Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

August 13, 2020

Okay, we have to talk about it, so let’s just get right into it. These cookies are blue. Or well, kind of a dark teal blue. But don’t worry, it’s all totally natural, thanks to the super rich and saturated color of the fresh blueberries used in this recipe. And these cookies are so light and fluffy, despite the heavy hue. So if you’re looking for an impressive head turner, definitely try out these blueberry cheesecake cookies.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission if you click through and buy something, at no additional cost to you! Learn More.

What You Need to Get Started

You can easily find all of the ingredients for these blueberry cheesecake cookies at your grocery store. If you want to use curbside pick-up or home delivery, check out Instacart to shop online from your favorite local grocery store.

Produce: Blueberries
Fridge: Cream cheese, Butter, Egg,
Pantry: Sugar, Apple cider vinegar, Flour, Baking soda, Cornstarch
Spice Cabinet: Vanilla extract, Salt
Equipment: Saucepan, Silicone spatula, Stand mixer or hand mixer, Baking sheets, Parchment paper, Cookie scoop, Cooling racks

Let’s Make Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

Keep track of how many different color changes the blueberries experience throughout this recipe. It’s kind of fun to watch the progress. If you are baking with kids, it can also be a project for them, and a bit of a science lesson.

Before getting started, be sure your blueberries are washed and all the stems, leaves, and under-ripe green berries are removed. We picked these ourselves (and so, so many more) because it’s the season here in Upstate New York!

However, if you are not able to get local berries, you should still be able to find some in the produce section of your grocery store. If there are no fresh ones at all to be found, you can use frozen ones instead. It just may take a bit longer for the jam to come together.

Add the blueberries, some water, and a bit of sugar to a saucepan. Heat and stir, allowing the sugar to dissolve, and the berries to turn a dark purple, and get a bit soft, about 5 minutes. Then continue cooking, using your spatula or a wooden spoon to gently mash the berries as they soften.

The jam will begin to thicken slightly, and it will become a brighter, even more red color. When you can wipe some jam off the spatula, and it leaves a mark without filling it in, it’s ready to use. Turn off the heat, and set the pan aside to cool down.

Meanwhile, you can start making your cookie dough! I keep switching between calling this a dough and a batter. While it makes cookies in the end (like a dough), it’s a bit less structured, and feels more like a batter. You can call it whatever you’d like.

In your stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl, if using a hand mixer), combine the butter and cream cheese, both softened to room temperature. Mix on medium-low until combined, only about 1-2 minutes. Then add in the sugar and mix for another 1-2 minutes.

The longer you mix at this step, the fluffier the cookies will be. If you are looking for a chewier cookie, be careful not to over-mix. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar, and mix until smooth. The vinegar helps add both a little bit of tang, and some acid to react with the baking soda.

Finally, add in the blueberry jam. You’ll notice that as it cooled, the color got a bit darker again. When you mix it into the batter, you might expect the whole thing will become a light pinkish purple, but just you wait.

Mix on medium-low until combined, and then take your silicone spatula and swipe it down the sides of the bowl, and fold a bit from the bottom. This will assure that all of the jam, and the creamed butter and cream cheese are fully mixed in.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and cornstarch. Whisk everything until it’s well combined. The cornstarch here will add an extra bit of fluffy cakiness to the cookies. The baking soda will help them rise.

Add the dry ingredients into the mixer bowl in two phases. After adding half of the flour, turn the mixer on for just a few seconds to start incorporating it. Then add the rest and mix it until fully combined. This helps you keep flour from getting all over the kitchen.

Now you’ve got this weirdly blue-green cookie dough. I bet that was a little unexpected. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next with these magical color-changing cookies, but it’s almost time to find out.

Add in the rest of the fresh blueberries, and gently fold them into the dough using a spatula, not your mixer. This is a bit thicker than a muffin batter, but you want to use a similar action, to keep the dough from over-mixing, and keep the blueberries in tact. Cover the bowl, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven with a rack in the middle, and then prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. When you remove the dough from the fridge, you may notice it’s a bit greener on the top than underneath, and that’s fine.

Use a 1.5″ cookie scoop (or a large spoon) to place balls of dough on the parchment-lined pan, about 1-2″ apart. These will puff up somewhat, but they don’t spread too much. I was able to fit 8 on a pan, spaced out pretty well. If you’re worried about spreading, use batches of 5.

Bake these for 10-13 minutes at 375F. Between batches, put the bowl of dough back in the fridge. The colder dough will be easier to scoop and work with. It also helps with making the cookies fluffier.

When you take them out of the oven, they will look like dark teal pillows, with reddish purple splotches. They will be smooth and quite puffy, but with the bottoms starting to brown. You can transfer them to a cooling rack immediately, and let cool.

These cookies are fun, fluffy, sweet, and tart. And they are blue! How can you resist blueberry cheesecake cookies?

Why Do Blueberries Change Color?

The blueberries used in this recipe go through half a rainbow, just to end up with cookies that are nearly the same color as the fresh, raw blueberries you started with! But why do they change so much? It turns out that these berries are basically little litmus tests, changing with the acidity level.

The pigment in blueberry skin, anthocyanin, is found in a lot of different fruits. In the case of blueberries, you can really see the dramatic way it responds. When you first heat the berries, the pigment is exposed to the tart flesh, and it gets redder. Then when you mix it into the batter, it turns more of a blue-gray. After baking, the cookies settle into a pretty teal, but you can see the pops of reddish purple of the fresh berries.

How to Serve

These cookies taste great warm, cooled to room temperature, or chilled in the fridge. I think I like them chilled the best, but my husband liked them fresh out of the oven. They are a fun dessert or snack, and can add some color to any meal or occasion.

You can serve these with a glass of milk, or for something more fun some chai white hot chocolate. For more of a kick, try a fruity cocktail like a raspberry lemon mojito or something light, like mint bourbon lemonade.

If you are making a cookie tray, these will definitely stand out! Make it fun by including some other interesting cookies like cream cheese oatmeal sandwiches, apple cider caramel stuffed snickerdoodles, and chocolate peanut butter cookies cups.

Use Up Leftover Ingredients

If you got carried away while picking, toss the extra blueberries into a blueberry french toast casserole.
Cream cheese is the base for cheesecake, like a caramel apple no-bake, or a baked savory cheesecake.
Extra apple cider vinegar can be used in the sour cake of an apple kuchen.
Use up additional cornstarch in super soft mini skillet cookies.

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes