Summer Squash Cookies

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The summer squash saga continues! No really, we were blessed with a lot of summer squash this summer with little zucchini to pair with it. I love grilled squash and zucchini together but I don’t particularly love summer squash all by itself. This has caused me to find some pretty creative solutions to using up the squash we have sitting around. Earlier this summer I shared my summer squash cake and summer squash bread. Well, by no surprise, we still had more squash beyond that so I decided to whip up some summer squash cookies.

Summer Around Here

We don’t actually start harvesting from our garden until almost August but the heat is still present so summer is still in full swing. I start my summer squash plants outside by seed. That means they are started right there in the ground and have to go through the entire growth process outside. This process works out well for us but I’d like to challenge myself next year by getting them started inside. It’s been a challenge to learn the best ways to be able to get plants growing and keep them alive. Honestly, the hardest part is keeping them alive and transitioning them outside. Since our squashes have always done well enough I always thought, “don’t fix what isn’t broken.” However, as time passes I realize I want to get more produce sooner. If I want to keep growing more each year I’ll need to be able to get plants growing sooner, which, for us, means inside. 

Heaven knows, by September, we’ll see reduced temperatures, and by October we’ll be processing the very last of everything that we can get with our last frost approaching quickly.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
•  3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
•  1 large egg
•  1/2 tablespoon lemon extract
•  3 cups flour
•  2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 summer squash, shredded
• ½ tsp salt
•  1 teaspoon baking soda
•  3 tablespoons lemon juice
•  confectioners’ sugar for dusting or lemon glaze + lemon zest, optional

Directions for Summer Squash Cookies

Preheat oven to 350. 

Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together. 

Add the large egg. Mix well.

Add lemon extract and lemon juice. Mix well.

Add flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. Mix well.

Fold in the grated summer squash. I prefer to use a food processor to grate it finely.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips & Tricks

The easiest way to prepare your summer squash for this recipe is to use a food processor. I have a ninja version that I love. You’ll use the entire squash except for the two ends. I cut off both ends and add the chunks to the processor. These are best when they are processed very finely. I think you could get away with shredding by hand but you’d definitely be able to tell there were squash chunks in the cookies. When they are processed very finely, you can’t even tell that they are there! 

As always, we try to cut down on sugar so we opted to keep them plain and they were positively delightful just like that. However, if you are looking to make them a little more presentable or a little sweeter a lemon glaze on top would be just the ticket. I shared a basic glaze recipe here and that would work perfect, just sub out the vanilla with lemon extract. 

The other thing to note on these cookies is that they don’t expand a lot. They remained fairly small, which was nice. They should be light and fluffy, not dense. One recipe will make around 3 ½ dozen cookies.

In Summary: Summer Squash Cookies

Honestly, I try not to bake a lot in the summer but I also miss it a lot if I go too long. I’m just that person that prefers to keep the house cool and not make our air conditioning work more than it has to. It’s nice to be able to combine a little bit of our produce with the minimal amounts of baking that I do though. Plus, when fall rolls around and we are still getting summer squash this is a perfect treat to help us soak up the remainder of sun that we are going to see. The weather is perfectly cool and the most ideal for baking. 

What is your favorite squash? 

I honestly think I’d have to say either pumpkin (if that counts) or zucchini. Zucchini is even more versatile than summer squash! I love to bake with it and eat it grilled/baked/sauteed. 

Summer Squash Cookies

The perfect summer cookie.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon extract
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 summer squash shredded
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together.
• Add the large egg. Mix well.
• Add lemon extract and lemon juice. Mix well.
• Add flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
• Fold in the summer squash.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Keyword Cookie, Squash, Summer Squash