I love this time of year. Summer's just begun. We are starting to get rid of our traditional "
June Gloom". We've had lovely sunny afternoons but not too many hot days. Our garden looks beautiful, with all the promise of an early garden, before pests and diseases come along.
And we're up to our ears in lemons and basil!
I love lemon and basil together. I've made
creamy pasta dishes with them,
cheesey pasta dishes with them, and even made
lemon and basil flavored pasta.
I can't even tell you how many times we've had lemon and basil chicken. On the grill, roasted, pan-fried.. it's all delicious.
Today I wanted something sweet and lemony. And basil-y too. Since everything goes with cookies, I decided on Lemon Basil Butter Cookies.
This is truly a delicious combination. The butter cookies are tender and delicate and bursting with lemon and basil flavor.
Try these while basil is fresh and in season. They'll be gone in a flash!
by Susan @ Love from the Kitchen
Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus one hour cool
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Keywords: bake basil lemon cookie
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
For the Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
- In a mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Reduce speed to low. Add flour, basil and salt. Mix until combined.
- Place the dough onto waxed paper and shape into two logs, roughly 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
- Wrap each log in cling wrap. {I like to make a shape other than a circle - square, triangle, rectangle... it is easier to maintain the shape when cooling and slicing!} Freeze the dough for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut each log into 1/4 inch slices.
- Place the slices onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden, about 16-18 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
- Make the Lemon Glaze - in a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, basil and lemon juice until smooth.
- Spread cookies with Lemon Glaze and let set, about 1 hour.
- Store in an air tight container.
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