Alma Bax 
I have been baking cookies with my daughter over the past few weeks, and we have had a lot of fun together learning about baking. I have been taking a lot of pictures along the way, and I am going to share with you one of my most recent cookie recipes. These cookies are called Fresh Lemon Cookies with Basil. They are a fairly simple cookie, and they can be easily adapted to different ingredients. If you would like to make your cookies a little healthier with a different butter, try using butter with a higher fat content.
Like most people I went through a stage of buying a lot of lemons. In fact, I know a few people who buy as many as 50 each week to fill the huge bins in their kitchen. They enjoy the bright, tart flavor of lemons and they can be used in a variety of recipes, from salad dressings and vinaigrettes to pesto and pickles.
These cookies are a variation of my favorite lemon bars, featuring a crisp cookie base, a simple lemon curd filling, and a sprinkling of basil. They can be stored in an airtight container for a few days, and make a great addition to a picnic or a dinner party.
And our lemon tree is bursting at the seams!
Naturally, spring comes to mind –
Lemon cookies with strawberry ice cream. Strawberries, lemons, lemon cookies, lemon cookies with strawberry ice cream.
Right? Isn’t that how it works in your head?
Also, basil! I told myself to add basil…
In these lemon cookies, the basil taste isn’t overpowering.
I began with a recipe from Albion Gould for these cookies.
However, I made a few minor adjustments (more basil, please!). I also increased the amount of baking powder.
But that was the extent of my alterations to the recipe. It made me very pleased.
The cookie is a simple sugar cookie with a generous helping of lemon essence and zest…
And, of course, there’s the basil.
Before baking, the cookie dough balls are rolled in sugar.
This step might be skipped, but it’s what gives them that melty, sweet feel.
Try it because they are delicious!
With a cup of tea, I savored my… 
Then, as an after-dinner treat, Jeff and I tried them with a dollop of strawberry ice cream sandwiched in between.
Splendid!
If you’re feeling particularly creative, try this recipe for handmade strawberry ice cream!
3 dozen
Cookies with basil and lemon
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Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon powdered baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (plus 1/4 cup for rolling cookies in sugar before baking)
- 1 pound of butter (room temperature)
- 1 egg
- a half-teaspoon of lemon essence
- 2 medium lemons, zest
- 8 coarsely chopped basil leaves (about 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine flour and baking powder in a medium mixing basin. Remove from the equation.
- Mix sugar and butter till frothy in a mixer.
- While continuing to mix, add the egg, lemon essence, and lemon zest.
- Slowly stir in the flour mixture and basil leaves.
- In a shallow dish or small plate, place 1/4 cup sugar.
- Take about a spoonful of dough, shape it into a ball, and roll it in sugar.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving approximately 2 inches between cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 11 minutes.
- Before transferring to a dish, let them cool fully on the baking sheet.
- This recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies.
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These cookies have a lovely basil flavor and a delicate lemon drizzle, and they’re a great way to use up a bunch of basil you might have. They’re a little on the sweet side, so they’re great as a snack.. Read more about lemon basil cookies southern living recipe and let us know what you think.
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Ben Austin 