Tag: lemon

Categories
Cookies Dessert

Fresh berry cookies are almost too good to be ‘blue’

Blueberry white chocolate cookies are big and soft with lots of blueberry flavor, a hint of lemon, and pops of white chocolate.
Blueberry white chocolate cookies are big and soft with lots of blueberry flavor, a hint of lemon, and pops of white chocolate.

When I was a kid, our Sunday morning breakfast tradition was having some sort of pastry before church. 

Most often, it was some mini donuts, but every so often, my parents would pick up a variety pack of jumbo muffins. I loved all the flavors, but I often opted for a big, cake-y blueberry muffin as my first choice.

I recently picked up a big container of blueberries and decided to make some cookies I’d been eyeing for awhile. Let me tell you: these were so, so delicious, and while they weren’t quite the same fluffy cake texture of a muffin top, that’s definitely what they reminded me of.

This comes from the blog “In Fine Taste.” You can find the original post at https://infinetaste.com/blueberry-lemon-white-chocolate-chip-cookies/. I added extra vanilla in my version and removed some extra lemon flavors.

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Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blueberry white chocolate cookies are big and soft with lots of blueberry flavor, a hint of lemon, and pops of white chocolate.
Course Dessert
Keyword blueberry, cookies, cream cheese, lemon, vanilla, white chocolate

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar plus more for rolling dough in
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

  • Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
  • Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar together. Beat for about two minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg, vanilla and lemon juice for another minute until the batter is smooth.
  • Beat in the salt, baking soda and flour. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and blueberries.
  • Add a few tablespoons of sugar to a small bowl. Scoop dough out in about 1/4-cup scoops, and roll the dough ball in the sugar. Place the cookies about two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets, and place the sheets in the refrigerator for one hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for 13 to 16 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are just browned. Let the cookies rest for 10 minutes before enjoying or transferring to an airtight container.

You could probably get away with using frozen blueberries for this, too, if you thaw them and drain them very well first.

We shared these with some friends, and I almost immediately got a request for the recipe. This makes huge, soft cookies that were so, so good.

And while they aren’t actually muffin tops, I think you could get away with eating these for breakfast, too. If anyone judges you, just don’t share your cookies with them.

This piece first appeared in print on March 4, 2021.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

You’ll be head over ‘peels’ for lemon truffles

Easy lemon truffles come together quickly with just a few ingredients, including a cake mix.
Easy lemon truffles come together quickly with just a few ingredients, including a cake mix.

When I write about recipes every week, I normally tell you about my friends and family, who step in as guinea pigs to try all of my concoctions.

And normally, I tell you how they really liked it or about the lack of leftovers after I present them with a plate of something new.

But I have to admit this week that of the three family members I tried this out on—my sister, brother-in-law and two-year-old niece—I was only successful with two-thirds of the crowd.

The adults loved the lemon-based dessert I brought for a shared meal.

My niece, on the other hand, was not impressed. She was a lot happier with the store-bought cookies I brought as a backup, though, so she forgave my after-dinner failure.

Regardless of not pleasing the toddler palate, I still decided to share this recipe with you this week, which comes from the blog “Premeditated Leftovers.” You can find it at https://premeditatedleftovers.com/recipes-cooking-tips/easy-lemon-truffle-recipe/. I added a bit more lemon juice and zest in my version.

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Easy Lemon Truffles

Course Dessert
Keyword cake mix, lemon, truffle

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon cake mix
  • 7 tablespoons butter melted
  • juice of one lemon
  • zest of one lemon
  • 3/4 cup sugar divided

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and 1/2 cup sugar until everything is well incorporated.
  • Place the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl.
  • Roll the dough mixture into about one-inch balls and then roll them in the bowl of sugar.
  • Store the finished truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about an hour to set up before serving.

I would argue that these weren’t overly sweet or sour—they were just in the middle—and I was glad I added just a bit of extra lemon to cut the sweetness.

I will also warn you that this doesn’t make a lot of truffles. I got around a dozen and a half out of mine, so if you’re looking for more volume, I highly recommend doubling this one.

And, if you’re planning on supplying treats for children, I can tell you from my experience that this may not be a good go-to recipe. Apparently, it’s more well-suited for adult tastebuds, and if it would hurt your feelings to watch a toddler screw up their face in disgust after trying your cooking, beware of sharing this one with anyone still in diapers.

In the end, though, this recipe was a slam dunk with my sister and brother-in-law, and they even requested that I leave the leftovers behind when I went home.

If I had to guess, that was half because they enjoyed them, and half because they knew they wouldn’t have to share.

This piece first appeared in print on March 5, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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