Blueberry & Candied Thyme Sugar Cookies

in ,

Blueberry & Candied Thyme Sugar Cookies

These bright beautiful blueberry cookies are the perfect cookie to make for your holiday cookie boxes! Bright jammy wild blueberries get made into a jam that gets swirled into the sugar cookie base along with some homemade thyme sugar. The thyme provides a citrusy, woody touch to the cookie while the blueberries add sweetness and fruitiness to the body of the cookie. I rolled each one of these guys in some fresh thyme rubbed sugar and topped them with blueberry powder and candied thyme. If you have not made candied thyme you should! It was so easy to make and so so beautiful! Perfect for decorating your holiday desserts!

Making candied thyme is much easier than you think! Dip your washed and dried thyme sprigs in some pasteurized egg whites and dip in white sugar and let them dry!

Blueberry & Candied Thyme Sugar Cookies

Serving: Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:

Blueberry Jam

  • 1/2 cup of frozen wild blueberries (70 grams)

  • 1/4 cup of white sugar (60 grams)

  • 1/8 cup of water

Candied Thyme

  • 4-5 sprigs of fresh washed thyme sprigs

  • 1 pasteurized egg white (32 grams)

  • 2-3 tablespoons of granulated white sugar (25 - 38 grams)

Cookie Dough

  • 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (364 grams)

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 3/4 cup of white sugar (350 grams)

  • Leaves from 4 - 5 thyme sprigs

  • 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature (226 grams)

  • Blueberry jam, from above

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

  • 1 egg

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 2-3 drops of red/purple gel food coloring to achieve desired color

Thyme rubbed sugar, for rolling

  • 1/4 cup of white sugar (50 grams)

  • Leaves from 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Method:

Make the Blueberry Jam

  1. Add frozen blueberries, sugar and water into a steel pot and let it cook on a medium high flame until the mixture is thick.

    • Note: You should be able to pull your spatula/spoon through the mixture and see the base of the pan for a few seconds.

  2. Once thickened, remove it off the heat and let the mixture cool. Set aside.

Candied Thyme

  1. Place the pasteurized egg white in one bowl and the white sugar in another bowl.

  2. Wash and dry your thyme sprigs and then dip each sprig into the egg white mixture. Gently, remove any excess egg white off each sprig, using your fingers.

  3. Once dipped in the egg white, dip each thyme sprig in the sugar, shaking off any excess.

  4. Let them dry for about 20 - 30 minutes or until crystallized. Set aside.

    • Note: This can be made up to 4 hours prior to serving. This is mainly for garnish and presentation.

Make the cookie dough

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Combine all purpose flour, baking soda, salt and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

  3. In a food processor blitz sugar and thyme leaves until they are both blended well, set aside.

  4. In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, beat butter for about a minute on medium speed until fluffy and pale.

  5. Add the thyme sugar to the butter and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes until light in color and creamy.

    • Note: Scrape the sides of your bowl in between to ensure that everything is combined.

  6. Add vanilla extract, the egg and the egg yolk and the cooled blueberry jam mixture into the creamed butter/sugar mixture and beat for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture is well combined.

    • Note: Scrape the sides of your bowl half way to ensure everything is getting mixed.

  7. In batches, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and blend on low speed until barely combined.

    • Note: Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to get any dry bits that haven’t been incorporated.

  8. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, measure out cookie dough onto a parchment lined tray. For super accurate cookie dough balls, measure out the cookie dough into 40 gram dough balls.

  9. Make the thyme sugar by rubbing the thyme in the sugar with your fingers. This will help release the aroma and oils from the thyme leaves. Gently roll the cookie dough fully in the thyme sugar.

  10. Place 5 to 6 balls of dough on a 1/2 sheet baking tray, leaving about 2 inches or more of space between each and bake for 8 to 9 minutes or just until the edges or the cookie are set. . It’s okay if they look slightly under baked in the center, they will firm up as they cool. While the cookies are still hot, scoot them with a cookie cutter to get round cookies.

    • Note: Pulling them out when they look under baked will help keep them chewy and soft after they cool.

  11. Let the cookies cool to room temperature. Present and serve cookies with candied thyme for a festive look. Enjoy!