — wonder what these cookies taste like especially since the Facebook feed author claimed that these were the “ultimate” cookies. Just a few blueberries remained in my garden in June and this recipe “called out” for them. I also decided to make second batch using sweet cherries and almond extract since somehow we had an abundance of cherries in our house at the moment.
Shipping Desserts: A Cake or Cookies
Which is better to ship — cookies or a cake? An out-of-town family member is having a birthday soon, and I want to send some homemade goodies. This makes a special present — rather than sending a dessert from a commercial bakery. Can a cake make it through the mail in good shape? Will cookies become stale when shipped? My sister-in-law always sends me a tin of homemade German cookies at Christmas time. So, I know that I’m okay with sending shortbread-type cookies. How about cake?
I did have one interesting experience with shipping a cake. My mother mailed me the top layer of my wedding cake on my first wedding anniversary. She had stored it in her freezer for a year way up in Virginia! She packed the cake layer cushioned in popcorn and shipped it by standard mail. It was a typical wedding cake with buttercream icing. Surprisingly, the cake came through the mail service just fine. And, I haven’t forgotten that special present.
Today, I think I’ll opt for making and mailing these cookies — it seems so much simplier!
Ice Box Sugar Cookie Recipe with Cornstarch
I’m always “game” to try new cooke recipe variations. I have seen many cookie recipes over the years but never one which included cornstarch as an ingredient. Apparently, the premise is that the cornstarch helps keep the cookies tender by interfering with gluten development in the flour. Gluten makes cookies “tough” if the flour batter is over mixed. I have high expectations for very light, tender cookies with a distinct lemon and blueberry flavor. Yum!
This is a refrigerator cookie recipe, so plan ahead. The dough should be chilled for at least two hours before forming the cookies since the dough is very sticky. Chilling the dough before shaping the cookies makes the dough easier to handle. It also helps keep the cookies from spreading out too much during baking.
Ingredients:
Here are the ingredients for these cookies:
There are no eggs in this cookie recipe. — In this respect, the ingredient list is similar to shortbread cookies. Lots of butter, sugar and flour. There is a bit of baking powder and salt to go along with the flour. The cookie dough uses granulated sugar and the raw cane sugar is for rolling the cookie balls prior to baking. Both the zest and juice of a fresh lemon are used in the cookie dough. Vanilla extract adds a little flavor. Interestingly, milk is included in the recipe. Apparently, this replaces liquid from omitting the egg. And, the cornstarch is dissolved in water. Along with the lemon juice, this cookie recipe contains plenty of liquid sources.
In the instructions, I give two options– one with blueberries and fresh lemon and the other with chopped sweet cherries and almond extract. Why not make two batches?
In my reference recipe from Pioneer Sugar, the blueberry lemon cookie dough balls were rolled in lavender-sugar. I didn’t have lavender, so omitted that ingredient, replacing it with raw cane sugar.
Making the cookies — Two Variations and pre-prep:
I made two variations: blueberry lemon cookies and cherry almond cookies. I was really into making cookies this afternoon.
A little pre-preparation is needed to get ready for making the cookies. Here we go:
First, zest and juice the lemon. I got to use my newest kitchen gadget. I purchased an inexpensive lemon zester. And I love it. It is so easy to get just the lemon peel cut off the lemon without getting the white pith, too. And, an old-fashioned manual juicer works just fine for juicing the lemon.
For the cherry variation — here’s the only difficult part of this recipe — digging the pits out of the cherries. I used a fork to puncture the cherries, then pulled the pits out against my finger. Then it is easy to chop the cherries.
Mix up the cookie dough recipe
Ah, another electric mixer recipe. Yes, an electric mixer is the easiest way to cream sugar and butter making the mixture light and airy. My inexpensive, hand held electric mixer is getting alot of use this year.
Cream together the softened butter and sugar on medium speed.
Add the milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Blend together.
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add these to the ingredients in the bowl and beat on low speed until blended in. Scrape down with spatula if needed.
Add the cornstarch to the cold water and stir to make a slurry. Mix into cookie dough. (This was the recipe “twist.” I’m just following instructions!)
Blueberry version: By hand, with a spatula, gently stir in the blueberries.
Or, Cherry version: Add chopped cherries and almond extract and stir in. For this version, omit vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Transfer to refrigerator-proof bowls, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Let’s bake the cookies
When you are ready to bake the cookies, line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Yes, this is a much lower oven temperature than typically is used for baking cookies.
Form the cookies into balls and roll in the raw cane sugar. These are large cookies — I used a kitchen scales to make sure they each cookie weighted 40 grams.Weighing each cookie seems like alot of work — but the cookies sure do bake evenly if they are all the same size. An alternative is to use a kitchen scoop — a #24 kitchen scoop is 40 gm or 1-1/2 ounces.
