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light and summery cookies: lemon butter biscuits with lemon thyme glaze
I guess there’s something about shortbread paired with citrus that gets me insane. I must have had at least 6 of these tonight while I was testing the recipe. Needless to say, I skipped dinner, though that was calling for me, too. I just knew that if I had eaten the spaghetti, I would have needed to clean my palate with more cookies—not a good idea.
The whole time I kept thinking about Jerry Seinfeld’s new bit about cookies, which was on David Letterman a couple months ago. I looked everywhere for a clip of it on YouTube, but couldn’t find it. Sorry. If anyone finds it out there, post it in the comments, and then we can all have a good laugh.
So, I decided to make these cookies with thyme because the package of thyme I found at the grocery store had these pretty little flowers in them, and I thought they would look nice in a photograph. If you aren’t brave enough to put an herb you may associate with savory foods into a cookie, then just leave it out. I won’t be offended, and I won’t even say you’re not a foodie.
What is a foodie exactly anyway? I don’t even know if I am one, much less qualified to determine if others are.
Oh, this is very important: If you manage to find the sanding sugar, you MUST LINE THE COOKIE SHEET WITH A SILICONE BAKING SHEET, PARCHMENT PAPER, OR WAX PAPER IF THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE. Only skip this step if you want broken cookies. When the sugar melts in the oven, it bonds itself to the cookie sheet that would require a super power to get it free. Trust me, I have tested it too many times without the paper.
lemon butter biscuits with lemon thyme glaze
2 sticks (224g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon (the zest of 2, if you have an extra one lying around)
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup sanding sugar*
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Mix until light and fluffy. Add in egg yolk, and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour and lemon juice until just incorporated. Turn the mixture onto a floured board, and knead gently to ensure all ingredients are well distributed.
2. Shape the dough into 2 cylinders, each about 2 inches in diameter and 15 inches long. Beat the egg white in a small bowl, and brush on all sides of the cylinders. Roll in sanding sugar, then roll up in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can freeze them at this time if you wish.)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees celsius). LINE COOKIE SHEETS WITH PARCHMENT PAPER OR A SILPAT. Cut cylinders into 1/4 inch slices. Lay flat on cookie sheets at least an inch and a half apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes in the top third of the oven until edges begin to turn a light golden brown. Let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely and drizzle with glaze.
for the glaze:
1 cup (100g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl, adding a small amount of the lemon juice at first, and then adding more, to create the desired consistency.
*Sanding sugar is large granulated sugar available in cake decorating supply stores. Mine was the Wilton brand, called “Sprinkles.” I found it at JoAnn.)
12 Responses to “light and summery cookies: lemon butter biscuits with lemon thyme glaze”
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Yummy! Want to share??
Pretty as a picture. Looks delightfully delectable, too.
Your cookies look beautiful! That first picture looks like it could be from a magazine.
I find myself instantly salivating whenever I pull up your website…..YUM!!! You know where I live if you ever want to share!
This is such a brilliant idea for all the lemon thyme I have growing in my garden.
just found your blog.. LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!
Um, yum! These little guys look awesome. And I’m definitely a fan of the thyme. You’re so right: citrus pairs wonderfully with a dense shortbread-ish cookie. How fabulous! Sorry I’ve been away for the past week; I had a good friend in town and wasn’t able to do much on the computer. I’m back now, though
Back and ready for some lemon butter biscuits!
Oh boy, you hit my weakness. These look wonderful! They might be great with lavender as well, nes pas? Thanks for the recipe, I have it saved.
I don’t think I’m a “foodie”, but I have a lovely lemon thyme potted plant just waiting to be used. It looks like I’ve found the right recipe! Thanks for sharing your amazing cullinary talents, as well as the mouth-watering photographs.
ooogyumyummm! lovelovelove lemon:P
You are definitely a foodie! Such a great descriptive word, I’m going to call you Shakespeare, making up new words is a great talent too. Tah!
[...] Jump to Comments I woke up bright and early to a gorgeous sunrise and was ready to make these delicate lemon butter biscuits with a lemon thyme glaze for my Buntzen Lake hike/picnic today, until (gasp!) I found out I didn’t have any lemons. [...]