This post is full of declarations and an accusation.
Declaration number 1 (made by my friend Tenille from my fruit mince pies adventures): ‘These buttermilk cookies are the best cookies you’ve ever made.’
I loved them too. But she said that as much as she loves the chocolate chip cookies, if presented with both, she would take the buttermilk cookie.
Declaration number 2: Food blogs are better for getting recipes than recipe books. This is my declaration, from my experience, and I’m sticking to it. The pictures and instructions are better and they’re more honest.
This recipe come from another food blogger, the awesomely named Cake or Death.
If you don’t know where that reference comes from, you must watch the Eddie Izzard skit ‘cake or death’. It. will. make. you. giggle.
The suggestion that I make these cookies also came from another awesome food blogger, Kristy, from Our Family Food Adventures. She made the comment last time I was talking about buttermilk after making buttermilk scones.
Kristy and her family pick different countries from around the world and then all make some food from that country together. At the moment they’ve been exploring Australian cuisine, which I’ve really enjoyed. Now I’ve told you how awesome food bloggers are, this leads me to my big accusation….
ACCUSATION: I don’t think (most) editors or writers of recipe books sufficiently test their recipes. I have very few recipe failures from other food bloggers. Most of the time when something goes completely awry it’s from a recipe book. So there.
Anyways, eat buttermilk cookies. Tenille loves them. Kristy recommends them. Liz from Cake or Death and I have both made them. That’s more than any recipe book would give you.
Ingredients
For cookies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
170 grams (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
For glaze:
1 1/2 cups icing (confectioners) sugar
3 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
- Whisk together flour, zest, baking soda, and salt.
- Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.
- Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until smooth.
- Drop level tablespoons of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. I was very rough about this.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, turning half way through cooking time, until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes per batch.
- Cool cookies on sheets for one minute, then transfer cookies to racks.
- To glaze the cookies: Whisk together all glaze ingredients and brush onto tops of warm cookies. They MUST still be warm, or it won’t give you that glazed look. I made that mistake and had to heat ‘em back up…
- Let stand until cookies are completely cooled and glaze is set.
Makes: 25 cookies
Healthy? 190 calories
Storage: Store in an airtight container. Mine lasted fine for a week, and then there were none left so I can’t tell you about after that.
Source: Cake or death buttermilk cookies.
Enough said.. I’m definitely going to make these! Ditto re the bloggers.. except for one very “famous” blogger whose cakes mysteriously never quite turn out the way hers do.. I’m suspicious that sabotage may be going on… lol!! xx Smidge
Ooo…. do tell… who is it? Maybe you can just tell me quietly. Hehe.
That wouldn’t be very sweet… or polit (a) of me now, would it
And in fareness.. it could be my lack of practice and skill in elaborate cake baking:D
fairness.. why can’t I spell this morning??
Ah true, and you are too sweet and polite to do such a thing
But I refuse to believe it’s you cake baking ability! x
mmm, these look yummy! my sister prefers blogs/pinterest over cookbooks too. i like a mix of both.
Pinterest is awesome for finding recipes, I also like google searching on images.
Sorry I haven’t been around much lately, but my book, The Bellman Chronicles, will be FREE to download on Sept. 10 – 11! Check it out on my Amazon Kindle page.. You won’t be disappointed. And if you can slip me a review, I’d be forever grateful…
Awesome, will do! I love my kindle and your writing, so it’s a good match
Aimee thank you so much for the shout-out. I’m so glad you gave these cookies a try. They do just rock! Now I have to make some soon. They’ll be stuck in my head until I do.
And I couldn’t agree with you more…the recipes from other bloggers always turn out better than the ones I try from a book. I think you hit the nail on the head – honesty. 
So glad it’s not just me! And I like the fact I can actually see the real photos from other bloggers so I know how mine should be looking. Thanks again for the recipe idea.
Buttermilk anything usually gets my attention lol. And these cookies definitely look like something I would enjoy immensely. I can just see myself enjoying these right now
Once you discover what buttermilk adds to a recipe it’s hard to go back!
Buttermilk is pancakes’ BFF. Changes pancakes entirely and why not cookies? These look amazing. Yes, I agree with Smidge…on a famous blogger’s cakes not necessarily working out. Hmmmm…. I do like both books and bloggers but I am finding that random cookbooks like whoopie pie cookbooks or all cupcake cookbooks don’t usually pan out. It’s the tried and true Dorie Greenspan and Nancy Bagett that work out for me best (And my trusty ol’ BHG checkered 80′s cookbook). That thing will never leave my kitchen no matter what cover it is missing, pages that are splattered on and torn nor calorie info. that it lacks.