Lemon-Thyme Shortbread Cookies with Earl Grey Glaze

Recipe from here

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (The zest of two lemons)
1 teaspoon lemon extract (Or the juice of one lemon. Taste the batter and see what you think after you’ve added the flour—depending on the size of your lemon, you might want to juice the second lemon as well.)
2 cups flour (Depending on the size of the lemon, again. I ended up using about ten ounces of all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons dried thyme (I used about ten sprigs of fresh thyme. Take the leaves off of the sprigs, then chop finely with a very sharp chef’s knife. It could probably do with even fifteen sprigs of thyme.)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Icing:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons brewed Earl Grey

Directions:
Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, thyme, and salt. Mix the flour into the butter until thoroughly combined.
Split the dough into two equal-sized balls. Form into logs (Mine were about 2.5 inches in diameter) and roll in parchment. Refrigerate for at least one hour until the dough is chilled and firm.

Preheat the oven to 300º F. When the oven has preheated and you’re ready to bake, line baking sheets with parchment. Slice 1/4″ slices off the logs and place on the baking sheets about 1″ apart. Bake for 20-25 minutes, just until the edges start to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

For Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of tea until a thick glaze is formed. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies. Allow to set.

New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Notice: This dough must be refrigerated for 24 hours before you can cook it up. Otherwise, you can just eat raw cookie dough. Which is still an option. :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8½ ounces) cake flour (If you have no cake flour, you can make your own: 1.7 ounces of cornstarch plus 6.8 ounces of all-purpose of flour. Or, by volume, it would be 1.5 cups all-purpose flour plus a quarter cup cornstarch.)
1 & 2/3 cups (8½ ounces) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 & 1/3 cups (20 ounces) dark chocolate chips, at least 60% cacao content
Sea salt, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.

2. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

4. Scoop 3 1/2-ounces of dough, roll into a rough ball (it should be the size of a large golf ball) and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have six mounds of dough on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the parchment or silicone sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto another cooling rack to cool a bit more, until just warm or at room temperature. Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They also freeze nicely.