In India, tea and cookies (biscuits) go hand in hand like a lovely match made in heaven. In India, late afternoon teatime is a big deal - ranging from an elaborate affair with assorted sandwiches, teacakes, samosa, pakoras and the like to a much simpler casual affair that involved only the drinking of tea. In our family, the whole teatime affair fell somewhere in between – Indian masala tea always served with an assortment of savory & sweet snacks.

My Lemon Ginger Cookies have always made the “most popular” list among teatime snacks. These homemade treats are easy, delicious and chock full of yummy deliciousness. Now I have baked these cookies using both ground ginger and the crystallized ginger and both types were equally delicious so it’s basically just a matter of personal preference (or what’s available in your pantry). Sometimes, I enjoy these cookies simply with a tall cold glass of milk.


LEMON GINGER COOKIES

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour (maida)
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure lemon extract
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp ground ginger
¼ cup crystallized ginger, very finely minced
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar, for sprinkling

METHOD:

In a large mixing bowl, using a hand held beater cream together the butter and brown sugar until well combined and smooth (about 5 minutes). Then, carefully add in the egg along with the lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract and sour cream. Mix well until smooth & set aside until needed.

In another mixing bowl, sift together and combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, ground ginger and salt). Then gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, mix well to combine. Then cover the dough and let chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

On a clean baking sheet (silpat works well), drop well rounded teaspoonfuls of dough about 2” apart. Place the baking sheet on the center rack of your oven & bake for approximately 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden browned. Remove the cookies, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little sugar and allow to cool on wire racks before serving with tea (or a nice cold glass of milk).


VARIATIONS:

Drizzle the cookies with some melted white chocolate chips (with a drop or two of vanilla extract). Or simply combine ¼ cup of powdered sugar with the a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice until you have a “drizzling” consistency. Drizzle over the cookies with a small spoon or mini-squeeze bottle if you wish ☺.



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