Basil Cookies

Yes.  For a few years now I have been contemplating and searching the possibility of using basil in dessert.  I can't even put into words how much I love it.  I actually get giddy when I pick it and smell it and sometimes I let out a big weird noise when I'm around it because it is quite possibly my favorite ingredient in the whole world.  My preferred uses are a big old white pizza with fresh tomato slices sprinkled with basil.  Omelettes with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella are a pretty big hit too.  This year Chris actually perfected a strawberry basil mojito which I can't even describe because I get overly excited about it.  Last night we were seated at a restaurant and the bartender had a fresh bag of basil.  Chris looked at me and said, You want to eat that, don't you? The bartender overheard and offered me some. So there we have a dinner, a breakfast, and a cocktail.  It seemed the only next logical step would be to create a dessert with it.

So two Sundays ago I got off my butt which really just wanted to keep sitting until the rest of me fell asleep.  I decided it was time to stop thinking about basil desserts and go make one.  I found a recipe online for these fantastic treats...

 

Lime Basil Cookies

 

 

When I found the recipe I thought they would be a perfect refreshing summer dessert.  I mean how are lime juice and basil not summertime?  When I told Chris about this refreshing cookie I was about to make, he assured me that yes indeed nothing screams "refreshing" like a cookie. He was raining on my summertime enthusiasm so I left him to his television and knew he would change his mind when he ate one.

 

Well let's just say he didn't change his mind.  As a matter of fact, things got weirder and I couldn't believe the conversation that followed.  Twenty short minutes later I pulled these beauties out...

 



Let me just say these were fantastic AND refreshing and I think the next time I make them I am going to double the basil.  So I took one to my reluctant other and this happened...

Oh my word, aren't these delicious?
Bite. Chew. They taste like shrimp.
SHRIMP?  How can a cookie taste like shrimp?
Take a bite and think about shrimp.
I don't want to take a bite and think about shrimp.  I don't want my cookie to taste like shrimp.
I like shrimp.  They're good!

I was frustrated.  I didn't want my perfect cookie to taste like seafood and he had just killed my basil buzz.  So I left him and his weird mind alone and went to finish my baking.  I liked them and wanted to eat them without pondering whether or not they tasted like shell fish.  A few minutes later I heard the patter of tiny feet that had just woken up.  Then I heard Chris...Eliza, Mommy just made cookies.  You should go grab one, they taste like shrimp. I sighed and wanted to show him what a plate full of shrimp cookies tastes like when it's launched at your face.

But then Honey Badger snuck into my picture and I figured it wasn't good parenting to launch plates at Daddy in front of the kids.  Plate launching at your spouse's face should definitely be done in secret. The cookies got rave reviews from everyone else.  Days later Eliza would ask, Can I have a zucchini cookie?  BASIL! BASIL! BASIL!  IT"S FREAKING BASIL FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!!!!! ( I would gently, tenderly, calmly remind her.) Why in the world can no one in my family appreciate these for the what they are?  Anyway, I'm off to make another batch and am going to go overboard on the basil to get my point across.