When it comes to summertime treats, cookies are hard to beat. They’re easy to pack for picnics, camp lunches, and road trips, and they can withstand hot temps and grabby hands in a way that most other desserts can’t.
And yet, a “summer cookie” search on the Internet yields mainly big, hard sugar cookies professionally frosted to look like hot-day doodads—flip-flops and what not—that are as impossible to make as they are unpleasant to eat (believe me, I’ve tried).
Over the past few summers, I keep coming back to three cookie recipes that are easy to make and perfect for warm summer days: S’more Cookies, Lemonade Cookies, and Flower Jam Thumbprints. They aren’t the healthiest snacks in the world, but that’s why we reserve them as “treats.” With a big glass of lemonade or a cold cup of milk at a BBQ or after a long day of sports camp, they really hit the spot.
S’MORES COOKIES
There are many ways to make these spinoffs of the campfire treat, but this is our favorite. The ground graham crackers disappear into the cookie, and adding the marshmallows at the end of baking prevents them from melting and making the cookies sticky and over-chewy. Makes about 24 cookies.
Ingredients
1 stick slightly softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup finely crushed graham crackers
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars, and add egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, stir together flour, crushed graham crackers, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients into wet and mix until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough in bowl for half hour or freeze for 10-15 minutes until stiff but still workable. Drop rounded, heaping teaspoons on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Take cookie sheets out, and gently push 2-3 mini marshmallows into the top each cookie. Bake for 4-5 more minutes until cookies are just golden on edges and marshmallows are just softened a bit. Don’t overbake.
LEMONADE COOKIES
With just six ingredients, these couldn’t be easier. Just like a sugar cookie, only softer than most and more refreshing. Makes 28-30 cookies.
Ingredients
2 sticks slightly softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup thawed frozen lemonade concentrate
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar, and add egg. In separate bowl, stir together flour and baking soda. Add dry ingredients into wet, alternating with lemonade, and mix until smooth. Refrigerate dough in bowl for half hour or freeze for 10-15 minutes until stiff but still workable. Drop rounded teaspoons onto baking sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes. They will stay lightly colored. Don’t overbake.
Our (edible!) garden nasturtiums.
FLOWER JAM THUMBPRINT COOKIES
Inspired by a recipe over at Butter, Sugar, Flowers, these are just basic, delicious thumbprint cookies, with the added fun of mixing edible, just-slightly spicy nasturtium flowers into your favorite jam or preserves. (Nasturtiums are one of my favorite garden plants to grow on a windowsill or garden. You can also buy them at most farmer’s markets or specialty grocery stores.) Feel free to omit the flowers. They’re still great tasting and fun to make with kids. Makes 24 cookies.
Ingredients
2 sticks slightly softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/4 cup favorite preserves (I used raspberry, but apricot is great, too)
5-6 nasturtium flowers
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons fruit juice (orange, cranberry, lemon, etc.)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325. In large bowl, cream butter and granulated sugar, and mix in flour and salt until smooth. Refrigerate dough in bowl for half hour or freeze for 10-15 minutes until stiff but still workable. While dough is chilling, mince flower petals into tiny pieces. In small, separate bowl, stir together jam and minced flower. Drop rounded teaspoons onto baking sheet. Push thumb tip or finger tip just slightly into top of cookie to make an indent. Drop a quarter teaspoon of jam mixture into each well. Bake for about 18 minutes, until edges of cookie are just golden. While cookies are baking, mix powdered sugar and fruit juice until smooth. Put mixture into plastic bag, snip tiny hole in corner, and squeeze gently to drizzle over completely cooled cookies.
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