Lemon thyme is one of my favorite herbs to grow, and I’m always looking for new ways to use it. These delicate lemon thyme tea cookies are the perfect backdrop for the bright herbal flavor of lemon thyme. They are an elegant addition to any tea party!
I made these cookies for a bridal shower a few weeks ago, and the bride-to-be liked them so much that she requested them for her wedding as well! I was happy to oblige, because not only are these cookies dainty and delicious, they’re also quite simple to make.
In fact, as far as cookie recipes go, this one definitely belongs in the category of easy, no-fuss recipes.
I based this recipe on a lavender tea cookie, because I thought that recipe provided a nice balance of sweet and floral notes. Instead of dried lavender flowers, I used dried lemon thyme leaves, fresh lemon zest, and a bit of lemon extract.
That sounds like a lot of lemon, but the flavor really isn’t overpowering. These sweet cookies have just enough lemon to complement a nice cup of tea.
If you like herbal flavors, or just want a new cookie recipe to try, I suggest you make a batch of these summery lemon thyme tea cookies. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at their delicate flavoring.
Head over to The Tea Caddy for some of my favorite teas to pair them with!
What is Lemon Thyme?
Lemon thyme is not, perhaps, a very common herb – in gardens or in kitchens. I should know, because I have a hard time finding recipes to use it in!
Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) is a variant of common English or German thyme (Thymus vulgaris). It looks just like common thyme, but smells and tastes like lemon. And thyme. It’s pretty wonderful!
Apparently, it is unknown whether this plant is a natural variant of common thyme, or a hybrid of two different plants. In any case, it comes from the Mediterranean region and has been around for at least 200 years. The plant can be found in the South of France, Italy, Spain, and northern Africa. You can read more about lemon thyme here.
Ingredient Notes
Shortening Options
If you don’t like to use hydrogenated shortening, there are other options. You can use all butter, but the cookies won’t be quite as soft, and they are more likely to spread out while baking unless you chill the dough thoroughly first.
Another option is to use palmfruit shortening (or palm oil), which is naturally solid at room temperature. This oil is not hydrogenated, so it does not cause the unwanted effects of regular vegetable shortening. This is what I typically use when a recipe calls for shortening.
Lemon Thyme
For this recipe, I use whole dried leaves of the lemon thyme plant. For some, seeing leaves in their cookie might be off-putting. I understand, and you are welcome to crush your lemon thyme leaves first if this is an issue! My family is used to seeing herbs in their food, so it doesn’t bother them any more. I happen to like seeing the little leaves curling through my cookie!
I have only used dried lemon thyme in this recipe, but fresh leaves should work just as well. Recipes often call for a greater amount of fresh herbs than dried; however, I would recommend starting with the same amount if you are substituting fresh lemon thyme. A cookie chock-full of leaves might not look very appetizing, even if you do like herbs!
Method
Before you start, make sure your butter is at room temperature. Cold butter won’t mix well with shortening, resulting in an uneven texture.
Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract, mixing until combined.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in lemon thyme leaves and lemon zest. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. I usually just put the entire mixing bowl in the fridge. You can skip this step if you’re not particular about the shape of the cookies. Chilling the dough does help them to stay more compact and rounded, if that is the shape you want.
Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. I do this while the cookies are chilling, because my oven takes a long time to heat up!
Form the cookies into 3/4″ balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. Cooling the baking sheets between batches helps to prevent the cookies from spreading out too much.
Remove the cookies from the baking sheets to cool, and enjoy the delicious fragrance of lemon thyme tea cookies wafting through your kitchen!
Happy baking!
~Kimberly
Lemon Thyme Tea Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp lemon thyme leaves dried
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon extracts, and mix until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the lemon thyme and lemon zest.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture until combined.
- Chill the dough for 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Form the dough into 3/4" balls and place on ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.
[…] more tea party recipes, see Lemon Thyme Tea Cookies and Sweetheart Cranberry Almond […]