4/18/14

Lemon Lime Sprig Cookie






What are you having for dessert with your Easter dinner? 
Do not say jelly beans. Or Cadbury eggs. 
You had those for breakfast. And lunch.
Have you made ABK's  (Almost) Swig Cookies? Or my chocolate version of the Almost Swig, The "Swagg Cookie" ? If so, you are an old pro at making this type of cookie.
Last week, my SIL, Diane asked me about a dessert suggestion for a dinner she was having with a Mexican-theme menu.  I suggested she try adding some lime or lemon to the Swig recipe for a sweet that would compliment her meal. Then I experimented at home. I tried putting lemon and lime in the frosting, but didn't love the way the frosting looked with flecks of green. So I grated a bit of lime zest  in the cookie dough, then made a  fresh lemon-sour cream frosting to top off the cookie.


Make sure to use fresh lemon juice in the frosting. The difference between bottled lemon juice and fresh squeezed in this recipe is kind of like the difference between a can of orange flavored juice and a glass of fresh squeezed OJ.
I know you're going to love this cookie.
Taste tester comments ranged from "OMG WHAT IS IN THAT COOKIE??!!!!!!" to "Best cookie I've ever eaten".
Get busy.
Happy Easter weekend, friends. 



Lemon Lime Sprig Cookie
A Bountiful Kitchen
print recipe

dough:
1/2 cup butter
!/2 cup shortening ( I use butter flavored Crisco)
1 cup sour cream
zest from one to two limes, grated fine
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla)
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
sugar  for top of cookies

frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoon sour cream
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
zest from one lemon, grated fine
dash of salt
1 drop lemon food coloring
1-2 tablespoons milk**

Preheat oven to 325 convection or 350 regular bake.
Take butter out of refrigerator and microwave for about 15 seconds. Place butter, shortening, cold sour cream and lime zest in a mixing bowl. Mix for about one minute. Add sugar and almond or vanilla flavoring, mix until smooth. Add all dry ingredients at once. Mix just until flour disappears and the mixture comes together in a ball of dough, about 1-2 minutes on very low speed. 
Spray the cookie scoop with a little cooking spray. Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet. I use either a 1 3/4 inch or a 2 inch scoop. A two inch scoop will produce a cookie similar in size to the Swig cookie. If you don't have a cookie scoop, roll the dough into a ball about the size of a golf ball. 
Place about 1/4 cup sugar into a small bowl. 
Flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (press the bottom of the glass against the cookie first, then dip it in the sugar so the sugar will stick) . Press the cookies so they are flattened a bit, twisting the glass as you press to produce a jagged edge. 
Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden and cookies are slightly firm to the touch. Remove from oven, let cool. Place the cookies in the fridge and chill. 
Prepare the frosting:
Beat together the butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, lemon juice, zest and salt. When all ingredients are incorporated, add the drop of food coloring and milk if the frosting needs to be thinned. 
Frost after the cookies are completely chilled. 
Makes about 18  large cookies.

Tips:
-If you want the cookies to taste more like the Swig cookies make this adjustment to the dough:
 omit the almond flavoring and reduce the sugar to 1 cup. I prefer the cookies to be a bit sweeter, so I liked 1 1/2 cup of sugar in the dough.
-I use a microplane grater to grate the zest.
-The Swig cookie is frosted with quite a thin layer of frosting. I prefer my frosting to be a bit thicker. If you want to frost the cookie with a thinner frosting, add about 3-4 tablespoons of milk to the frosting.
-This cookie stays quite well in the fridge for two weeks  if kept in an air tight container. I almost always have a cookie sheet filled with these in my fridge for emergencies :)  They taste as good after two weeks as they do on the day they are made.





21 comments:

  1. These are a great choice to have as dessert at Easter. If they last until dessert in my home.
    Have a beautiful and blessed Easter. Catherine xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Catherine! Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well :)

      Delete
  2. you are the cookie monstress! i can hardly wait to try these little citrus gems

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'll love these Lindsay! I know, I do have a slight cookie obsession.

