Lemon Herb Lofthouse Cookies

vegetarian // makes 18 cookies

This recipe is a slight modification of The Brown Eyed Baker’s Copycat Lofthouse Cookies, and was created for my friends over at Victoria’s Lavender. It’s a sweet and summery version of the traditional lofthouse.

what you need:

for the lemon lofthouse cookie dough:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ cups cake flour

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp kosher salt

• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 ½ (75 g) eggs, beaten

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ cup sour cream

• zest of 1 lemon

TIP: amounts are from The Brown Eyed Baker’s recipe for Copycat Lofthouse Cookies. I replaced half of the all-purpose flour for cake flour to create a more tender crumb. I also added in lemon zest.

for the buttercream frosting:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• pinch of kosher salt

• 3 tbsp heavy cream

TIP: amounts are from The Brown Eyed Baker’s recipe for Copycat Lofthouse Cookies.

for the lemon herb sugar topping:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• zest of 1 lemon

• 5 large basil leaves, chiffonade

• 8 medium mint leaves, chiffonade

• ¾ tsp culinary lavender buds, crushed gently. I like to use Victoria’s Lavender’s Cooking Lavender Buds.

• optional: small basil leaves, small mint leaves, and whole lavender buds to decorate

how to make it:

to make the cookie dough and buttercream frosting:

see The Browned Eyed Baker’s Copycat Lofthouse Cookies and follow directions. combine all-purpose and cake flours, and add lemon zest in with the sour cream and vanilla. everything else, do as directed.

to make the lemon herb sugar topping:

1. in a bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest.

2. divide sugar and lemon zest mixture equally into three separate bowls.

3. add chiffonade basil to one bowl, chiffonade mint to another, and crushed lavender buds to the last. mix the contents of each bowl thoroughly to combine. if not using immediately, cover and refrigerate.

to decorate:

pipe frosting on top of cooled cookies. sprinkle on lemon herb sugar liberally. use small leaves and lavender buds to decorate and denote the flavor of each cookie.