Lemon, Lime + Thyme Cookies
It's amazing how fast time goes by. Hudson will be 1 years old next Thursday, I can't even believe it. My little man. I have been thinking about what kind of a cake to make him. With Lola, I made a vegan banana cake. No eggs, no dairy, no sugar. It worked out nice. Of course for everyone else I ordered mini cupcakes from Saint Cupcake and it has been our tradition on her birthday ever since. I have been contemplating whether or not to do another vegan cake for Hudson and whether or not to hold up the same Saint Cupcake tradition as well. What kind of cake did you make or buy for your baby's first birthday?
I'm a big fan of incorporating herbs into everything. Rosemary rhubarb jam. Blue cheese chive biscuits. And now, lemon, lime and thyme cookies. I tweaked the original recipe just a little, adding a tiny bit more lemon zest and thyme. As really, that is the best part.
adapted from: Joy the Baker Cookbook
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons lemon zest
1-2 teaspoon lime zest (adjust per your love of lime)
1 cup granulated sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Place sugar on cutting board and zest lemon and lime over top. Taking the back of the spoon, rub the zest into the sugar turning the sugar yellow. This is really the best way to get the most flavor from your zest.
Cream butter with citrus sugar in electric stand mixer using the paddle attachment until fluffy. Add thyme, blend. Add milk and one egg (reserving the other egg for egg wash) and beat for 1 minute.
Scrape down the sides with spatula and add flour. Mix on low until just combined. Continue mixing by hand with spatula.
Place dough on wax paper and shape into a log. Place another sheet of wax paper over top of dough. Roll cookie dough inside the waxed paper creating a disk. Crimp edges and place in fridge for at least 3 hours.
Remove dough from fridge at least 20 minutes prior to baking. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place rack in middle to upper third of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. I needed 2 sheets, possibly 3 would have been better.
Divide dough in half and roll out on a lightly floured surface until you reach 1/8 thickness. Using a cookie cutter, or knife, or whatever you want your shape to be, cut out cookies and place on baking sheets. They can be fairly close together as they do not expand in the oven.
Beat remaining egg and 1 tablespoon water in small bowl. Brush cookies with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. The cookies by themselves are not overly sweet. I did a mixture of sprinkling generously, not sprinkling at all, and just barely sprinkling. Because really in the morning with my coffee, I don't like a super sweet cookie.
Bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies will barely brown then remove. They will harden up so do not worry if they are still too soft. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to rack to fully cool.