by Texas Homesteader ~
We were given a package of instant potato flakes. But I don’t cook with instant potatoes since we both much prefer the taste of real mashed potatoes to instant.
But y’all know how I hate to waste food, so I set out looking for ways to use them up. Thickening for soup? Sure. Topping for shepherd’s pie? Ok.
But it’s taking too long to use this bag of instant potatoes. So I set out to find a recipe to use ’em up a little faster.
Then I stumbled on a recipe to make COOKIES with them. Cookies? Really!?? Hummmm….
I figured I’ve got nothing to lose, RancherMan likes cookies and I love all things lemon so why not?
I pulled out the few ingredients the recipe would require – instant potatoes, flour, sugar, eggs, butter, lemon & baking soda.
I found the original recipe on food.com. Why but of course I changed the recipe to suit our tastes, why do you ask?? LOL
Y’all know I simply cannot leave a recipe alone!
I took my lemon and juiced it and added the juice to the batter, then I zested it and added the zest of the entire lemon to the batter as well. I think this added a little more lemon flavor, which is what I was after.
Butter Melted, NOT Softened
The recipe said the dough would be crumbly and they were right. I was confused initially reading the recipe & added the butter softened but not melted. So that may have made the batter more crumbly than it was supposed to be. Next time I’ll actually melt the butter completely before adding it in.
As it was, I was able to take a handful of dough and press tightly & the warmth of my hands made the dough stick together enough to plop it onto a cookie sheet.
(update: Yes, yes, YES – melt the butter before mixing in and the cookie dough is perfect!)
Baking The Lemon Cookies
I stuck those cookies on a cookie sheet and set it in a 350-degree oven for about 10-12 minutes. Then I cooled the cookies just a bit before attempting to move them to a cooling rack.
Yes I sneaked one cookie into my mouth while it was still warm – don’t judge me! 😉
The verdict? Both RancherMan & I LOVED them. They were soft, lemony and almost cake-like. But not overly sweet. Success!
I baked only 1/2 of the recipe that day and baked the other 1/2 the following day when we had company visiting. They loved them as well, the cookies were devoured in short order.
And hey, if you’re going to have to put to good use a grocery item that would otherwise go to waste why not cookies, right??
Here’s the recipe as I amended it:
Instant Potato Lemon Cookies
Lemon cookies made with instant mashed potatoes? Oh yes, and they're delicious! #TexasHomesteader
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups instant mashed potatoes
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup nuts finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
- Zest of 1 lemon, about 1 Tablespoon
- OPTIONAL Juice of 1 lemon, about 3-4 Tablespoons. (NOTE - this will make cookies much thinner & crispy!)
- 1/4 cup sugar to roll dough in
Instructions
Directions:
-
Heat oven to 350°F.
-
In large bowl, combine all ingredients except last 1/4 cup sugar; blend well. (Mixture will be crumbly.)
-
Firmly press into 1-inch balls, roll cookies in reserved sugar & place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before attempting to remove from baking sheet. Place on rack to cool completely.
~TxH~
Other Easy Desserts
- Depression-Era CRAZY CAKE – No Butter, Eggs or Milk
- Quick Homemade Whipped Cream
- Easy Instant Pot Cheesecake
- Apple Crumble QUICK With Pie Filling
- Fast Dessert: Spiced Rum Fried Apples
- Pumpkin Bread (with Cake-Mix Shortcut)
- Healthier Banana Bread Recipe
- Rich, Chocolaty Homemade Brownies
- Healthier Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownies
- Chocolate Pudding In A FLASH
- Banana Pudding – A Hug From The South
- Cherry-Pie Tortilla Rolls
- Cantaloupe Bread w/Pecan Praline Glaze
- Easy Blueberry Muffins
- Easy Homemade Shortcake
- Strawberry Shortcake Dessert
- Fresh Pear Cake
- Easy Homemade Peach Ice Cream
- Healthier ‘Ice Cream’ Using Bananas & Fruit
- Easy Cookies-n-Cream Ice Cream Cake
- Homemade Honey Graham Crackers
- Cake-Mix Cookies – Only 3 Ingredients!
