Pineapple Cake Cookies

I’m constantly searching for the perfect weird cookie combination.

Chocolate chip? Nah. Too normal. Oatmeal raisin? Get out of here with that.

I’ve experimented with lemon and white chocolate, mint and dark chocolate, plus a whole menagerie of ingredients that are thrown into my recipe for My Man’s Cookies. Everybody and their mom has a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but do they have a favorite persimmon spice cookie recipe?

That’s where I come in. I’ll experiment and test a slew of strange ingredients to throw into some cookie dough batter—leave the testing to me. When it comes to cookies, I’m open to any ingredient, any texture, any style.

My favorite types of cookies are ones that are crispy and thin, but here lately I’ve been using a more cake-style dough. I’m not sure if it’s the use of just brown sugar that has been making my cookie recipes cakey, but I kind of like it. They end up like soft, fluffy pillows of sweet, sugary goodness. I’m definitely okay with that!

Speaking of weird ingredients, how about pineapple inside of a cookie? Strange, I know. I used a can of crushed pineapple for this intriguing recipe, along with a bunch of chopped walnuts. That’s not a combination you see everyday! It worked, though. The sweet and tangy pineapple was a delicious surprise when biting into these cakey cookies. They ended up a little moist, so these cookies won’t hold for very long. I tried to get as much moisture out of the crushed pineapple as possible, but pineapple alone is a very wet ingredient.

You could essentially throw whatever nut you prefer in this cookie dough, but I felt the walnuts really complimented the pineapple well. Both are crunchy yet soft, and the walnuts have a very subtle flavor that goes well with the extreme flavor of the pineapple.

Strange cookie recipe accomplished! What will be next!? Chocolate orange? Toasted marshmallow? Guava? Mango? Who knows! My quest for weird cookie recipes will never be satisfied. Might as well make these cookies in the meantime!

Pineapple Cake Cookies

• Servings: 12-14
• Time: 30 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Sweet, cakey cookies filled with pineapple and walnuts and frosted with a pineapple buttercream frosting.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained (liquid reserved)
• 1 tsp. baking soda, dissolved in 1 TBS. pineapple juice
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups powedered sugar
• 6 TBS. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 TBS. pineapple juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together. Add eggs and whisk together until well combined. Add crushed pineapple, soda dissolved in pineapple juice, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla and chopped nuts. Stir until well combined, and a cookie dough forms.
2. Drop dough by the teaspoonful two inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Make the frosting: In a large bowl, mix frosting ingredients well until a smooth cream frosting forms. Frost cooled cookies and top with any remaining pineapple or walnuts you may have.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and whisk together until well combined.

Add crushed pineapple, soda dissolved in pineapple juice, flour, baking powder, salt…

…vanilla and chopped nuts. Stir together until a dough forms and everything is well combined. Drop by the teaspoonful, two inches apart, on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Make the frosting: stir together frosting ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Frost cooled cookies with the frosting and top with any remaining pineapple and walnuts.