Key Ingredients: Love and Gratitude
Creating your own gifts not only gets you in the spirit; it also carries an implicit gift of love to the receiver. Old Edwards Pastry Chef Alyssa Green shares her recipe for beautiful and delicious herb-pressed sugar cookies perfect for cocktail or tea time. As you prepare this recipe, focus on pouring in love and gratitude for the recipient. Whether it’s a hostess gift, dinner party favors or just a heartfelt exchange with someone special, the gift of a handcrafted recipe is a gift from the heart.
Lemon Cream Cheese Shortbread Cookies
Bake Time: 8-10 min
Makes: 24 2” Cookies
Ingredients
5 oz. Cream Cheese
4 oz. Butter
2 Lemons, zested
2.3 oz. Sugar
½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
6 ounces All-Purpose Flour
Assorted Edible Dried Flowers and/or Fresh Herbs
Preparation
- With a paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar, then add the cream cheese, salt, vanilla extract and lemon zest mixing until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the mixer bowl.
- Add all-purpose flour and mix until just combined.
- Wrap in cling wrap and chill dough for at least an hour before rolling out.
- Preheat conventional oven to 350F.
- Once the dough is chilled roll the dough out to 1/4 “ thickness and cut out to desired shapes.
- Chill the cutout cookies for 10 minutes.
- Egg wash cookies and place desired flowers/herbs on top. Chef Alyssa favors Sage, Rosemary, Thyme. (The egg wash is two well-beaten whole eggs with a splash of water plus a pinch each of salt and sugar. You then strain into a container and keep refrigerated for up to two days.)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating tray halfway through baking.
- Allow to cool.
See the recipe for Chef Alyssa's Ciabatta Bread.
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