31 January 2019
Welcome friends. Have you ever bought an ingredient and had no idea what you were going to make with it? I was in a little store and packages of dried blueberries caught my eye. I didn't know that they existed. I bought a package, but I didn't have any idea how I might use them.
Last winter I was playing around with the momofuko milk bar cookbook. I was trying to make the recipe for cornflake-chocolate-chip-marshmallow cookies, but they seemed to be a little fussy. They baked better on silicone than parchment, and if I turned the pan during the baking, the cookies would be deformed from the rotation. I made them a few times. Each time I re-read the recipe, searching for a lost detail. I finally got frustrated and put the recipe aside.
Then I started to think about how I might use the dried blueberries. I got the idea of an oatmeal cookie because there is usually some type of dried fruit in an oatmeal cookie. Why not dried blueberries? Why not add some mini-marshmallows? What can I do to give the cookie flavors some depth? Why not try browned butter?
Last year we had two blue moons. Just having one blue moon is rare, but two occurrences in the same year is extremely rare. Sometime between the first and second blue moon my ideas for this cookie came together. It was completely random and based on what I had on-hand. I was happy with the recipe the first time that I made it. This is also extremely rare. That is why I chose the moon image for the top image. This was the second blue moon.
Browned butter can seem a little tricky if you have never made it. It is a useful technique and I've tried to be detailed about how to do it. The marshmallows melt and make a mess, but it is easy to get the goo off of a silicone mat. I recommend the french silpat over other silicone mats. I have a few different kinds, but the french one works the best.
Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Blueberries and Marshmallows
1 hr prep time | 2 hr chill time | 15 min. bake time
Ingredients
makes about 30 cookies
- 10 Tbl butter, 1 stick plus 2 Tbl, browned
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tbl milk powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup dried blueberries
- 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1 cup mini-marshmallows
Directions
cut the butter into pieces, about 1 tablespoon in size. Place them in a medium sauce pan and place the pan over medium heat. Stir the butter with a wooden spoon occasionally as it melts. Stir the butter constantly, once it has melted and begins to bubble. As you stir the butter, it will change from clear and bubbly to golden. This should take about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, pick up the pan, and swirl the liquid a few times. Let it rest for about 10 seconds and then repeat the swirling. Brown solids should form in the liquid after 2 or 3 times swirling and resting. The butter will brown without the heat, and this happens quickly after the golden phase. Once the butter has browned, allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
place the sugars and milk powder in a mixing bowl, and fit a paddle attachment to your mixer. Add the browned butter to the bowl and mix at medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla extract and mix for about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add one of the eggs and beat at medium speed until it is incorporated into the mixture, about a minute. Add the second egg and mix for about 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir the sides and bottom of the bowl with with a spatula.
add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse the mixer, on and off, at a very low speed until these are integrated, but don't mix for more than 1 minute.
add the blueberries, oatmeal, and marshmallows to the bowl. Pulse the mixer, on and off, at a very low speed until these are integrated, but don't mix for more than 1 minute. The dough will come together and be very thick.
use a scoop or tablespoon measure to scoop the dough. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. After all of the cookies are scooped, I press the tops down with the bottom of a small glass. Chill the cookies for about 1 hour. At this point the cookies should be firm, I pack them into a plastic container and chill them for another hour, or until I am ready to bake them. I bake one sheet at a time.
preheat the oven to 350° F. Center a rack in the middle of the oven.
use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Place about a dozen of the cookies on the sheet and bake until the are light golden along the sides, about 15 to 17 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Remove any bits of melted marshmallow from the mat and let the pan cool for another 5 minutes before you place the next batch of dough on it.