Casco Bay Crunch Cookies
When you live in Maine but weren’t born here, you are endearingly but forever considered by the locals to be “from away.” Yet after living here for nearly two decades, my husband and I have most definitely made Maine our heart home. From the rocky coastline to the beautiful hiking trails and mountains – we are so proud to live in this state and raise our family here.
So when some of my husband’s sailing pals asked if I would make cookies to buoy the spirits of the sailors during the the annual and beloved Monhegan & Seguin Sprint Regattas, I was delighted to create something that celebrates some of the iconic tastes and wholesome charms of Maine.
One of the true delights of Mainers is wild blueberry season. The season is in mid-August and while bittersweet, as it signals the end of summer, the berries are anything but.
Wild Maine blueberries are much tinier than typical blueberries and provide little micro bursts of sweet flavor. They are glorious for making blueberry pies, pancakes, crisps and cobblers. Grocery stores sell them in extra large cartons for just a few coveted weeks and the demand most definitely exceeds the supply. Needless to say blueberries were a must for this cookie.
For a handful of weeks, a willing group of participating sailors taste tested some prototypes of these cookies to provide feedback and we landed on the “Casco Bay Crunch Cookie.”
This cookie starts with a buttery, crisp and chewy cookie base, sweetened with cane and brown sugars. It’s loaded with mini chocolate chips and dried wild blueberries. Before baking, they are rolled in a homemade pecan granola sweetened with Maine maple syrup and dotted with a fresh blueberry.
The resulting texture is a cookie that is chewy in the middle and crunchy around the edges. The dried blueberries create a sweet chewy texture (like raisins – but so much better!) and the fresh blueberry adds a little burst of freshness and a whole lot of charm.
Since wild blueberry season is so short-lived, I enjoy using dried Wyman’s dried blueberries in this recipe, especially since they are a Maine-based company.
Here’s the scoop about how to make Casco Bay Crunch Cookies:
Before making the cookies themselves, I pre-make the maple pecan granola a day or two ahead of time. The batch makes enough to have ample leftovers for yogurt that week. (In a pinch, you can use a high quality store-bought granola). You will need about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of granola for this recipe. Set aside.
Gather and measure your ingredients for the cookies.
Cream the room temperature butter for about 3 minutes on medium high speed with a standing mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add cane and brown sugars and mix on medium high for 2 more minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add egg and vanilla and mix on medium for about 30 seconds to a minute.
Add baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix on low for 20 seconds.
Add all purpose flour in two additions on medium low speed just until it starts to come together. Don’t overmix or the cookies will become tough. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add chocolate chips and dried blueberries and mix on lowest speed for about 10 seconds.
Assembly
SCOOP dough with a small cookie scooper. (I usually flatten the bottoms to ensure consistently sized cookies).
ROLL dough balls into the bowl of granola. (I press a little in to ensure an even coating).
POKE a hole with your finger into the center (about halfway through).
PLACE a large blueberry flat in the center.
SHAPE the dough around the perimeter if necessary to ensure that there it is still a nice circular shape after placing the blueberry. This will help the blueberry stay centered during baking.
6. BAKE for 10-12 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
It was so much fun to help create a new fun food memory to celebrate these beloved Maine regattas. I hope you enjoy these cookies too!
CASCO BAY CRUNCH COOKIES
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
Description
This buttery cookie celebrates Maine’s iconic tastes and charms. Its texture is chewy in the center enhanced by sweetened, dried wild blueberries and crunchy around the edges, thanks to the maple pecan granola. Mini chocolate chips and a fresh blueberry in the center are the “cherry” on top.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature (225 g)
- 2/3 cups of light brown sugar (150 g)
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (250 g)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2 g)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (2 g)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (1.5 g)
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (5 g)
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)
- 3/4 cup of dried sweet blueberries (125 g)
- 1/2 cup Maine wild blueberries
- 1 cup of mini chocolate chips
- 1.5 –2 cups of maple pecan granola
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cream room temperature unsalted butter for about 2 minutes using the spatula paddle on standing mixer.
3. Add brown and cane sugars and mix on medium for another 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and mix until incorporated.
4. Add egg and vanilla mix on medium speed for a minute.
5. Add baking powder. baking soda and salt and mix briefly until incorporated.
6. Add flour in on a low mixer setting gradually and mix just until incorporated. Don’t overmix.
7. Add in dried blueberries and chocolate chips and stir in with a spatula. You can use the mixer if preferred for 10 seconds on the lowest speed.
8. Using a small cookie scooper, add dough in and level the top to ensure consistently sized cookies.
9. Using clean hands, roll each dough ball in homemade maple pecan granola. Place on a parchment lined baking tray.
10. Using your fingertip, poke a hole in the center of the cookie and lightly push a large, fresh blueberry into the center. With your palm, lightly press down the cookie. You don’t want to completely flatten it. (see photo in blog).
11. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes and then take a peek. The edges should just be starting to look slightly brown and caramelized and the center should be slightly paler but not raw. They will firm up more as they cool on the baking tray. My oven makes the perfect cookie at 11 minutes, but it may take up to 12 minutes.
12. Let the cookies cool on the baking tray and store them in an airtight container for up to three days.
Notes
* I strongly recommend refrigerating the dough for an hour and up to overnight to help hydrate the dough and chill the butter so the cookies don’t spread too thin.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
