Lemon Basil Sugar Cookies
We spent two and a half days without air conditioning a few weeks ago. The high temperature for two of those days was 109 – I never even investigated what the heat index was. I’m sure it was mind-blowing. Many times it felt cooler outside than it was inside – it was 90 degrees of very still and thick air in this house. At least outside there was a breeze.
We humans suffered through the heat just fine, in retrospect. If you’d spoken/tweeted with me then, though, you’d have rightly assumed I thought I was dying. I felt horrible for the pets, though.
Left to right: Cinco donning a different shade of brown thanks to his sweat. Vinny zapped of energy (for once). Fahrney surrendering to the heat. The a/c gone kaput.
The experience certainly helped me understand why I always saw people sitting out on their front porches in my rural Southern town growing up. Obviously there was no central air in their lives.
I did the best I could with the pets, icing them down with wet towels and cold packs and taking them for swims in the lake.
Top – Flo and I play in the kayak. This dog is like man’s best friend and will do anything I ask of her. Bottom Left – Vinny and the Omnivore try swimming for the first time. Vinny mostly floated in the ‘Vore’s lap. Bottom Right – The Omnivore and Blue go swimming; she loves swimming most of all.
At least I made these lemon basil cookies before the air condition crapped out. The lemon basil combination screams summer freshness. The cookies were a chewy lemony sugar cookie with just a subtle hint of basil.
At the end of our entire hot summer days experience my husband looked at me and said, “It doesn’t have to be this way.” He has a good point – we have a lot to be thankful for: a house with central a/c (my mother doesn’t even have that) and the ability to fix the unit once it breaks. Experiences like this one bring our family closer together and illuminate the important things in life, which rarely require electricity.
Lemon Basil Sugar Cookies (adapted from Chasing Delicious)
Ingredients
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
6 ounces (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
7 (1 3/4 cup) ounces all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 375°F.
- Cream the sugar and butter together until it is light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, zest and basil and mix in well.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until combined and everything is evenly distributed.
- Spoon the dough onto prepared baking sheets. This recipe will make 32 medium sized cookies.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, lesser if you like a chewy cookie more if you want a crispy one.
- Let cool for a couple minutes before removing from the baking sheet.
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