Here's a Cookie Recipe for Your Xmas Cookie Exchange!

Lemon Verbena Almond Wafers

I caught myself reading herbal cookbooks a few weeks ago.   I know that sounds strange.  I knew I would have an overabundance of lemon verbena.  So I thought I would write down a bunch of recipes with lemon verbena as the main ingredient.  Since we are in the time of cookie exchanges, I thought I would make this recipe and if it turned out, share it with you.  It is from Today's Herbal Kitchen by The Memphis Herb Society.   I'm all about easy.  So I will give you the directions as they are in the book and then I will supplement it with my version.

Lemon Verbena Almond Wafers
Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies (It made 65 cookies in my case.)

2 sticks butter, softened  (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.)

1 cup sugar (I used my lemon verbena and vanilla sugar.)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 cups cake flour
1-1/2 T. lemon zest
2 T. chopped dried lemon verbena or
3 T. fresh  (I used 3 T. fresh.)
Sliced almonds for garnish

1.  Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Best in egg. Beat in vanilla.

2.  Gradually mix in flour until blended.  Stir in lemon zest and lemon verbena.

3.  Drop by heaping half teaspoons, 2 inches apart, onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Gently press a few almond slices into center of each cookie.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Let cool on sheet on a rack for 1 to 2 minutes.   Carefully remove from sheet and place directly on rack to cool completely.

These cookies are very tender.  If cooled too long on baking sheet, they will break when trying to remove them.  If this happens, return cookies to oven for about 1 minute before trying again.

OK, that is the recipe as written, but with my notes in parentheses.  This is what I did.  I took out my food processor and creamed together the lemon verbena leaves (I think if you are using dried, a food processor is the way to go to pulverize the lemon verbena.  That midrib can be an issue in dried lemon verbena.) and the two sticks of butter.  Then I added the sugar and continued to cream.  Then I added the lemon zest, egg and vanilla and the cake flour at the end.  I have a very old original (refurbished) Cuisinart food processor  that still works very well.  So it's not a big bowl and the recipe fit very well and I could spoon it out easily.  It worked great.  The only thing I would say about the almonds at the end is to really get them into the batter before baking.  A lot of mine just were laying on the top of the cookie and got knocked off when I went to move them into a box.  Oh, The Herbal Husband said they were sweet. (Huh, they are a cookie and then proceed to have several.  I lost count.)  So I would say they are a hit in this household!  Hope you enjoy them.

 We had a bit of snow and it was cold with the wind today, but sunny after the snow finished.  Hope you are warm and dry and enjoying the season wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.