TO MAKE YOUR COOKIES

In a food processor, pulse together the white sugar and the 2 tablespoons of thyme until well combined and fragrant. Add lemon zest and pulse again until evenly distributed.
In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat your butter until smooth. Add sugar mixture and cream until light and fluffy.
Add lemon juice and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix on low until a soft dough forms.
Lay your silicone baking mat on a work surface. Lightly dust it with flour. Form a dough into a disk and lay it in the middle of the mat. Dust a rolling pin and roll it until your dough is 1/4 inch thick. Lift the dough on the baking mat and lay it on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.
Use your cookie cutter to cut as many lemons as you can. WORK QUICKLY or your dough will get too buttery and soft to work with. Collect any scraps, roll them into a ball and then roll them out again and cut as many additional lemons as you can. Space them an inch apart. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350º.
Bake until they are slightly golden on the edges—14-15 minutes. Let cool for 10 min before transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies should be room temperature before dipping in the icing.

TO MAKE YOUR ICING & ICE YOUR COOKIES

In a small bowl or use your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together the sifted confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and almond milk until smooth. Add yellow gel food coloring until you get the shade of yellow you're looking for. Then add in your very finely chopped thyme. I love the chopped thyme here, it gives a texture that gives just the right nod to the subtle lemon dimples.
Dip each cooled cookie in the icing
Let the icing fully set before adding the leaf details—a minimum of 30 minutes.
OPTIONAL. Make my royal icing recipe while you wait. It takes under 5 minutes. I didn't need as much so the ingredients and their amounts that you'll need here are slightly different. Follow the steps in my recipe but use these portions and substitutions. 1 large egg white, 1⅓ cups of confectioner's sugar, fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon, green gel food coloring to the shade of your liking.
Put your art skills to work and pipe your royal icing into the shape of lemon leaves on your lemon cookies. I like to pipe different looking leaves on each cookie. Some are big. Some small. Sometimes there's one. Sometimes there's two. You get it!

LEMON THYME SHORTBREAD COOKIES

LEMON COOKIES … that look like lemons!