Blueberry cookies remind me of a time when I was little. Every year my family would take a road trip up to Northern California. My parents loved stopping at roadside stands to buy fresh produce on the way back. One year my dad bought an enormous box of blueberries. When we got home, for the next couple of weeks, we ate far too many blueberry pancakes. My dad also used the blueberries in his famous cobbler, which was delightful. Then he made biscuits which turned out like rocks and we all laughed. My favorite blueberry creations that year were the blueberry shortcake and blueberry cookies. I’m sharing my version of the blueberry cookies, with the addition of lavender to make them a little more special.
My Blueberry Lavender Cookies start with butter and homemade lavender sugar. The original cookies had fresh blueberries plopped into the dough, which is perfectly fine if you’re making muffins. To reduce the soggy spots that form as the fruit releases its juices while baking, I typically macerate or cook fruit before it’s added to many of my recipes. The extra step makes a big difference. A quick, cooked blueberry compote is folded into the batter of these cookies, making pretty blueberry swirls. I finished these cookies with a sprinkle of sparkly sanding sugar in a lilac shade. This is optional, but very pretty. You can also make extra lavender sugar to use for sprinkling on your cookies. Sprinkle the sugar on before baking or after the cookies bake, while they’re still warm.
Blueberry Lavender Cookies
Ingredients
Blueberry Compote
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup (4 oz or 113g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Lavender Sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 7/8 oz or 223g) sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons dried culinary lavender*
Blueberry Lavender Cookies
- 2 cups (9 oz or 255g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 tablespoons (5 oz or 142g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- lilac, lavender or purple decorative sanding sugar optional
Instructions
Blueberry Compote
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon of water, stirring until the blueberries soften and start to release their juices. Smash the blueberries slightly with the back of the spoon. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Turn the heat down to low. Simmer until thickened to a jam consistency, about 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the blueberry compote to a small bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Lavender Sugar
- In a small food processor or a clean spice grinder, combine 1/4 cup of the sugar with the lavender. Pulse a few times to chop the lavender into smaller bits. Add the remaining sugar and pulse a few more times to combine.
Blueberry Lavender Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC) Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and lavender sugar with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
- Add the the egg white and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions and mix just until combined.
- Add dollops of the blueberry compote to the batter. Fold in gently, but don't completely combine it. You want to see swirls of blueberry.
- Place 2-tablespoon size portions of dough about 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. I used a #30 portion scoop.*** Sprinkle with decorative sugar if desired.
- Bake until tops of cookies are set and bottom edges turn light golden brown, about 10-14 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Do not over bake. Test one cookie before baking the entire batch if you are unsure about how to determine the doneness of cookies.
