While the summer has already arrived, its influence is undeniable on everything from, fashion to food. In the meanwhile, you must be craving the flavours of countless flavoursome and tasty herbs of summer.
The joy doubles up when you get to indulge in the fresh flavours with a cup of warm morning tea in the soft sunbeam. So, why not replace your typical sweet cookie with a savoury herb cookie to cherish the morning or evening tea even better?
Let’s get into it!
3 Gamechanger Herb Cookie Ideas with Recipes for This Summer
The medicinal value and flavours of herbs are not unknown to anyone. That is why we all have a granny’s recipe book that compiles delicious recipes that include herbs. Herb cookie is one of those which have always been a staple in our kitchen jars.
We have curated 3 herb cookie recipes that have our granny’s traditional techniques with some modern touches. You can also use these recipes as a base and combine several herb cookie toppings to play with different complementary flavours.
1. Cheddar Rosemary Shortbread Cookie
The aged cheddar cheese is a perfect element to add the savoury flavour and crumble in a cookie. On top of that, the rosemary flavour makes almost everything refreshing with a minty flavour. It also complements the cheddar with a slightly pungent taste.
Ingredients
| Softened butter at room temperature | 250 gm or 1 cup |
| All-purpose flour | 287 gm or 1 ¾ cups |
| Sugar (optional) | As per your taste |
| Chopped dried or fresh rosemary | 8 gm or 2 tsp |
| Shredded aged cheddar cheese | 500 gm or 2 cups |
| Ground mustard (optional) | 4 gm or 1 tsp |
| Salt | ¼ tsp or 1 gm |
| Pepper | Pinch full |
Instructions
Step 1
Beat the butter in a large bowl until it becomes fluffy with soft peaks. Then, bring in the rosemary, ground mustard, pepper and salt and mix it with the soft butter.
Step 2
Sift the flour in a separate bowl and toss the cheese in it. Break the cheddar cheese into smaller bits with your fingers. However, do not put too much pressure as we want the cheese bites as well. Now, put the flour mixture into the butter and start folding it until it becomes well-combined.
Step 3
Now, flour your countertop and bring the mixture to knead it into a dough. Then wrap it with a cling wrap and put it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours or until the dough is firm. You can preserve this dough by refrigerating up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Step 4
Make a log out of the dough and slice 1 cm or ½ inch balls and place them on the parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 160°C or 325°F and bake for around 20 minutes or until the edges look crispy.
There you have perfect cheddar rosemary shortbread for your summer herb cookie run.
2. Lemon Thyme Herb Cookie with Icing
Lemon has always topped the list when it comes to freshness with its citrus and zesty flavour. Thyme on top adds to the citrus and compliments the taste of lemon with its sweet and sour taste. In addition, the minty and earthiness of thyme goes really well with the freshness of lemon
Ingredients
| For cookies | |
| Unsalted softened butter | 250 gm or 1 cup |
| All-purpose flour | 435 gm or 2 ¼ cups |
| Granulated sugar | 250 gm or 1 cup |
| Egg | 1 |
| Lemon zest | 1 lemon |
| Lemon juice | 1 lemon or 1 tbsp |
| Thyme and lemon leaves | 1 tbsp (chopped) or 4 gm |
| For icing | |
| Powdered sugar | 250 gm or 1 cup |
| Lemon juice | 1 tbsp 4 gm |
| Milk | 2 tbsp 8 gm |
Instructions
Step 1
Cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl until it turns fluffy. Then beat the egg with the butter and create a smooth mixture.
Step 2
Scrape down the bowl sides clean to bring the mixture in the middle and add the lemon juice, zest and thyme in it. You can also add a pinch of salt in this stage.
Step 3
Next up, sift the flour separately and add to the wet mixture. Then carefully cut and fold to blend well. Once you start getting a crumbly dough, bring it to your countertop and knead with your palm gently. Then wrap the dough with a cling film and refrigerate it at least for 1 hour before rolling.
Step 4
Once your dough is stiff, roll it to ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut with your favourite cookie cutter. In the meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for around 15 minutes till golden brown.
Step 5
For the icing, whisk the milk, icing sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Then spread the icing over your biscuits with a spoon and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.
You have your perfect lemon thyme herb cookie with the best herb cookie toppings.
3. Lavender Shortbread Herb Cookie
Your cookie run herb cookie list is incomplete without a lavender shortbread cookie. The best part is that this is a 5 ingredients recipe. The lavender flavour can be mingled with any other herbs like thyme, rosemary and flavours like lemon or ginger.
Ingredients
| Softened cold salted butter | 250 gm or 1 cup |
| All-purpose flour | 287 gm or 1 ¾ cups |
| Crushed dried or fresh lavender | 4 gm or 1 tsp |
| Milk | 4 gm or 1 tsp |
Instruction
Step 1
Chop the cold butter into small cubes and throw them into a large bowl full of flour. Then gently crush the futter with your fingertips and combine with the flour. Once you get a crumbly mixture, add the lavender and mix.
Step 2
Finally, add the milk and combine it well. You may need a little warm water if your mixture is too crumbly. Then gently knead to make a dough and roll it to create a log. Wrap it with a cling wrap and put it in the freezer for 1 hour at least.
Step 3
No need for any cookie cutter! Just slice the log into thin pieces and lay them on baking paper. You can also herb cookie toppings. Preheat your oven to 325°F and bake the herb cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.
So, in the end, you have 3 champion herb cookie recipes to satisfy your sweet and savoury cravings.
Happy munching!