      Delete
  3. This cookie was the best! I received so many compliments. Thanks again, Si, for making me look like a good cook! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are very welcome, but if you received compliments, it is because you ARE a great cook! Glad you loved this recipe Misty !

      Delete
  4. Sy - I just had my first Swig cookie while in St. George this weekend...pretty good but I think I'm going to like yours better :) I LOVE sugar! Have you tried this recipe with the Smart Balance marg like Kurt C uses? Also - what about using cake flour?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leslie,
      You need to try the Swig in Bountiful. I've compared the cookies, and they are better in Btown! They get their cookies from a bakery in Provo, i'm told. And everyone who I've talked to agrees they are better than the St George version :)
      I have not tried Smart Balance. I really prefer the taste of butter, and don't mind the shortening mixed in for the crunch factor. I think the cake flour would take away the crunchy edge, but not sure. The cookie will have a different smell if you use cake flour as well. Have you noticed that when using cake flour? It gives off the smell of a sweet cake. Anywho, I'm not a huge fan of Smart Balance, but I do love Cutler's Sugar cookies! Let us know if you try any variations. Do you have Insta? post a pic there with the tag #Abountifulkitchenrecipe Love to see a photo!

      Delete
    2. This was sooooo yummy. I did a taste test with Katie and Justin and didn't tell them I made them - bought a couple of BTown Swigs and asked them which they liked best- they liked your recipe better!!!! I was so happy! Didn't post a pic cuz mine look pretty much like yours :)
      Thanks Sy! BTW - do you frost them when you leave them in the fridge or do you frost them when you need them and leave the rest unfrosted until needed?

      Delete
    3. Leslie,
      Love it! I frost the cookies after they are cooled, then refrigerate. After the frosting is set, I stack them in the fridge with wax paper in between, and they are ready to go any time someone gets a craving for cookies :)

      Delete
    4. Thanks Sy! You're the BEST!!!

      Delete
  5. I just tried the swig cookie while driving home to ca. ( I had the st. George version) I thought they were yummy! But I can't wait to try this one. We love citrus cookies at my house. Thanks for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're going to love this cookie Amy!

      Delete
    2. Si,
      I made these yesterday and with the exception of me overcooking some of them a little (they were golden brown, not lightly golden brown..oops!) They were fantastic! I think I'm in love with the frosting. It may be my new go to frosting recipe. I don't know if it was the sour cream or what but the consistency was amazing,. And the amount of frosting it made was perfect to cover all the cookies. Thanks again :)

      Delete
    3. Amy, I'm glad you loved the cookies and the frosting! I think the little bit of sour cream really sets this recipe apart from most other frostings. And the fresh lemon juice makes all the difference! Thanks for letting us know. Happy baking!

      Delete
  6. Hi Si, is the flour measurement right at 4.5 cups of flour?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rachelle,
      Yes the flour measurement is correct. I doubled my original recipe for the (Almost) Swig Cookie when I wrote up this recipe because I like to have several on hand. This cookie recipe consistently makes 18 large cookies I'd say about 4 inches across. I use a 2 inch cookie scoop. Once the cookies are flattened a bit, they do not spread much while baking. 4 1/2 cups of flour sounds like a lot, but the cookies have 2 cups of fat (yikes!) if you count the butter, shortening and sour cream together. Under-baking the cookies and the high fat and flour content makes the extra dense texture everyone loves!
      Happy Baking :)
      Si

      Delete
  7. Would the frosting work with lime zest? I don't have any lemons but I do have lots of limes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The ingredient list has almond extract listed, but the directions say to add vanilla. Which is correct?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Have you had the peanut butter swig cookies?! I neeeeeed that recipe, so so good! I'd love to find a similar recipe. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Are you measuring your flour by lightly spooning it into a measuring cup? Or scooping it out if the flour bag? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

Tell us how you really feel...