Try making lemon-blueberry oatmeal cookies–you’ll never look at oatmeal cookies the same again. Be bold! Be brave! Do something different from the usual oatmeal-raisin cookies. You can use this basic cookie dough and substitute different fruit and nut combinations.
freezing cookie dough
I like to make cookies that can be frozen in dough balls and kept in the freezer in a ziplock bag. It’s easy to have freshly-baked cookies all the time without making a whole batch. You can also have several different flavors in the freezer and bake them on the same cookie sheet.
Use parchment paper to line the baking sheet and freeze the dough balls on it. After freezing, place the dough balls in the ziplock bag. Fgold up the parchment paper and put it in the bag. You can then re-use it to bake the first batch of cookies.
freezing baked cookies
If you live in a dry climate where food dries out and goes stale quickly, bake the cookies and store them in an airtight container in the freezer. Take them out to thaw and you’ll have fresh cookies. The same is true for very damp climates where food can absorb moisture from the air and become soggy. Lemon-blueberry oatmeal cookies will dry out quickly in our New Mexico high desert climate. We bake cookies in small batches so they never sit out for very long.
use a portion scoop
I always use a portion scoop for cookies, since it gives them a consistent size and you can scoop the dough balls quickly. You can buy portion scoops at any restaurant supply store. They’re open to the public and have an amazing amount of professional cooking tools. The bigger the number, the smaller the scoop. For instance, a #100 scoop is a nice size for a butter ball on top of pancakes. A #24 scoop is about the size of a scoop of ice cream.
Don’t use a portion scoop for ice cream–the ice cream is too hard for the little bar that flips the scoop out, and the scoop will break.
try different fruits and nuts
This basic oatmeal cookie recipe adapts very well to other dried fruits, nuts and flavors. I use dried fruits–if you use fresh fruit, the juice will change the consistency of the dough. For example, fresh blueberries will weep. I like to combine dried cranberries with orange zest, chopped dried cherries with chopped almonds, and chopped dried apricots with coconut. Or just substitute your favorite trail mix for the dried fruit.
If you like lemon-blueberry oatmeal cookies…
…try making some of our other favorite cookies, like Espresso Cookies, Red Chile Thumbprint Cookies, and our signature Bottger Mansion Chocolate Chip Cookies. When you stay at the Bottger Mansion of Old Town, you’ll find fresh house-made cookies in your room upon arrival. We make different cookies all the time. “Life is like a box of chocolates–you never know what you’re going to get!” Click here for an index to our best recipes.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 14 minutes |
| Servings |
dozen
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- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest finely grated
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups dried blueberries
Ingredients
|
|
- Adjust oven racks to low and middle positions; heat oven to 375 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time; add lemon zest.
- Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together; stir them into butter-sugar mixture. Stir in oats and blueberries.
- For even, medium-sized cookies, use a #40 scoop and space evenly on parchment paper–covered large baking sheets. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Slide cookies on parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
