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These sugar-sprinkled Basil Lime Cookies incorporate the lovely taste of sweet basil and lime and are perfect for tea parties, springtime get-togethers or for simply enjoying from your cookie jar. 
My basil plant is exploding. The beautiful, large leaves look so impressive in my back yard and I love it when I catch the basil’s sweet aroma floating through the breeze as I walk by. When my basil looks and smells this good, I’ll use it in just about everything. I don’t want to waste a bit of it. 
Nothing beats the taste of fresh basil in recipes and basil’s glorious flavor is absolutely magical in these Basil Lime Cookies. You might think it’s a crazy idea to make cookies with basil, but you’ll be surprised to know that these delicate cookies have a lovely sweetness to them. 
These Basil Lime Cookies are similar to shortbread. They’re slightly crumbly yet moist and full of flavor. A key component to shortbread is butter, however, I didn’t use butter at all. Instead, I used Nonfat Yogurt in place of butter in this recipe and the results were nothing short of fabulous. 
These light and soft cookies are so elegant. Little pieces of fresh basil and lime zest are scattered throughout each cookie making them almost too pretty to eat. Well…almost. After one bite, they’re hard to resist! 
I love these special little cookies. They’ve got the perfect texture and the ideal balance of lime and basil. Neither flavor is too overpowering. Plus, they’re easy to make too! 
Making them with a Yogurt spread was a great call. This spread brings the sweet, creamy taste of butter along with the wholesome goodness of yogurt. A winning combination. One thing that really like about using a yogurt spread is that it contains 50% less fat and calories than butter and there’s no cholesterol per serving. It also has 0 grams trans fat per serving and no partially-hydrogenated oils.
Basil Lime Cookies Made With Brummel & Brown Spread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup Brummel & Brown Nonfat Yogurt Spread
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup for coating cookies
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
- Mix in the chopped basil and lime zest.
- Add the dry ingredients 1/3 cup at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour remaining 1/4 cup sugar into a small bowl.
- Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough and form into a ball in the palm of your hand.
- Dip the ball of cookie dough into the sugar and roll around to coat all sides.
- Place on cookie sheet and gently press down slightly on the cookie to flatten the tops.
- Space the cookies 1-inch apart on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
