chewy crinkle cookies with a toasty malt flavor and cherry pie filling

Cherry season is on the horizon BUT you don’t need to go cherry picking to make these cookies. A canned tart cherry filling is the perfect shortcut for these chewy, butter free cherry pie inspired cookies. No crimping or chilling or fussing about with a pie shell here. 

Not Your Average Cookie

These have some unexpected flavors, but trust the process! They will become your favorite cookie to make and adjust as the seasons change. FIll them with peaches, blueberries, rhubarb or chocolate!

One more unexpected method here, is that they bake at 325F vs the standard 350F for most baked goods. 

What makes these butter free cookies work?

The two powerhouse ingredients are Kefir and malted powder. Kefir is a dairy drink made from fresh milk that have been introduced to live an active cultures. The result is a tangy and slightly effervescent creamy drink that is gentle on lactose sensitive stomachs, as well as packing a punch of flavor, protein and good gut probiotics. We reach for our favorite and trusted Lifeway brand kefir, who has made this post come to life. This recipe was developed in collaboration with Lifeway Kefir. 

Malted powder, is usually mix of dry milk, and malted grains usually bartley. The barley is malted, allowed to sprout and undergoes some drying and additional processing to develop flavor, break down natural sugars and proteins of the grain. The result is a delicious toasty and sweet flavor that adds delicious flavor to baked goods or if you’re a purist, milkshakes. 

These cookies contain no butter but have all the lovely chew and a beautiful crinkle top to rival any traditional butter cookie recipe. I have been making butter free cookies for years and these are part of my list of never fail cookies. 

Can you enjoy these cookies without the cherry pie filling?

Absolutely. They are delicious and lovely as is. They have a pretty crinkle to them  and sprinkle of refined sugar that makes them perfect plain with tea, coffee or a cup of kefir. I like to make recipes that are adaptable to your taste preferences. If you enjoy the flavor of malt, vanilla and a warm chewy cookie, this one is for you!

Let’s make cookies:

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour

½ cup Plain Lifeway Kefir

¼ cup neutral oil

½ cup malted powder 

2 eggs 

½ cup white sugar + additional for sprinkling

1 cup dark brown sugar (lightly packed)

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp vanilla 

Cherry Pie Filling

Glaze:

⅓ cup powdered sugar gradually thinned to a thick but pourable glaze by adding 1 tbsp of water or heavy cream at a time. Depending on the humidity you may need more or less liquid to get the consistency you want. 

Method:

Preheat your oven to 325F

1. Combine all the cookie ingredients, excluding the cherry pie filling into a large mixing bowl. The order doesn’t matter. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop onto a parchment lined sheet tray 6 portions of cookies, spacing them about ½ inch apart. 
3. Sprinkle about ¼ tsp white granulated sugar across each cookie. 
4. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven.
5. Leave cookies on the sheet tray and proceed to the next step immediately. 
6. Using a table spoon measure, apply gentle pressure to the center and fill with 3-4 cherries.
7. Cool completed before swiping glaze over top ( 20 minutes or so)