Raspberry (formerly known as Blueberry) Muffin Cookies

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

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.