Raspberry (formerly known as Blueberry) Muffin Cookies

So, I have awesome news, and not so awesome news. Awesome news first: I saw my oral surgeon again, and he packed my mouth with painkiller-soaked gauze, so I got to sing in my very first concert!! Hooray!! It was glorious. I cried, just a little at the end. I am so thankful I was able to participate. I may have looked funny, with my lopsided face, and maybe I couldn't smile as much as I usually do, but there were moments when I sang like I haven't sung in years. Our choir is fabulous, and I am so blessed to be a part of it. And because I shouldn't be moving away for years and years, I get to stay with them! I wish you could all come listen. If any of you live in the Denver area, let me know, and I'll tell you where our second concert is next week!

Well, now the not-so-awesome news. Turns out I have infections, in both sides of my jaw. So I have to go back in Monday, and they have to open things up again... sigh. My medical curse strikes again. If something can possibly go wrong, it will. I should have left the dang things in. Oh well, thanks for following my tooth saga!! :)

I like the name of these cookies. I had the batter all mixed up, opened the freezer... and that bag of blueberries I could have sworn was waiting there for me... wasn't! So, the blueberries were replaced with raspberries, and I'm glad they were, because they're awesome that way. I like them better.

Raspberry (formerly known as Blueberry) Muffin Cookies (adapted from Baker's Royale)
Printable Recipe

Streusel Topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup (8 Tb) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Cookie:
10 Tb of unsalted butter, browned
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 oz of cream cheese
1 1/2 Tb cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen (I recommend frozen, they'll hold up better)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and grease or line a large baking sheet.

Streusel First: Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add cold butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or 2 knives until it clumps together in small pea-sized lumps. You can do this in a food processor, but be careful not to over mix or it won't have any lumps! You need lumps. :) Set aside. (I put mine in the fridge so the butter wouldn't soften.)

Place butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat and heat until butter darkens and smells toasty. I liked it dark gold instead of fully brown. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Combine sugars and mix well. Drizzle in melted butter and beat until combined. Add in egg and beat on medium high until mixture becomes lighter in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in vanilla and cream cheese and beat until combined.

Sift together cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt, add to the batter, and beat until combined. Turn mixer to low and gradually add in flour, beating until combined. Add half of the raspberries and give mixer two to three turns to crush raspberries into the dough. Turn off mixture and fold in the rest of the berries. You want these to stay whole.

Drop cookie dough onto your baking sheet in about 2 Tb scoops. Bake for 8 minutes. Take the cookie sheet out and generously sprinkle streusel on top of cookies and gently press onto cookie, about a tablespoon per cookie (don’t worry if it spills onto the bake sheet). Cover those suckers with with streusel! Return baking sheet to oven and bake for another 4-6 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on bake sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

They look just like the tops of streusel-covered muffins! The fun part is, they aren't just muffin tops.

They have a very unique texture! Some of the chew of a cookie with the moist, tender crumb of a muffin. Not as dense as one, not as fluffy as they other, but definitely scrumptious!

Golden, buttery, crunchy, chewy cookies with bright, sunny, tangy raspberries. Just plain yummy! The Geologist loves them too, and at this point, he's becoming hard to please! I wish I'd thought of these...