Sunday, February 7, 2010

Thyme for Cookies and More!

A couple of weeks ago (maybe a bit longer) I went to a get-together with about 30 other girls.  One of them brough the best guacamole I have ever had.  I couldn't stop stuffing my face, it was that good.  A couple of days later I asked her for the recipe and she gave me a list of ingredients; a little bit of this, a little bit of that, etc.  It wasn't until yesterday that actually gave it a shot though.  I still had 3 avocados from the CSA box and they were ready to eat. I couldn't think of a better way to use the last avocados of the season than to try this awesome guacamole.  It just so happened that the rest of the main ingredients, onion and tomato, were also in my fridge thanks to the CSA box.  This isn't her exact recipe, I modified it to use what I had in hand but man, it's pretty damned good!  I found it best freshly made but I just had the leftovers in a sandwich and it was still very tasty.



June's Karen's Guacamole


2 small avocados, mashed
1 tbsp minced young onion (the whites only), or shallots
2 roasted garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium tomato, chopped 
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)
a dash of garlic powder
pinch of salt
juice of half a lime


Combine all the ingredients well.  You can make it as smooth or chunky as you want.  It's just that simple!



I liked the guacamole Karen made because it was spicy but did not taste like jalapeno which is what you'd expect in guacamole.  I love the idea of using cayenne pepper as I am a fan of it and use it quite often.

We still haven't fully unpacked so every now and then I open a box, usually containing cookbooks or cooking magazines, and start putting the contents away.  I was doing that yesterday when I came across a Christmas cookie magazine.  I started flipping through it and and found a recipe I had tagged.  It was for Lemon-Thyme cookies.  How convenient since we got a loads of thyme in the CSA box yesterday.  I also have some organic lemons I bought to make marmalade but haven't gotten around to it.  I thought this would be a perfect way to use some of the thyme.  I ran it past Matt and he approved so I got to work this morning.

The cookies turned out to be pretty tasty.  You can definitely taste the thyme and the lemon. Then again, thyme does taste lemony.  They are probably not the kind of cookie I'd pick up at a store based on the name alone but they are definitely very good.  They are not diet friendly at all though so I'm going to take the majority of them as a gift to my mom.




Lemon-Thyme Cookies


1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp snipped fresh thyme
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour


Preheat the oven to 350°F.


In a mixer, cream the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  The time depends on the mixer, it will take longer with a hand held mixer.  Beat in the thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice and cardamom.  Add the flour slowly and mix until combined.


Remove the dough from the mixer and shape into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.


Lightly dust a clean surface with flour.  Roll the dough until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary to prevent the rolling pin from sticking to the dough.  Using a 1 1/5 inch square cookie cutter, cut out shapes and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Gather and re-roll the dough as needed.


Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookie are just slightly browned.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Makes approximately 35 cookies.



Can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.



The actual instructions for the recipe were different but they would have been impossible to get decent looking cookies with their method.  I'm glad I did it this way because in my opinion, the recipe writers were probably drunk when they wrote it.  They had you roll the dough and cut the cookies right out of the mixer.  Huh?  The dough was just too soft, this kind of cookie needs to be refrigerated before rolling.  I am not sure what they were thinking.  I also found that a nonstick mat will make your life infinitely easier with these cookies, as will a good metal bench scrapper, which is what I used to lift the cookies off the mat and onto the cookie sheet.



The cookies are a bit short though nowhere near as short as shortbread.  They are definitely tasty and very easy to make.  You can also form a log with the dough, refrigerate it and then slice round cookies.   You can even use a cookie press and press the cookies without refrigerating the dough.  So many possibilities, same tasty cookie!

2 comments:

  1. Just found your blog today!

    Wow - such great recipes!

    I loved the dip and cookies!

    Well done!

    I have bookmarked this site and will return daily to see what's being offered. What a delight.

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  2. Yay, you made and photographed the guac! It looks even better when you do it! :) I'm glad you enjoyed it. And those cookies look divine.

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