Lemon-Lime Buttermilk Cookies

Buttermilk is the greatest thing EVER. I always keep some in my fridge for emergencies! It can fix clothes, cars, buildings... Oh wait, that's duct tape. :) All kidding aside, I love this stuff. I marinate things in it, add it to smoothies, (try it! YUM!) put it in baking things... anything you add buttermilk to becomes better. Kind of like bacon. But a bit more versatile. I saw a recipe for buttermilk cookies a while ago, and had to try it! I wanted to give it a bit of citrus flavor, but lightly this time. Recently I've been wanting things to "smack you upside the head" with citrus, but not these. They're gentle. 

Lemon-Lime Buttermilk Cookies
Printable Recipe

1 ½ cups flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 heaped tsp lemon zest
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar
1 heaped tsp lime zest

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment (or spray with cooking spray)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp lemon zest. Rub zest into sugar with your fingers.

Beat the butter until creamy. Add the lemon sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat well. Add the vanilla, and beat briefly again. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the other half of the flour mixture, all at low speed, mixing till combined in between. Scrape down the sides of the bowl often with a spatula. The finished dough should be smooth and a little bit sticky.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. (Ignore the sugar, it works better after baking!)

Bake until the cookies are puffed and their edges are barely golden, about 15 minutes. While they're baking, mix 1/4 cup sugar and lime zest and rub zest into sugar. 

Sprinkle cookies with lime sugar as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a minute; then transfer them to a wire rack.

I imagine these at a tea party. A super-girly, pink china, lace frills, bite-sized-sandwiches-with-no-crusts tea party. I've never been to one, but I can pretend! 

I wonder if the boys would play tea party with me...

They probably would. But Daddy wouldn't appreciate it. He'd have to take them outside, hand them some sticks, put a frog in one pocket and a couple rocks in the other, and throw them in a mud puddle to counter-act the girlyness. While making explosion sounds. Oh well. 

These really are yummy though. They're light and barely sweet enough to be called a cookie, tender instead of chewy, and the citrus essence is exactly what I was going for! Definitely a success. I'll have to tuck this recipe away for the day when I have someone to play tea party with! :)