Rosemary-Lemon Cookies with an Olive Oil Glaze
by Laura • February 26, 2012 • Cook, Food & Recipes • 19 Comments
If you like cookies to be boring and simple, this post is not for you.
If you think that caramel is better without the addition of salt, you have no tastebuds and this post is also not for you.
If you don’t like food with deeply intertwined and contrasting flavor profiles, then just get out of my webspace. You disgust me.
Whenever I am baking, I like to push the limits of flavor. To me, something that is just sweet sucks. It makes me want to throw up in my mouth, then run to the dentist for an emergency cleaning. Don’t get me wrong, I love desserts; but last time I checked, cotton candy and sugar packets were not on menu at the hottest restaurants. Mostly because they are awful. (Disclaimer: I’m talkin’ pure sugar stuff, here. Most baking recipes include salt and do not fall into this category.)
Flavors are so easy to mix and match in baking. Combining them is about the most scientific that I get. A lot of desserts out there are on the edge of glory, but need a tiny nudge. In my experience, it is best to choose 2-3 of the following flavors to push it over: sweet, creamy, salty, acidic, savory.
The only reason I include that lovely tidbit is that my blogger buddy Baker Bettie started a cookie series and requested some scientific info in featured cookie posts. Being the kid who let my dad do my entire physics project and practically broke the chem lab, I was reluctant to oblige. But I did, only because she leaves me so many wonderful comments. And we all know I love attention.
These particular cookies choose the sweet-savory-acidic route. The inspiration comes from this recipe by Martha Stewart. But can we really trust a felon with the final say on our beloved cookie recipe? I didn’t think so.
I added a bit of lemon juice and zest to them, then made an olive oil glaze. And boy, were they scrumptious. I like to use lemon zest because it imparts the flavor without adding too much liquid. Baking is very precise, and I am bound to fuck something up if I add too much juice.
I made half of the cookies with the olive oil glaze, and the other half without so that I could use these hilarious cookies cutters that my friend got me for a housewarming gift. Boy, do they warm my heart.
I particularly enjoyed decorating my little amputees and decapitation victims. I also liked musing about how they lost their limbs and what they were trying to say.
So here is the recipe, adapted to my tastebuds. Which are obviously more refined than Martha’s. They probably didn’t even have EVOO for her to work with in prison.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 c. Powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp EVOO
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2-3 Tbsp water
Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg, lemon juice, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, rosemary, and salt, and mix until combined.
Roll dough 1/4 in thick onto a floured surface and cut out in whatever shapes you desire: amputees, puppies, boobs, you get the point.
Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until edges are golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
To make the glaze: add EVOO, lemon juice, and water to powdered sugar. Continue adding water or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Top cookies with glaze and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
Eat them. Love them. Then get your ass back here and tell me how much you love them. And for the love of God, follow my blog.
Enjoy!
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Beautiful! I love those cookie cutters. They are hilarious!
Thanks! The cookie cutters are from Francesca’s. They have the most unique & adorable stuff.
These look and sound divine! I’m also a fan of intertwined flavors and interesting combinations. Anyone can make chocolate chip, right? (Not that I don’t love chocolate chip — trust: I so do. But sometimes you just want something more.)
Well, I do LOVE choco chip… but it does have salt in the recipe which brings out so much more flavor and complexity. The stuff I hate is just the PURE sugar.
I was blessed with a big ‘ol package of these as a birthday gift this weekend. At first, I admit, I was a little terrified of the savory ingredients but OH MY GOD are they good. My boyfriend, who let’s just say doesn’t have a “sophisticated palate”, can’t keep his hands off of these either. The olive oil glaze is perfect and who doesn’t love little half-eaten cookie men? All this talk about these cookies is making me hungry for more…nomz.
I should have kept more. I miss them.
These look amazing! Your amputee cookies made me giggle too, well actually the whole post did. I love your humor.
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Those look really delicious! I am dying for a cookie that’s just a touch savory. I think the rosemary and olive oil should do the trick. Great recipe, thanks!
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I made these cookies yesterday for an annual, cookie exchange at Birmingham Bake and Cook, it won the Grand Prize — People’s Choice Award from among a large and impressive field. Everyone loved your recipe, especially for the EVOO glaze, and a number of people planned to go home and make them this week. I made sure to give credit to your web site!
That is AWESOME! Congrats on the win! Glad to hear you loved them!
I am SO making these! Love, love, love the mixed flavors. I love when you can take a simple dish and jazz it up. I’m not really into baking and don’t have a fancy mixer with paddles etc … would a hand mixer work, d’you think? I dig your site, recipes and sense of humor!
Yes, a hand mixer would work just the same! Thanks for stopping by
Come back soon!
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These are really good cookies! I’ve had similar ones before but the glaze takes these to the next delicious level. My kids and husband loved them with a sprinkle of sugar on the top instead of the glaze, which is wonderful for me because that means I get half the batch all to myself!
Thanks for sharing!
Just got done making these and they are fantastic.
Bored searching Pintrest came across these. Made these for my family same day.. OMGoodness wonderful. My husband gave me a funny look, then bit into one and said I didn’t make enough! These were Freaking (ad lib) Awesome. My kids(7 , 5) gave me an almost sad disappointed look until they bit in. Thought my daughter was going to melt into her chair. Thank you so much! These are an instant family fav.