Happy Mother's Day! For those of you who stop by here regularly, you've probably noticed that I've got the world's most loving mom; no matter what she's doing, my mom (Sheri) makes it a point to comment on nearly every recipe I post. And not just here, but on Facebook too; she's my biggest fan and makes sure everyone knows. She doesn't get to taste-test my results nearly enough because when I visit, I typically crave mom's home cooking. As a result, she's always jokingly asking for her portion of whatever I've just made. When I baked honey green tea sandwich cookies a couple of weeks back, she inquired, "And when do I get mine???" So with Mother's Day upon us, I granted her wish and overnighted a batch of cookies fresh out of the oven.
In her honor, I didn't want to just whip up any ol' recipe, I wanted to invent a cookie I know she'd love. If there's one thing to know about my mom, it's that she loves lemons. Lemon bars are one of her specialties in the kitchen, and she swoons over citrus-scented lotions. Actually, come to think of it, I'm quite surprised lemon isn't a variety among the fruit trees in her mini orchard. Since the honey matcha tea cookies spawned the idea of sending her a dozen or two, I took Lucas's advice and stuck with the tea-flavored theme, this time choosing chamomile. And what's tea without some fresh local Playhouse Honey from mom's backyard? These elements united into rich cookies that disappeared faster than they were made.
You may have also noticed that I have a second regular comment contributor. Lucas's mom (Veronica) lovingly responds to many of my posts and always cheers on my blogging when we talk. For Christmas two years ago, I sent Lucas with a batch of cookies that she raved about, so cookies for Mother's Day seemed like an appropriate choice. And Lucas's dad, Roy, conveniently hypothesized that she'd like the same green tea cookies my mom had been eyeing. When it comes to gifts, Lucas and I prefer the homemade kind to meaningless knickknacks, which is right on par with what our moms desire.
Now for the creation. A little nervous that the honey would have the adverse effect of flattening the cookies and causing the edges to burn, I hesitatingly popped the first dozen in the oven. To give some buffer room, I left the oven a few degrees cooler than for regular sugar cookies. Turns out that the only negative thing I can say about these sweets is that Martha Stewart's Foil+Parchment paper curled back over the dough on the outer edges, pressing an ugly mark into the top of the first batch. I made lemonade of lemons and sampled the unfortunate victims, one after another (I'm not about to send less-than-perfect cookies to mom!). Not to toot my own horn too much, but these confections are out of this world - unlike any cookie I've ever tried. Chewy and somewhat cake-y, they have layers of flavors, with each separate element shining through. Within an hour of pulling the baking sheet from the piping hot oven, two Ziploc bags with 1.5 dozen cookies each were packed and mailed to two well-deserving moms. Lucas helped me gobble down the rest a couple of hours later. It seems that if there's tea involved, Lucas doesn't actually hate sweets as much as he lets on.
I'm thrilled to report that the cookies arrived to my mom within 24 hours without a single one damaged from the trip. Happy Mother's Day, Mom, and as my childhood self would say, "I love you more than the whole university!" (But seriously, if the universe is bigger than the university, shouldn't it have more letters?!).
Lemon Honey Chamomile Cookies
Makes about 50 cookies
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 5 chamomile tea bags or 4 tablespoons loose leaf tea
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 2 large lemons
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup sugar for rolling cookies, in a bowl
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- If using loose leaf tea bags, food process the chamomile tea until it is fine. I also sifted it through a strainer to get rid of any larger pieces that wouldn't grind.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, finely ground tea, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and honey.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Roll the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and roll each ball in the bowl of sugar.
- Drop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch apart.
- Bake 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.
Sheri -
Thank you Sweetie! I'm enjoying my little lemon cookies -- yum!!
Sarah Menanix -
Glad you like them, Mama!
pencilkitchen -
I want these right now :(
Sarah Menanix -
Hehe - whip up a half batch!
Ridha -
Cookies look yummy, and I like your photos too :)
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you! I'm lucky I sent these cookies off to mom or I'd have eaten all 50 in one evening...
Eva -
Wow! Look delicious!! No doubt I'll make them! :))
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Veronica -
I always enjoy reading your blog and the recipes are wonderful! Thank you for thinking of me!
Mel -
These look so delicious! I love baking with honey, so I can't wait to try them out, the flavours just sound so wonderful together.
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you - I hope you like them as much as I do!
Emilie Bell -
Aren't moms the greatest? My wonderful mother is also my biggest blogging fan! This cookies look absolutely delicious and I can't wait to make them!! I'm so happy I found your blog :)
Sarah Menanix -
Just in case no one else is reading, we at least know our moms are:) And thank you!
Cory -
Hello! These look delicious, cantnwaitmto taste one!
I'm making these tonight for a party tomorrow, and the only tea I have is the Tazo calm chamomile. Will this work as the loose leaf tea?
Sarah Menanix -
Hello! Sorry for the delay - I was out of town yesterday. I've never baked with the tea from tea bags, but I imagine it should work just the same way. I would love to hear about your experience!
Ruth -
Hello, Your recipe looks delicious.
May I know when do I add the 1/2 cup of sugar for rolling? Is it under step 6?
Thanks for sharing.
Sarah Menanix -
Oh geez - Good catch! I've updated the recipe to fix that - thanks! Yup - just before you put the dough on the cookie sheet, roll each ball in sugar.
Sonja -
I made these little beauties yesterday with Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea....They are delicious!! These will be heavy in my continuous cookie rotation....Thanx for an awesome recipe...
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks Sonja! Oh my - that tea sounds like the perfect one for this recipe! This is definitely one of my favorites that I'm going to have to pull back out again - thanks for the reminder:) :)
Aarushi Grover -
Hi! This recipe is amazing!! Thanks for sharing :)
Can you tell me how best to store these cookies?
Would you suggest refrigerating or not?
I have made at least 2 dozen cookies and we are just two people in the house????????
Sarah Menanix -
If you think you'll eat them in just a few days I'd store them in an airtight container on the counter. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies too! I haven't tried refrigerating them because cookies never last that long in our house, but my gut says that would be that would work also, but bring them to room temp before eating.
Micheal Ronel -
Love these cookies ideas. Will try it soon.
Amber -
WOW, this is literally everything I ever hoped a cookie could be. These are so light and sweet and unique!