What is it about baked blueberries. I mean, they are great all on their own. But baked into a muffin, cupcake, or pie and they are fantastic! You think it has something to do with the flour, sugar, and butter it's baked in?

Yeah, me neither.

Well, these blueberry oatmeal cookies are no exception. In fact, they may be my new favorite blueberry baked good. Ever. Move over blueberry muffin, there's a new star around here!

Despite what you may be thinking, there isn't anything all that special about these cookies except the blueberries. I started off with my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, and instead of adding cinnamon, raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, or anything else you might add to oatmeal cookies, I added some fresh lemon zest and fresh blueberries.

After the blueberries were folded into the dough, I scooped them out using my favorite cookie scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

[PSA: If you aren't covering your baking sheets with parchment when you bake you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice. Not only to they ensure that your cookies will lift right off, but you don't have to clean your baking sheet afterwards (unless you really want to)! I just just crumple up my parchment and throw it away!]

Then I baked these cookies just like normal and 15 minutes later they came out of the oven looking and tasting delicious!

They kind of reminded me of a blueberry muffin top, which as you know is the best part of any muffin. They are crunchy around the edges and soft in the middle. The blueberries burst with flavor every time you bite into them. And the lemon zest just makes everything taste super fresh.

I think I ate half a dozen of these blueberry oatmeal cookies before I stop myself from eating any more. I hadn't actually baked these for me, I baked the cookies for a friend of mine who recently had her first baby! These blueberry oatmeal cookies are especially great for new, breastfeeding, moms because there is no chocolate (and, thus, caffeine), and the oatmeal is really good for breast milk production (so I am told by Google).

But don't wait until your friends have babies to make these cookies. You should make them immediately and thank me later.

Recipe

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes

Makes 18-24 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon zest then mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Mix in flour in two stages. First pour half the flour mixture into butter mixture and mix to just barely combine. Scrape down the sides, then pour in other half of the flour mixture and mix until it is just barely combined. It's okay if there is still some visible flour. Fold the blueberries into the dough so that they are dispersed throughout.
Using two spoons or a cookie scooper, scoop about 1-2 tbsp of dough onto the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.