MEYER LEMON AND ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

THE SUREST WAY…

Yesterday was just what we needed. I woke up ready to make it a better day. I had a feeling that what I needed was a day off, not just a day off from emails, errands, etc. but a day off from being “mom”. Yet, I didn’t want to be away from my family at all. I thought about it and what I decided was that G and I could both use a day off from the rules, the learning, the growth. We are figuring this whole mom-daughter-toddler thing out together and it’s not always easy. Some days, even some weeks, I feel like I’m constantly saying, no, that’s not okay, please don’t, hold on, wait just a second, you need to be quiet/gentle/polite/use your manners… especially during the times when G is challenging me. But we are just doing our jobs to the best of our abilities. After all, it is her job right now to grow, test, challenge, and question. It is my job to mindfully parent her.

I was so happy that it was Friday. TGIF. It’s the weekend! A break from the work, a change in the routine. What’s to say that G wasn’t just as grateful when the end of the week rolled around? We both needed Saturday off, so that’s what we did. I didn’t press her about rules, we played whatever she wanted right when she wanted. If she said, “Let’s dance!”, we danced. It was fantastic. In fact, from now on we are taking Fridays off. Let the week bring what it may, but from now on Fridays are for me and my girls.

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So no rules, coffee in bed, a seriously silly dance party, several readings of Pirate Girl, and excessive snuggling rounded out our morning. As soon as Lulu rose from her morning nap we headed out for a little morning hike, my hiking abilities are a bit limited as my foot is still healing, but that was just fine because it was very cold. A short hike with lattes in hand, a picnic that consisted of a couple of kiwis and some pretzels, and lots of make believe was just the thing. Never underestimate the power of fresh air. When we got home the girls had naps and Kyle and I had lunch and talked about some big goals… then Kyle got to work on his studies and I got to work making cookies.

I’d bought some plump Meyer lemons at the store last week with the intention to make my Meyer Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies. As soon as I see Meyer lemons pop up in the produce section, like little beacons of sunshine sent North from California, I pounce on them. I love shortbread, it’s sweet and a little salty, flaky… and you know I love anything that can be equally enjoyed for dessert and for breakfast. The moment the microplane hit those lemons and the fragrant, tangerine-y smell filled the air, I felt better about everything. I doubled my recipe and ended up with 128 little heart shaped cookies. Gigi woke from her nap just in time to help me make the glaze and drizzle it all over our cookies. We let the glaze set, wrapped up 108 of the cookies into neat little parchment packages of six each, and set out with a basket full of cookies.

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As we pulled on our warm coats, smiles on our faces, I remembered something that is easy to forget but important to learn, and to relearn… the surest way to feel more positive, happier, and to put a smile back on your face, is to do something nice for someone else. So that’s what we did. We were cookie fairies, first on our street, then in our neighborhood, then we hopped in the car for a few extra special deliveries. It was the one on one time Gigi and I needed, she listened without being chided and I parented without trying. We talked about how great it felt to make surprise our friends and make them smile… we are most certainly going to make it a regular thing.

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MEYER LEMON AND ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Ingredients.
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for topping)
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
2-2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions.
In a stand mixer, whip the butter for a few minutes until it’s glossy and light. Add in the granulated sugar and mix on medium-high for 3-4 minutes, until it has creamed into a frosting like consistency. Add in the cup of confectioner’s sugar and mix until combined. Add in the rosemary, lemon zest, vanilla, and egg yolk and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, then add it, one cup at a time, to the wet ingredients, mixing until blended.
Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a log and seal it up. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes… the cooler the dough, the easier it is to work with.

Preheat your oven to 350˚F. Flour your work surface and working with half of the dough at a time, use a rolling pin to spread the dough out into a sheet that’s about 1/4 inch thick. Pick out your cookie cutter and cut the dough into shapes. Simple shapes work best for these cookies. You can also cut the cookie dough into squares if you prefer. Continue until all the dough has been cut out. I found it easiest bake one batch (two sheets) while I kept cutting out cookies for the next round. I laid the cut out cookies on parchment paper and then transferred them to the baking sheet.

Lay the cut cookies 1 inch apart on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of granulated sugar.

Bake two sheets of cookies at a time on the upper and lower middle racks of the oven for 20 minutes, or just until the cookies begin to very slightly brown on the sides. Rotate them halfway through baking. It’s important to note that if you have a little dough leftover and only have one rack in the oven, the cookies will bake a bit faster, so keep an eye on them!
Move the cookies immediately to a cooling rack, keeping them on the parchment paper.

While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze. Put the 1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice in a small bowl. Add in the confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you have a slightly thick but still drizzle-able glaze. Once the cookies are cooled drizzle each one with a little bit of the glaze. Allow to set for about 30 minutes, or until the glaze is firm to the touch. Enjoy immediately!

The cookies will store well for a few days in an airtight container. This recipe makes about 40 small heart shaped cookies, be sure to share with friends.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
MEYER LEMON AND ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD COOKIES