Lemon Thyme Cookies

Welcome to LEMON WEEK at Red Couch Recipes!

Who doesn't love the smell of lemons while grating or juicing them?  Like many of you, I have a love affair with lemons.  They are tangy, zesty, and so vibrantly colored.; they brighten up any drink or dish.   Growing up, we seldom had fresh lemons around the home -- well, we did have lemons in the form of bottled juice.   While living in California, I was delighted to see lemons just weighing down a tree at the home of my husband's Uncle Bill. To have fresh lemons off a tree was a Wisconsin's girl's true delight!

My lemon thyme on my back deck.  You just have to love its scent and taste.

When I lived in Lindon, Utah, Tonya Lemone, a woman from my church, had a store called Perennial Garden in Orem.  As a part of her business, she would hold "teas" in her beautiful backyard.  She had the most amazing backyard full of produce and two lovely buildings; one was a fanciful garden shed and the other was a cottage.  She generously opened up her backyard for church events, such as Relief Society Homemaking Meetings and wedding receptions.  She even had a Maypole -- can you say jealous?  At these teas, her signature cookie was a Lemon Thyme Cookie. I believe she sold packets of dried Lemon Thyme at her lovely little store.

This is my version adapted from Tonya's recipe for Lemon Thyme Cookies.  Tonya's was more of a purist; I added the lemon juice, lemon rind, and ground ginger.

1 cup butter -- Do not use margarine; Tonya would not approve.

1-1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2-3/4 cups flour

4 teaspoons Lemon Thyme -- I used fresh.

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated fresh lemon rind
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Cream butter and sugar, then cream in eggs.  To the creamed mixture, add flour, lemon thyme, lemon juice and lemon rind.  Shape into tablespoon-sized balls  and roll in sugar.  Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.  Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. 

Notes:  The cookie dough will be quite moist.  The cookies when baked will be flat, but not especially crisp.  The recipe yields around 30 cookies.

Hope you drop by all week for Lemon Week where a good dose of lemon will brighten and refresh your day.

You might also like the following recipes from my Citrus Archives:
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Lemon Brownie Bites

Crazy Good Lemon Chicken

Posted with the following:  Wow Us Wednesdays, Weekend Wrapup