Blue Raspberry Lemonade Boulders 💙

Blue raspberry is a flavor that is hard to nail down. Some people say it is simply raspberry flavor paired with blue dye to differentiate it from the other canonically red flavors like cinnamon, cherry, watermelon, fruit punch, and strawberry. Others claim it is entirely artificial and is so-named because it happened to taste of "Berry," in some non-specific way that demanded it be named as such, but not after any real berry you might encounter. Thus, the fictional blue raspberry.

When I decided to make a blue cookie for Pride month, this flavor seemed like the only choice. But not by itself. Blue raspberry alone would be too sweet, and for me, that color implies a strong citric acid note. I immediately think of Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-aid, and so that's the inspiration here.

As I'm writing this, I'm asking myself why I didn't just try to use Kool-aid powder as flavoring instead of the finicky candy flavoring and dried berries I did. I'm sure that recipe will show up here eventually.

With the help of some freeze-dried blueberries, soft dried blueberries, and raspberry extract, I think I've captured the Kool-aid nostalgia, and a little bit of blue dye helps to create that vibrant hue you can only get from artificial food coloring. An optional lemon juice glaze will boost the acid for those of us who need it sour.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 6 oz Granulated White Sugar
• 1 tsp Lemon Zest
• 1 oz Freeze-Dried Blueberries
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
• 7.5 oz All-Purpose Flour
• 6 oz White Chocolate Chips
• 4 oz Dried Blueberries
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 tsp Raspberry Extract
• Optional, Blue Gel Food Dye

Lemon Glaze

• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 2 cups Confectioner's Sugar

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse the Freeze-Dried Blueberries, All-Purpose Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt until blended. Continue pulsing until no chunks remain. It won't be completely powdered, but the largest remaining pieces or blueberry should be the same size as fine cornmeal.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed briefly. As soon as the butter and sugar are smoothly blended and just beginning to lighten, stop your mixer. You can do this by hand if you like.
3. Add the egg, Raspberry Extract, and the food dye if desired and mix until completely blended and slightly thicker.
4. Fold the flour blend into the wet ingredients until just a few streaks of flour remain, then fold in the White Chocolate Chips and Dried Blueberries.
5. Cover and chill the dough for thirty minutes in the refrigerator. This allows the flour to rehydrate completely and for the freeze-dried blueberries to absorb any excess moisture that the flour hasn't. The dough will spread less and be easier to work with. You can keep this dough in your refrigerator for three days, or transfer to the freezer to keep it until the freezer-burn sets in.

For Boulders

1. After chilling the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and portion into 4 oz mounds on a small parchment-lined pan. You will not be baking on this pan, so don't worry about crowding it. For more uniform cookies, round the portions into a ball before placing on the parchment. For more textured cookies, roll into a ball, then tear those balls in half and loosely reform each portion with the craggy torn parts facing outward. Don't push them together too hard or you'll mash down all those crags.
2. When you're out of dough or the pan is full, pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes, and preheat your oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. When properly chilled, take six of the portioned cookies out of the freezer, place them equidistant on your prepared baking sheet, and bake them on the middle rack for 14-24 minutes. I know this range is huge, but start checking them at 14 minutes. Once the edges start to turn golden and the top is dry, but it still looks puffy and steamy on the inside remove them from the oven.
4. Let cool on the baking sheet on your counter. Do not place a rack under the pan. Do not remove the cookies to a rack — they will fall apart if you try. These take at least 30 minutes to cool completely, and you do not want to speed up this process. As the outsides cool, the inside is still cooking.
5. Let cool on the baking sheet on your counter. Do not place a rack under the pan. Do not remove the cookies to a rack — they will fall apart if you try. These take at least 30 minutes to cool completely, and you do not want to speed up this process. As the outsides cool, the inside is still cooking.
6. Let cool on the baking sheet on your counter. Do not place a rack under the pan. Do not remove the cookies to a rack — they will fall apart if you try. These take at least 30 minutes to cool completely, and you do not want to speed up this process. As the outsides cool, the inside is still cooking.
7. Let cool on the baking sheet on your counter. Do not place a rack under the pan. Do not remove the cookies to a rack — they will fall apart if you try. These take at least 30 minutes to cool completely, and you do not want to speed up this process. As the outsides cool, the inside is still cooking.

For Normal-Sized Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. After chilling the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and portion into 1.5 oz mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. For smoother more even cookies, round the portions into a ball before placing on the parchment. For more textured cookies, roll into a ball, then tear those balls in half and loosely reform each portion with the craggy torn parts facing outward.
3. You should be able to fit 12 cookies on each pan, leaving 2" between them.
4. Bake on the middle rack for 12-14 minutes until the edges are set and golden, and the top looks dry and still a bit puffy. Let cool on the baking sheet completely.

For the Glaze

1. Once the cookies have cooled completely, mix the lemon juice and confectioner's sugar in a small bowl.
2. Microwave the glaze for 15-30 seconds until bubbling, stir until smooth, then drizzle over the cookies.