Use the bottom of a cup (or measuring spoon) with a flat bottom to press down on each cookie to flatten the top just a bit. (Wet the bottom of the cup so it doesn’t stick to the dough.)
I spaced the cookies apart by two to three inches so they had plenty of room to spread out. This was a good thing, as the cookies did spread.
Bake at 325 degrees on center oven rack for 15 minutes. These cookies are tender — and fragile. Let the cookies sit on the rimmed baking sheet until they cool to room temperature before trying to move them. Then they can easily be lifted off the parchment paper with a spatula or by peeling off the parchment paper.
Here are the blueberry lemon cookies after baking. Yes, they did spread out. Also, these cookies don’t brown on top. They puff up a little and then deflate as they cool down. Don’t try to bake until the tops turn brown.
Here are the cherry almond cookies before and after baking.
Powdered Sugar Glaze
Since these are “birthday cookies,” I decided to add a powdered sugar glaze and spinkles for decorations.
Here are the ingredients. Stir the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract together until very thick but spreadable. Work quickly to spread the glaze on the cookies and add sprinkles before the glaze hardens.
As the glaze hardens, the sprinkles will adhere.
I admit — I love cookies. With all the variations in cookie recipes, there’s apparently no limit to what you can make. My “cornstarch” refrigerator cookies is proof of that. I have a beautiful plate of “Blueberry-Lemon Ice Box Cookies” and “Cherry-Almond Ice Box Cookies.”
What is my assessment of this cookie recipe? Are they the “ultimate” cookies as the Facebook author proclaimed. How does cornstarch work in cookies? Surprise, these cookies turned out to be very tasty. All my “taste tester” friends and husband gave they a thumbs-up. Sort of melt-in-your mouth cookies. Very tender with lots of lemon flavor — and pops of blueberries. The almond flavor came through along with a hint of cherry flavor in that variation. Although these cookies had great flavor, they were very fragile. That’s a factor to keep in mind when deciding between these unconventional sugar cookies and traditional ones. I’ll keep this recipe in mind for special occasions.
And, I did get a box of the cookies in the mail to my family member. And the postal service came through — overnight delivery to the destination just in time for Birthday wishes!
Enjoy!
Blueberry-Lemon Refrigerator Cookies*
Ingredients for cookies:
* 2 cups plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
* 1-1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 4 Tbsp milk
* zest of one lemon
* 1 Tbsp lemon juice from one lemon (use remaining juice for other recipes)
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 3 Tbsp cornstarch
* 3 Tbsp water
* 1 cup fresh blueberries
* 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
* 1 glaze recipe
* decorating sprinkles
Ingredients For Glaze:
* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp milk, more as needed
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method and Steps:
1. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl of electric mixer, combine the butter, softened at room temperature and granulated sugar. On medium speed of electric ixer, beat until well combined and smooth, about 2 – 3 minutes.
3. Add the milk, lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat until fully combined.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed of electric mixer until soft dough forms. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula, as needed.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until fully combined and smooth.
6. Add the cornstarch slurry to the cookie dough and mix until blended in.
7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the fresh blueberries, mixing just until evenly combined.
8. Transfer dough to a refrigerator-proof bowl, cover with plastic wrap or lid. Refrigerate for two hours or more until the dough is firm.
9. When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
10. Place raw cane sugar in small bowl.
11. Using two spoons or a #24 kitchen scoop, dip out scoops of cookie dough, 1-1/2 oz or 40 gm each. Using hands, roll into balls. Roll in raw cane sugar. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, placing 2″ apart.
12. With a flat-bottomed glass, gently press down slightly on each cookie. Wet bottom of glass so it doesn’t stick to cookies.
13. Bake for 13 minutes, or until the edges are set. Center will soft and puffy, but not browned.
14. Allow cookies to cool to room temperature on baking sheet. Or, gently pull parchment over to wire rack to finish cooling. When cookies are cool, use metal spatula to peel off parchment paper.
15. Prepare glaze: In a small bowl, with a spoon, stir together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until the glaze is thick but pourable and all lumps are gone. Add milk, one tsp at a time, to thin if needed. Alternatively, add powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time to thicken.
16. Ice each cookie. Working quickly, spread icing in center of cookie and sprinkle on decorating sprinkles.
17. Store cookies in air tight container.
*NOTE: For Cherry-Almond Refrigerator Cookies: Substitute 1 cup fresh sweet cherries, pitted and chopped, and 1/2 tsp almond extract for blueberries, lemon zest and juice and vanilla extract.
