Welcome back, Dash of Hang family! It's been a very long pause, but I am back with a chewy snickerdoodle cookie recipe with a twist.
I've spent the past few months studying various food bloggers and recipe creators, who I have been following, one of whom is hummingbirdhigh. Michelle aka hummingbirdhigh is so creative when it comes to baking. She created a recipe for a raspberry lemon snickerdoodle a while back. I decided, "I want a change from regular cookies and need some inspiration." So I decided to try out her recipe, which is amazing. Although, through some tweaks here and there, I developed a slightly different recipe, but still wanted to give her the credit she is due.
Before I get started with the recipe, I wanted to update you all on my life. It's been a wild few months. From house hunting to rental searching, we finally moved into a bigger place, which is much better for us considering the tons of stuff we hoard. Our collection ranges from variations of protein powder and a squat rack, to all purpose flour and cast iron skillets. Also this place has a mini front garden and a decent sized backyard with two fully grown fruit bearing trees. So I'll be beginning a new project for the house: a tiered garden bed. You all will definitely be kept updated of the growth of the project. Haha, sorry, couldn't help but add in a pun. Other than that, it's been nonstop weekends of cleaning, organizing, and planning house projects.
Let me know if you guys would be interested in seeing any of that on the blog.
So because I've been tasting out variations of this recipe, I've been munching away on cookies as "rewards" for finishing house chores. It's a wonder why I'm not sprawled on the couch binge watching The Ranch, scarfing down one raspberry lemon goodness after another.
I've found that these snickerdoodles are good with a cup of tea because of how light and refreshing they taste as opposed to the usual warm, rich flavors of classic snickerdoodles. I may work on pairing it with various new drinks and add a pairing section to future recipes.
Let me know how you feel about this after you've bake these yourselves. I am adding this to my personal favorites, but waiting on more feedback before deeming it a crowd favorite.
**note: use a food processor or single cup blender to mix the freeze-dried raspberry and sugar. I attempted to try out a coffee grinder and discovered that coffee grinder + sugar = powdered sugar. Pictured above.**
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 c granulated sugar
8-10 freeze-dried raspberries (I bought it packaged at Target)
1 1/4 c granulated sugar
1 Tbsp brown sugar (I used golden brown, the "shades" is the varying molasses like taste of the brown sugar)
A few heaping dashes of lemon zest (This is dependent on how much you love lemons)
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
For the raspberry sugar coating, in a food processor or single-cup blender, mix freeze-dried raspberry and 1/3 c sugar until well combined. Set aside in a small bowl.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 c granulated sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest with your fingers to release the juices from the zest.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined.
In the bowl of your freestanding mixer (use a paddle attachment), beat softened butter with sugars on medium-high speed for approximately 3 minutes.
Slow down the mixer and add one egg at a time until fully incorporated.
Add lemon juice into the freestanding mixer. Once combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
On a low setting, gradually combine the flour mixture.
Once completed, use cookie dough scoop (or if you don't have one, I found that a heaping tablespoon is a sufficient size.
Once scooped, roll the balls of dough into the raspberry sugar until coated.
Place coated balls of dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and set onto a cooling rack prior to munching away.