Blueberry Crinkle Cookies

When it comes to cookies that highlight fruity flavors, recipes often use zest, juice, jam or chopped pieces of the fruit itself to get the fresh, sweet flavor across. In less common cases, extracts or freeze-dried fruit can help boost the flavor in a concentrated, punchy way without adding too much volume or moisture. But the most flavorful fruit dessert recipes use more than one way to add flavor—and our recipe for blueberry crinkle cookies is one of them.

Blueberry crinkle cookies have bits of juicy wild blueberries as well as freeze-dried bluebs to deliver lots of fresh berry flavor as well as a pretty shade of blue. And like other classic crinkle cookies, they’re rolled in confectioners’ sugar. As they bake, the sugar creates a crinkled texture across the tops.

I brought these blueberry cookies to share with friends and family at a summer concert in the park. The treats are also a pretty choice for dessert after a backyard barbecue or to pack in the basket for a picnic. They’ll be a unique addition to your list of favorite summer cookie recipes.

Ingredients for Blueberry Crinkle Cookies

• Frozen wild blueberries: Find frozen wild blueberries year-round in the freezer case at the grocery store. These tiny wild blueberries from Maine pack a lot of flavor without the excess juice found in larger blueberries.
• Granulated sugar: Use this type of sugar to sweeten the dough and as a part of the coating on the outsides of the cookies.
• Freeze-dried blueberries: When ground into a powder, freeze-dried berries add an extra punch of blueberry flavor and give them a lovely color too.
• Confectioners’ sugar: The cookie dough balls are rolled first in granulated sugar, then in confectioners’ sugar. Once baked, the sugars give the cookies their crinkled look.
• Butter: Allow the butter to soften to room temperature before creaming it with the sugar. If you forget to do this in advance, there are easy ways to soften butter quickly, such as cutting it into cubes or grating it.
• Egg: One large egg is enough to help bring this dough together. We always recommend baking with room-temperature eggs. Eggs straight from the fridge don’t incorporate into doughs and batters quite as nicely.
• Vanilla extract: Use a quality brand-name vanilla extract or some homemade vanilla extract if you’re lucky enough to have some on hand.
• Lemon juice: There’s a reason why lemon blueberry desserts are so popular! Adding a little bit of lemon juice to the dough helps bring out the fruity blueberry flavor.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is all you need to make the crinkle cookies. Use kitchen tools like a whisk or a mixer attachment to sift the flour, removing any lumps.
• Baking powder: This leavening agent activates twice to lift the cookies: once when mixed in the dough and again in the heat of the oven.
• Salt: A small amount of salt is added to the cookie dough to enhance the flavors. Without it, the cookies would taste a little flat.

Directions

Step 1: Thaw the berries

Pour the frozen wild blueberries into a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat them in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, until they’re soft but still cool. Set the thawed blueberries aside.

Step 2: Make the dough

Place the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for three minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and ground freeze-dried blueberries, and beat for one to two minutes until a soft dough forms.

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking powder and salt together. Then, mix the dry ingredients into the dough mixture with the mixer set to medium-low speed until they’re just incorporated. Finally, use a wooden spoon to stir the thawed wild blueberries and juice from the bowl into the dough. Cover the dough in the bowl and refrigerate it for at least two hours.

Editor’s Tip: You can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer in place of a stand mixer.

Step 3: Shape and coat the dough balls

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two 15x10x1-inch baking sheets with parchment. Pour some granulated sugar into a shallow bowl and the confectioners’ sugar into a separate shallow bowl. Scoop a rounded tablespoonful of the dough and gently roll it into a ball between your palms. Roll it first in granulated sugar, and then in the confectioners’ sugar, coating it thickly. Place the sugar-covered cookie dough ball on the baking sheet. Repeat with more dough scoops, placing the coated balls about 2 inches apart.

Editor’s Tip: If you can’t bake all the cookie dough balls at once, hold the rest of the dough in the fridge to keep it cold while the first batch is baking.

Step 4: Bake

Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, until the tops and edges are just set. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Crinkle Cookie Variations

• Add white chocolate chips: White chocolate and blueberries are delicious together. Add a cup or so of white chocolate chips to the cookie dough, similar to these viral blueberry cookies.
• Make them even more blue: The freeze-dried berries add a lot of color, but for an even deeper shade, add a few drops of blue food coloring to the dough.
• Try a mixed berry cookie: Instead of freeze-dried blueberries, try ground freeze-dried raspberries and/or strawberries to pair with the wild blueberries.

How to Store Blueberry Crinkle Cookies

Because blueberry crinkle cookies are made with fresh berries, they should be stored in the fridge to protect the flavor and quality. Transfer the cooled cookies to an airtight container or a resealable storage bag, then refrigerate them. The cookies are just as delicious chilled, or you can allow them to come to room temperature before serving.

How long do blueberry crinkle cookies last?

The cookies will last for five to seven days when they’re kept tightly sealed and refrigerated.

Can you freeze blueberry crinkle cookies?

Yes, to make this blueberry dessert last even longer, the blueberry crinkle cookies can be frozen. Stack the cooled cookies in a freezer-proof container with waxed paper between the layers. Store them in the freezer for up to three months. To thaw the cookies, move them to the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Can you make blueberry crinkle cookie dough ahead of time?

The blueberry crinkle cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to two days after making it. Or, to freeze the dough, roll it into balls and place them in a single layer on a tray. Freeze them until they’re solid, then transfer the dough balls to freezer-proof containers or bags. Store them in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw the dough balls in the fridge overnight, and wait to roll them in the two sugars until just before baking.

Blueberry Crinkle Cookie Tips

Why did the crinkle top and confectioners’ sugar disappear on my blueberry crinkle cookies?

Some of the confectioners’ sugar will melt when the blueberry crinkle cookies are baking no matter what, but if the coating is too thin, the confectioners’ sugar will disappear completely. It’s important to coat the dough balls with a thick layer of confectioners’ sugar so that enough of it remains to give the cookies their crackled tops. Rolling the dough balls in granulated sugar before the confectioners’ sugar also helps. The granulated sugar helps dry out the surface of the cookie during baking, so more of the confectioners’ sugar stays intact.

How do you prevent spreading when baking cookies?

The chilling step in the blueberry crinkle cookies recipe is an important one. Not only does it develop the flavor in the cookies, but it also firms up the butter so that the dough won’t spread too much during baking. Refrigerate the dough for at least two hours, or longer if possible. If the dough is still spreading too much, fold a little more flour into the dough to give it more structure.