Mrs. Fields & iVillage 30th Anniversary Cookie Contest (686 photos) Fruit Cookies (23 photos)

I Dream of Blueberries & Cream

As little girls, perhaps our most vivid memories are those of our childhood summers. Some how we remember the most subtle nuances of these experiences, things we hardly take notice of as adults. Our senses were really a blank slate and we absorbed the details. Every summer I traveled so many miles north to visit my cousins. My Aunt Debbie had an immaculate kitchen where she was always cooking. Her garden was weedless with perfectly tended strawberry plants and tomatoes. I remember the first time I tasted summer squash on their deck and learning that there was such a thing as homemade applesauce. I had my first gourmet cookie at Aunt Debbie’s. It was amazing! With chunks of chocolate and whole nuts she must have known how impressed I was because the following Christmas she sent me a package of them. But the most vivid memory of my summers in New Jersey, were the blueberry bushes draped along a wooden fence. On our bare feet and orange Tupperware cups in hand, we tip-toed across the gravel road and selected the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious blueberries I’ve ever tasted. When I saw this contest to create a cookie for Debbi Fields, I thought of my own Aunt Debbie, my first gourmet cookie, and those very special blueberries.

I Dream of Blueberries & Cream Cookies

Topping:
1 15 oz. can Oregon blueberries in light syrup, lightly drained
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. Corn starch
1/8 tsp. pure almond extract
Base:
1 1/2 c. Unbleached All purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
½ c. Crisco shortening
2 Tbs. light brown sugar
¾ c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 Tbs. whole milk
Drizzle:
¾ c. white chips
½ c. marshmallow creme
1 tsp. water

Topping- In medium saucepan on medium-heat the blueberries and sugar. Mash them with a fork. In small cup, mix the lemon juice and starch. When blueberries boil, add the lemon mixture stirring continuously. When thick, stir in extract. Remove from heat. Let cool. Should equal about ¾ c. Base- Preheat oven 375 degrees. Sift flour and soda together in large bowl. Add salt. Set aside. On medium speed cream the shortening and sugars for 5 minutes until very fluffy. Scrape down as needed. Add vanilla and egg until well blended. Sprinkle the milk over the flour mixture, toss with fork. Add the dry mixture ½ c. at a time to sugar mixture until incorporated. With small cookie scoop, place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Press cookies down with a teaspoon to 1/8 inch thickness indenting a little. Spread a light layer of topping on each cookie. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to rack. Drizzle- When cookies are cool, heat chips, creme and water in microwave 45 seconds. Whisk with fork until smooth and drizzle a swirl over each cookie. Let cool completely. Yields 18 cookies