Sometimes my evening plans don’t go quite as expected. But hey, that’s ok. When life hands you lemons…
Make lemon cookies.
Last night was the Medtronic TC 1 Mile. Or it was supposed to be anyways. But the weather was all like, “Nah, nah, nah. This 1 Mile ain’t gonna happen.” (You know, because that is obviously how the weather talks.) There was rain, booming thunder, lightening, tornado watches, and no 1 Mile.
Frown face.
It’s unfortunate, because the TC 1 Mile is such a great event. It caters to families, friends, co-workers, local competitive runners, and even to professional and Olympic runners. Spectators line the both sides of Nicollet Mall yelling and cheering people on. It’s such an insane and happy environment; I love it.
As a part of the Marketing Committee for Twin Cities in Motion I was supposed to head up the Cheer Zone at The Dakota. Here I would pass out various noisemakers and encourage people to have fun and cheer. Tough job. There are five total cheer zones located at bars/restaurants along the course. I did it last year and it was such a blast. However, for the safety of the volunteers, spectators, and runners they decided to call off the event. Unfortunate, but you do whatcha gotta do.
Then I found myself with an entirely open night, so I decided to bake some cookies. Because that is what happens when I have free time.
I instantly knew what cookies I was going to bake. I have been thinking about them ever since I read this recipe. I didn’t have lemon infused olive oil, but I did have basil infused olive oil. I thought it would combine perfectly with some lemon juice and zest in a delicious, sugary cookie. I was riiiiiighttt.
These cookies are so simple and quick to make – no mixer required! There are a few bowls involved, but I was able to clean up and wash all the dishes before they were even out of the oven (bonus!). They are light and chewy and taste like biting into summery, sunshiney day. They made me feel better about the cancelled race and raging spring thunderstorm that was occurring outside.
While I was in the middle of baking these cookies, my friends texted me to join them for wine. I couldn’t resist. So I finished up my baking, ate a quick salad, packed up the cookies, threw on my rain boots, and tra-la-la-ed my way to meet them at a cozy little restaurant. We had things to celebrate and things to complain about, stories to share, cookies to eat, and wine to drink. Although my evening didn’t go exactly as planned, it was still a wonderful night.
Are you doing anything tonight? If no, go bake these. You can bring them to your mama on Sunday.
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups sugar, plus more for rolling (about ¼ cup)
- ⅓ cup basil infused olive oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the sugar and olive oil; mix well.
- In a small bowl, stir together the lemon zest and dried basil.
- In another small bowl, add one tablespoon of the lemon zest and basil mixture and combine it with ¼ cup sugar. This will leave you with some lemony-basil scented sugar to roll the cookies in. Set aside.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and the remainder of the lemon-basil mixture to the sugar and olive oil. Stir together until smooth.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
- Scoop a tablespoon of the dough, form it into a ball, and roll it into the lemon-basil sugar.
- Place the cookies on the prepared pans and bake for 11 minutes.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
The dried basil can be replaced by fresh basil. I just didn’t have any on hand since this was a spur-of-the-moment baking experience.
If you don’t have basil infused olive oil, regular olive oil would work well too.
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil’s Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Sugar Cookies
Bring some to mama! 🙂
I have a couple left that I will share with you!
basil and lemon go so well together. what a great idea!
thanks!