- 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Double Chocolate Banana Chunk Cookies
- Sugar-Free Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
- Triple Chocolate Truffles
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- Chocolate-Covered Rice Krispie Treats
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Dessert Toppings
- No-Cook Chocolate Frosting
- Stir-n-Pour Drizzle Chocolate
- Easy Honey Glaze
- Homemade Whipped Cream (Sweetened With Honey)
- Cherry Pie Filling From Frozen Cherries
- Peach Pie Filling From Canned Peaches
See All Recipe Posts
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I’ve been looking for this recipe for YEARS! I made these in the early to mid 90’s and lost the recipe when I moved. I can’t wait to try these. I remember them being crispy with a tender middle, and a nice lemon flavor.
Really??!! Wow, I had no idea it’d been out so long Diane. I will say I was very pleasantly surprised with these, and I enjoy changing ’em up depending upon what I’m in the mood for. Sometimes I’ll roll the cookie dough cookie in crushed nuts before flattening & baking – it’s always delicious! ~TxH~
Can I bake these as bar cookies? My dough was more moist than crumbly. Should I add more potato flakes and make individual cookies?
Wow Lisa, sorry I’m just now responding, RancherMan & I were traveling to visit with family. I’ve never made bar cookies with this recipe, only individual cookies. I use butter instead of margarine (not sure if that even makes a difference but…) and I’m careful to melt the butter instead of just adding it softened – that made a difference in the texture of the dough for my cookies as well. So… How did yours turn out? ~TxH~
COOKIES made from mashed potatoes? Wow! That’s too fascinating not to try! 🙂
I’ve already pinned this to save for later. Thank you for sharing.
I have never heard of mashed potato cookies before! they sound great…I’ll have to give them a try!
Thanks for sharing with Green Thumb Thursday! I hope you’ll join us again this week!
~Lisa
They’re very good Lisa, and you can change them up to suit your tastes. I added chopped pecans and went lighter on the lemon recently and they tasted like pecan sandies. Delicious! ~TxH~
Who would have thought??!! These sound great and I appreciate you sharing it at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
Awesome! I have loads of instant potatoes to use. I’m so glad to find a new way to do so. Pinned! Stopping by from My 2 Favorite Things.
You definitely got my attention with the mashed potatoes! I would eat them 😉 It’s always fun to try something a bit different!
Interesting….mash potato cookies. Lunch and dessert all in one, lol. I like it! Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things. I hope you will join us again next Thursday!
This looks so delicious! I’m visiting from Thursday Favorite Things.
Thanks
Angie
This sounds good…… my mom used to make potato donuts using mashed potatoes- they were great. 🙂
This is an interesting recipe. Who would’ve thought to make cookies from potato flakes? I’ll have to give these a try. Pinned. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.
This recipe was so intriguing to me–instant mashed potatoes in cookies?!? I love the moisture that potatoes add to breads, so why not a cookie too? Brilliant! Thanks for sharing!
I had no idea you could even make cookies out of instant mashed potatoes. How interesting! Cool recipe. Thank you for linking at the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you again next week.
Never would have thought about that ingredients. I will have to give them a try, thanks 🙂
Who would of thought? They sound amazing! Thank you for sharing at Tuesdays at Our Home! Have a great week! Maria
How intriguing, instant mashed potatoes turned into cookies?? I’m curious and want to try now and have been wanting to make more recipes using lemon. Pinning this!
I KNOW, RIGHT BERNADYN!!?? I was intrigued as well and doubly surprised at how delicious and cake-like they were. Give ’em a try next time you’re trying to use up your instant mashed potatoes. ~TxH~
Now this sounds very interesting! I’ll have to share this with my daughter! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
I would never waste food again if ALL extras and leftovers could be made into COOKIES! Brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Treasure Box Tuesday- pinned! 😀
LOL Joy. I KNOW, RIGHT???!! Who knew… instant mashed potatoes into delicious lemon cookies? I guess ya live, ya learn. 🙂 Thanks for the pin. ~TxH~
Good idea for using up those instant potatoes! Thanks for sharing at Happiness is Homemade 🙂
What a great idea! I have never heard of these. Thank you for posting this. 🙂
I love a good cookie recipe and I need to try these!! Thanks for sharing at the Happiness is Homemade Link Party, hope to see you back on Sunday!
I can honestly say I have never heard of cookies made from instant potatoes! :O). But they sound like they turned out nice and tasty.
OMGosh, me too! I’d never heard of cookies made with instant potatoes either so I was pleasantly surprised at how good these were. ~TxH~