Tag Archives: cookies

Celebrate National Cookie Day with Herbal Cookie Recipes!

December 4 is #nationalcookieday so here are three recipes for cookies that include herbs!

Lemon Thyme Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional Icing: 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest, 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

thyme

Directions: In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar with mixer and then beat in thyme and 2 teaspoons lemon zest. Add egg and vanilla. Reduce mixer speed and add flour mixture. Roll dough into 1 ½ inch diameter logs, wrap, and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, slice 1/8-inch rounds and place on sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

When cookies have cooled, can top with icing. Mix the confectioners’ sugar, fresh lemon juice, and 2 tsp. of lemon zest and spoon over cookies.

Herbal Shortbread Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, cut up and at room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp. herb of choice: try calendula petals, lavender flowers, rosemary, or lemon balm

calendula

Directions: Beat together butter and sugar, add flour, salt, and herb. Mix and then roll out onto floured surface, so is about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Cut shapes such as circles and then put on ungreased baking sheet, bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Lavender Cookies

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 ¼ cups self-rising flour

1 tbsp dried lavender flowers, crush with mortar and pestle

Pinch salt

lavender

Directions: Cream butter, sugar, and salt and then add flour and lavender. Mix and let sit in fridge for a few hours. Then place dough onto floured surface, roll to 1/3-inch thick Cut into circles and place on greased baking sheet, bake at for 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

lemon thyme cookies courtesy of Tonya LeMone at Perennial Gardens, Utah.

Simple to Grow Culinary Herb: Cilantro Leaves, Coriander Seeds

cilantroI am a firm believer in “right place, right plant,” but there is also “right time,” which is especially true with edibles. Here in Virginia, Memorial Day Weekend brings down the curtain on Act 1, cool season herbs and vegetables. As the sunny days approach 80 degrees, the cilantro leaves the scene and the tomatoes enter stage right.

I love cilantro and I plant it every spring even though I am the only one in my family who likes it. It is a love it or leave it herb but it is used extensively in Asian, Mexican, Indian, African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, is a member of the carrot family. Because of its tap root, it is best to sow seeds directly in the garden bed or in a container in late March/early April. Often called Chinese parsley, the leaves do look like parsley but if you rub them you will smell a somewhat citrusy/woodsy scent. Cilantro is a cool weather annual; it will “bolt” or flower as the days get hotter, often in May or June. Mine are in morning sun and afternoon shade which tends to cool them down and delay bolting. I noticed a patch of blooming cilantro at Green Springs Gardens in Alexandria a few weeks ago. The plant sits in full sun in their vegetable garden, topped with tiny white flowers. It’s not bad that it is flowering because the flowers attract beneficial insects and the result are coriander seeds but the flowering causes the leaves to become bitter so they are no longer useful in the kitchen.cilantro flowers

I like to harvest the leaves on a regular basis from April through June for fried rice pad thai, stir fry chicken, salsa, Mexican dishes, and any type of fish or shrimp. The trick is that you have to either add the leaves toward the end of cooking because they cannot take a lot of heat or use the leaves raw. Always use fresh cilantro leaves, don’t dry the leaves.

Last year, I made a point of letting some plants go to seed so I can start to use the seeds in cooking and baking. I simply put the head of tan seeds into a paper bag and let them sit for a few weeks. I then pulled the seeds off the stems and stored them in a glass jar. My first experiment with coriander will be to make cookies. If you have any other ideas/recipes for coriander or cilantro, please send them to me, I am always collecting recipes for herbs.

Coriander Cookies

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons ground coriander seeds

3/4  cup soft butter

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

Mix first 3 ingredients, stir in butter. Mix next 3 ingredients and add to first bowl, roll into 2 inch balls and place on cookie sheet, flatten with a fork. Bake at 400 F for 6-8 minutes, don’t overcook.