Bay Leaf & Lemon Shortbread

Bay Leaf & Lemon Shortbread

These bay leaf and lemon shortbread cookies incorporate finely ground bay laurel in the dough and the sweet-yet-tart lemony icing. The results are unique, delightfully delicious, and sure to stand out proudly from Christmas cookie pack.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Miscellaneous, Scottish

Keyword bay leaf cookies, christmas cookie recipe, citrus shortbread, shortbread variation

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Drying time 12

Total Time 12 50

Servings cookies

Calories 134kcal

Equipment

Spice (or Coffee) Grinder
Stand or hand mixer

Ingredients

Cookies

3 small dry bay leaves
1 cup sugar
2 cups butter at room temperature
1 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp salt
4 cups flour

Icing

1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 small bay leaves
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp meringue powder (see note)
3 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Shortbread

Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
Combine the bay leaves with 1-2 tablespoons of the sugar in a spice grinder. Grind until the bay leaves have been reduced to powder (sift out any stubborn bits). Set aside.
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, thoroughly combine the butter, bay/sugar mixture, remaining sugar, lemon zest, and salt.
Add flour to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing until a malleable dough is formed. It should have a consistency rather like playdough.
Shape the cookies into rounds. I use 25 g portions (roughly a heaping tablespoon), pressed into cookie cutters for consistency, but you can use any method of shaping that works for you.
Bake for 18-20 minutes for larger (25 g) cookies (less for smaller cookies) or until lightly browned at the edges.

Icing

Combine the granulated sugar and bay leaves in a spice grinder. Grind until the bay leaves have been reduced to powder (sift out any stubborn bits). Set aside.
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer (whisk and paddle attachments both work fine), thoroughly combine the bay/sugar mixture with the remaining icing ingredients. Combine at medium speed until the mixture forms a thick, even, icing. (See note below)
Dip the cooled cookies in the icing and let the excess drip off. Alternatively, you can pipe the icing on if you prefer.
Lay the finished cookies out on racks to dry for 12-24 hours. Drying times can depend on the humidity of your home and the thickness of the icing. I personally prefer that the icing ends up solid, but not rock hard, which means a somewhat shorter drying time.

Notes

Meringue powder - Meringue powder is a shelf-stable dry product made from egg whites (and other ingredients) that can be used in place of fresh egg whites. It can be found in many grocery stores (generally in the baking section), bulk food stores, craft stores, and online. Wilton is the easiest brand to find in most markets, though many bakers prefer other brands with fewer added flavourings.

If you can't find meringue powder, you can substitute one fresh egg white. However, the added water content from the egg white negates the need for most or all of the lemon juice. Losing the lemon will profoundly change the flavour of your icing. You can counterbalance this to some degree with lemon extract, but it's not the same. You can try using the lemon juice and adding corn starch (start with 1 teaspoon) in order to absorb some of the moisture. Alternatively, you could make a lemon simple syrup to brush the cookies before icing, though this adds complexity to the recipe.

Icing texture - For this particular recipe, I like a sort of 'lazy' royal icing that's thick, but still pours a little bit. Mixed at medium speed, this stage is generally reached in about 4-5 minutes. If you mix royal icing at high speeds beyond this point, it will incorporate a great deal more air, becoming thicker and stiffer. Generally speaking, bakers are encouraged to get their icing to this "stiff peaks" point, then thin it with water to get it to a desired consistency for piping, flooding, etc. You can do this if you like, but I personally prefer the simpler, runnier version on its own here.

Leftovers - Extra icing freezes well. The finished cookies can also be frozen, and will keep well for several months.

Nutrition