Cinnamon Basil And Lime Icebox Cookies...

Cinnamon Basil and Lime Cookies

Awhile back I was researching recipes that called for cinnamon basil. This one for icebox cookies caught my eye. I said I was going to make these – and I did. Boy, are they good!

I didn’t really know what icebox cookies were when I saw the recipe. Basically the dough is shaped into a log and is refrigerated. The dough will usually keep for up to a week in the fridge or it can be well wrapped and frozen for much longer.

Chilling the dough makes it a lot easier to work with. It’s also a great way to bake only the cookies you want at any one time. There is nothing quite like hot fresh cookies straight from the oven.

Icebox Cookie Dough

Here is the recipe from the Epicurious website submitted by smtodd

Cinnamon Basil and Lime Icebox Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

3 tablespoons fresh cinnamon basil leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

1 cup slivered almonds or pistachios, chopped (I went for the pistachio option)

Parchment or wax paper for wrapping dough

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside

Cream the butter, sugar and egg together in mixer until light and fluffy. (I did mine by hand)

Add vanilla extract, nutmeg, lime zest, cinnamon basil and almonds or pistachios and mix until thoroughly combined

Add flour mixture in three or four parts, making sure that flour is completely mixed in before next addition

Gently roll dough into an even log about 3 inches in diameter, lightly flour hands and work surface if dough is sticky

Wrap rolled dough in parchment / wax paper and chill at least 2 hours until completely firm or store for up to one week in the refrigerator. This dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, slice dough in roll 1/8 thick straight out of the refrigerator or after about 6 hours of thawing in fridge if using frozen dough

Place cookies about 2 inches apart on a sheet pan and bake 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly golden brown

Icebox Cookies Ready For The Oven

Remove from sheet pan immediately and cool on a wire rack

Enjoy!

Runner Beans With Toasted Almonds and Lemon Thyme...

Back at the end of April my husband and I took a trip to West Malling Kent to walk around Manor Country Park and visit the local farmers market. While strolling through the lovely little streets we spotted a plant sale. We were on the look out for tomato plants but it was the runner bean seedlings that caught our eye. There were only 4 left so we bought the lot! They cost us a whopping £2.40. Not a bad considering we are already on our 4th crop of runner beans.

As it was our wedding anniversary a few weeks ago I wanted to make a really special meal. I sautéed the runner beans in butter and added some minced garlic and lemon thyme from our garden. I added toasted flaked almonds toward the end of cooking and sprinkled a few on top just before serving. We had this as a side to dish to grilled fillet steak and a jacket potato.

Luna Raye’s Runner Beans With Toasted Almonds and Lemon Thyme
(serves 2 as a side dish)

Ingredients

Handful of fresh runner beans (ideally from your own garden!)

1 Tbsp salted butter

1 clove garlic minced

1Tbsp chopped lemon thyme

2-3 Tbsp toasted flaked almonds

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a small pan add the flaked almonds and gently toast them over a low heat (this should take 2-4 minutes)

When the almonds are toasted set them to one side

Wash and trim the ends off runner beans (My beans didn’t need to be de-stringed but if you need to de-string your beans use a sharp knife and carefully go down each side of the bean)
Slice the beans diagonally into thirds (or bite sized pieces)

Melt butter over moderate heat in a frying pan or wok and add the beans

Toss the beans around in the butter so they are coated

Add the minced garlic and chopped lemon thyme

Toss everything around again and stir occasionally for 6-8 minutes

Add ¾ of the toasted almonds and stir again

When everything is mixed together, add to a serving dish and top with the remaining toasted almonds

Enjoy!

Runner Beans With Toasted Almonds and Lemon Thyme

NOTE: I learned something very important about runner beans (and all beans in general) I had no idea that they should NEVER BE EATEN RAW. Thanks to this very informative post I have put an end to my practice of nibbling the beans straight from the vine. Always always cook your beans! They contain a poisonous lectin called Phytohaemagglutinin which can cause nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhea and in some cases even affect blood pressure and breathing.