Lemon Thyme Tea Cookies with Lemon Icing
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Soft and buttery, these sweet lemon shortbread cookies have the perfect amount of tartness. Combined with delicious fresh thyme and topped with lemon icing, they make excellent tea biscuits to enjoy with your next cuppa while you binge watch Bridgerton. Learn how to make these deliciously adorable lemon shortbread cookies to enjoy during a spring afternoon Bridgerton tea party in this post!
what is shortbread?
Shortbread cookies originally come from Scotland. They were supposedly a favorite of Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century, though there is not much factual based evidence to support this centuries old rumor! Traditionally, shortbread is shaped into a triangular wedge, which became known as petticoat tails.
This style of cookie is one of the most sought after, as its high butter content makes it completely irresistible! The “short” texture of the cookie causes it to snap beautifully as you take a bite and then melt deliciously in your mouth. In Scotland, they are called “shorties” - how cute is that?
gathering ingredients to make lemon thyme shortbread cookies:
To make these delightful lemon shortbread cookies with thyme, you will need to gather some key ingredients! Shortbread cookies are quite simple in nature, needing only four ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, and salt. They do not use any leaveners like baking powder or baking soda.
Sugar. To create a more smooth texture, I would suggest using granulated sugar as its more readily available and is generally of a fine or superfine texture. If you have access to castor or baker’s sugar, then I would highly suggest using that instead to prevent any large sugar crystals in your cookie!
Lemon Zest. For the cookie, you will want a finer lemon zest so as not to have any large chunks of lemon. However, to decorate the tops of the cookies, a thicker lemon peel is perfect!
Thyme. For this recipe, you will want to use fresh thyme to flavor the cookies.
Butter. I like to use salted butter for my cookies, but you can certainly use unsalted butter if that it what you prefer. The butter should be at room temperature, or about 68° F (20° C).
Flour. For this recipe, I use all-purpose flour.
Salt. Kosher salt is my preferred salt to use for baking and cooking, but you can use sea salt in this recipe if you have that instead!
how to make lemon shortbread cookies:
Step One: To begin making this lemon shortbread cookies recipe, you will first begin by rubbing the lemon zest and thyme into the sugar. This releases the oils in the citrus peel and the herbs, flavoring the cookie without disrupting the recipe’s structure by adding in lemon juice. By rubbing these ingredients into the sugar, you will get an incredibly strong flavored cookie!
Step Two: Combine the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. But what does that mean? For shortbread, you want to avoid over-creaming the butter. You want some air pockets to form in the butter to help give the cookies some lift, but too much air will cause the cookies to bubble or puff up. For these cookies, only cream the butter and sugar together for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, beat in the vanilla extract.
Step Three: Add the flour and salt, mixing on medium speed until the cookie dough just begins to form. As soon as it comes together in a ball and no longer clings to the sides of the bowl, it’s finished mixing. Bring the dough together with your hands and shape it into a disc. It should not have any dry crumbly bits but be a cohesive texture and color.
Step Four: Roll out the shortbread cookies on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) thick. Try to avoid overly flouring the counter or flouring the top of the dough, as this will simply add more flour into the dough itself resulting in dry, crumbly cookies. Try flouring the rolling pin instead. If your dough is incredibly wet and sticky, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes to firm up the butter.
Step Five: Cut out the cookies with a 3-inch (8-cm) round cookie cutter. Try to cut out as many cookies as possible to avoid having to re-roll the dough. The more the dough is re-rolled, the less tender the cookies will be. Poke the centers of the cookies with the tines of the fork. This helps to prevent them from bubbling up while baking. Then, pop them into the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Step Six: Bake the cookies at 350° F (177° C) for about 8 to 9 minutes or until they are just golden brown around the edges.
tips for making perfect shortbread cookies:
If you have ever had some trouble with baking shortbread cookies, then you may want to try out a few of these handy tips!
Is my shortbread done baking? If your shortbread cookie is a lovely lightly brown with golden brown edges, it’s ready to remove from the oven. Lift up the cookie and take a peek underneath. If the cookie still looks wet and underbaked, it may need 1 to 2 more minutes in the oven. If your cookie is a deep golden brown all over, it is overbaked.
Refrigerate the Cookie Dough. Shortbread cookies rely on the butter being slightly chilled to bake properly without spreading. Mix up the cookie dough first, cut out the cookies, and then chill the dough. This will help the cookies to retain their shape during and after baking.
Smooth out the Tops. If your cookies have bubbled, don’t fret. Simply run the bottom of a smooth drinking glass or measuring cup over the surface of the cookie right after pulling them from the oven.
final thoughts:
If you love the tart citrus flavor of lemon and the peppery, sweet flavor of thyme then you will love this sweet combination! These cookies make an excellent sweet treat for dunking into your cup of tea or coffee. I love making them even without the icing for a more simple sweet. These are the perfect cookie to bring to a tea party or coffee date or even a Bridgerton watch party. I hope you enjoy making them and eating them!
xoxo Kayla
Lemon Thyme Tea Cookies with Lemon Icing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (120 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (12 g) lemon zest
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus more for decorating
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (260 g butter) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups (236 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) heavy cream or milk
- Lemon peel, for decorating
- Thyme leaves, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (177° C) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set these aside for now.
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, lemon zest, and thyme leaves. With your fingers, rub these ingredients together until they become fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. The butter should be pale in color and light in texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the vanilla and mix in until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Add in the flour and salt and beat on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the dough just begins to come together. With your hands, shape the dough into a large mass that not longer has any dry crumbly bits.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) thick. Cut out cookies with a 3-inch (8-cm) round cookie cutter. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheet about 2-inches (5-cm) apart. Bring together any leftover scraps of dough and re-roll them to cut out more cookies.
- With the tines of a fork, pierce a few sets of holes into the centers of the cookies. Then, place the cookie sheets into the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes or into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill before baking.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 9 minutes or until they are just golden around the edges. Let them rest on the baking sheets for a further 10 minutes before transferring them to wire cooling racks.
- While the cookies are cooling, making the Lemon Icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and heavy cream or milk. The icing should leave a trace on the surface of the icing for a few seconds after being drizzled back into the bowl.
- Spread the icing on the fully cooled cookies. While the icing is still wet, decorate the tops of the cookies with more lemon peel and fresh thyme leaves.
- These cookies will store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
168Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
