By Laura Coffee, Marketing & Owner Services Manager, Co-op Owner
Purified table salt is a pure white staple in restaurants, factories, and kitchens across the world. However, it does not come out of the ground looking like that. Natural salts are colored by the other minerals found where they have formed. You can find salts that are grey, red, black, and yes, pink. Himalayan pink salt is mined from the Salt Range foothills, south of the Himalayas, in Pakistan. It can be used in cooking, or as a pretty finishing salt, where its lovely color can be seen.
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Salted Lemon Butter Cookies
- 14 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (for drizzling)*
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 (generous) Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt (divided)
Beat softened butter on medium in a stand mixer for two to three minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium-high until fluffy. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all butter is incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat on low until liquid is mostly incorporated. Combine the flour, cornstarch, and 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt in another bowl. I suggest using a whisk to achieve even distribution. Turn the mixer on to low and slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter. Mix only until all dry materials are incorporated, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl if needed. The resulting dough will be very soft. Wrap in plastic wrap or tightly cover and place in the fridge for at least two hours. Overnight is fine.
Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and form into twelve similarly sized balls. It will soften fairly quickly, so work with it as quickly as possible. It’s ok if the balls are slightly lumpy. Return these dough balls to the fridge for an hour until they have firmed back up. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare two cookie sheets by covering with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and slice each one in half, placing twelve halves face down on each cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until the tops appear dry and the bottoms are just starting to brown at the edges. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.** Place the cooling rack in the fridge to rest.
Heat the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second increments, stirring after each burst. Note: This can also be done on the stove top in a double boiler if you prefer. Continue to heat the chocolate until only very small lumps remain. Remove from microwave and continue stirring until completely smooth. Take the cookies out of the fridge (they should no longer be hot, but not completely cool) and place the drying rack on a flat surface. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top. Quickly sprinkle the cookies with remaining Himalayan salt before the chocolate sets. It should stick. Allow to cool completely. Store in an air tight container for up to a week.
*If you prefer a sweeter cookie use more chocolate for a heavier drizzle.
**The cookies are very delicate, so this initial rest on the cookie sheets will keep them from breaking as you transfer them to the rack.
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