tea cup filled with tea and lemon balm cookies VUE magazine May 2024
Food,  Projects,  Vue

Sharing the Love for Lemon Balm

Have you ever had lemon balm in your herb garden? Grown it? or had delicious recipes made with it? With spring peeking its head through the calendar and lemon balm seeds in my gardening stash, it was the perfect time to share my love for it with you.

Why love lemon balm?

First of all, it’s a perennial. It just comes back each year in a large pot on my deck and adds beauty to my herb garden. It returns in all its glory without any help from me each year. It’s in the mint family, so that makes sense, right?

It has a lovely fragrance that is so delightful to welcome spring. I have never tried my hand at making essential oil from this herb, but many buy it and love using it.

The littles in my life watch for it because when they see those green leaves quickly begin to flourish, they nudge me to make lemon balm cookies. I really don’t need much nudging from them.

So, with it flourishing now…it was the perfect recipe to share for one of this month’s VUE magazine recipes.

lemon balm plant
lemon balm cookies row

Lemon Balm Cookies

A great shortbread cookie making use of lemon balm! A favorite to make with little ones.
Prep Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Equipment

  • oven
  • mixer
  • cookie sheet

Ingredients
  

  • 2 T lemon balm leaves, minced
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 zest lemon
  • 1 C butter, softened
  • 2/3 C sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 1/3 C all purpose flour
  • 1 t salt

Instructions
 

  • Zest one lemon and place in a small dish with minced lemon balm and lemon juice and set aside.
    lemon zest
  • Mix together flour and salt in separate bowl.
    dry ingredients
  • In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a mixer.
    butter and sugar
  • Beat in egg and lemon mixture.
  • Gradually beat in flour mixture.
    adding flour into dough
  • Pour dough onto a piece of parchment paper and roll back and forth until its the desired size of the cookie roll diameter.
  • After rolling the desired circle size of the cookies to be baked, wrap dough in parchment paper and place in ziplock bag.
    parchment paper wrapped cookie dough
  • Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or until dough is firm.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Slice the roll into 1/8" slices.
    slicing cookie roll
  • Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges.
    cookies on cookie sheet
  • Enjoy!!
    cup of tea with lemon balm cookies

Notes

TIP: If you don’t have lemon balm…no worries…just add a bit of lemon zest with the juice for a great lemon shortbread cookie!
When the lemon balm comes back in the spring, the kids know that it’s time to make these lemon balm cookies. They stay a favorite until fall temperatures cause the lemon balm to die back. They request them and always help with baking them. 
TIP: You may wrap the roll in the refrigerator and keep ready for slicing and baking when needed. Just be careful to wrap tightly so they don’t dry out.
You can make these extra special by adding a cookie icing or adding pansies to the tops. Perfect for teatime guests! Big or little!
Enjoy!
Keyword lemon balm cookies, shortbread cookies

There are even lots of medicinal reasons to have this great herb growing in your garden.

Although there’s not a great deal of research like with many other herbs for medicinal purposes, there have been many who love to use lemon balm benefits for anxiety, insomnia, nausea and cold sores to name a few. It has also been said to improve cognitive function–all for that, right?!

What I love is that grown leaves have little side effects as opposed to the processed versions which makes it a win win here.

bunch of lemon balm

Uses for those whose feet are under my table might just be a great cup of tea with the leaves added AND always those cookies.

lemon balm cookies

Another great reason that makes it in a GREAT plant for me is that deer avoid it!

How to share this love for lemon balm became my focus today…

Baking those cookies is always warmly received…but, what if I took sharing this herb one step further.

Why not plan a garden party with lemon balm seedlings planted and then gifted to guests? and add the lemon balm recipes for the menu for the party? Maybe an iced tea?

close up of decoupage herb garden pot

Any way to create a beautiful and living table scape is always loved here…and you know how I feel about giving heart gifts!

Think about having a garden luncheon on the lawn…book club dinner inside…or tea on the screened porch? So many reasons to create these sweet pots.

Out came the lemon balm seeds, potting soil and trays to begin those seeds indoors so they are ready for a spring gathering.

lemon balm seeds

TIP: Save your rotisserie chicken containers to begin the seed for these plants. Just add a few holes to the top and bottom–add potting soil and plant seeds as directed. Water, cover with the lid and place in a sunny window and watch them begin to grow!

Then on to what would hold those sweet little plants. This is what I shared last week.

group of decoupage pots to fill with lemon balm

Are you in love with lemon balm yet?

Don’t mind me! Just sharing my love for lemon balm here.

Feel free to switch out this herb for another of your favorites for the pots and recipes…basil, rosemary, thyme and mint are a few other great ones to select.

Now my wheels are turning for more herbs and other menus to create.

Hope you give it a try. Who knows? You may be gifting these for those who love to garden in your lives. If so, won’t you share yours with me?

Here are a few of affiliate links to help you locate things to help you create these sweet lemon balm garden pots. I love helping you find items that you need to recreate projects at the same great price you would normally order…but may help this blog bring you more fun projects. Love to be able to do that! Just click on the photos to shop!

Thanks for joining me!

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As an Amazon, Walmart and LTK affiliate, at times I may provide affiliate links to products that may offer an easier way to find products that I mention or use. Same price for you, but beneficial to this blog and at times, may offer compensation if you use them to shop. See my disclosure policy here.

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