Chocolate Swirled Lemon Butterflies

Ideal for a party! Cute butterfly cookies full of lemon essence, swirled with a chocolate finish.

Recipe: Yields: 7 dozen

2 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour (chemical free)

1 1/2 cups organic coconut sugar

2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free - Rumford)

1 cup organic butter - softened

1/2 tsp. Himalayan salt

2 pastured or organic eggs

4 tsp. organic lemon extract

*Chocolate Swirl* options at bottom

Dough:

In mixing bowl, add butter, salt, lemon extract, and coconut sugar and

mix, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat eggs really well in a small bowl together first, then add to mixing bowl and incorporate.

Then add in the flour and baking powder and mix well.

Divide dough into 2 portions onto plastic wrap and shape into balls

and then refrigerate for about 2-3 hours until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare stainless steel sheet pans

with parchment paper.

On lightly floured surface, roll out 1 ball of dough to about 1/8 inch

thickness and use butterfly cookie cutter to cut as many cookies

as possible. Place them on sheet pans. Regather scrapes of dough

and repeat rolling and cutting. Bake cookies for 6-8 minutes.

Remove to racks or wax or parchment paper to cool.

Repeat with second ball of dough.

Chocolate options:

I have been working on a chocolate recipe for months, that not only taste delicious, but would also have a good "set," meaning that the end result would have a solid, hard surface like a store bought chocolate bar.

I have tried so many variations to the point of weariness.

I finally have conceded and am willing to settle for a little tackiness in the lack of "setting" rather than have less delicious flavor.

This does occur a few times with the healthier choices in cooking and baking.

*Sugar cane products are one of the first items that need to be eliminated from one's diet and so, this is truly a very minor issue to accept, as having a healthier diet is so much more important than a slight difference in texture.*

The set will be just right if you want to leave them in the refrigerator.

(#1) 1 1/2 cups organic cacoa butter - grated

3/4 cup organic cacao powder

1/2 - 2/3 cups maple syrup (per your preference in sweetness)

1/4 tsp, Himalayan salt

1 tsp. organic vanilla extract

Place the cocoa butter into bain-marie and heat until melted, stirring with rubber spatula. Add the cacao powder and whisk in well.Remove from heat and add in the remaining ingredients.

Tip: Or use a stainless steel basin bowl that sits on top of a sauce pan that has 1/3 amount of water in the bottom. Put the chocolate pieces in the basin bowl on top and heat the water up in the bottom pan. The steam will lightly heat the basin bowl up and melt the chocolate. This prevents the chocolate from burning in a pan with direct heat.

(#2) 3oz. organic unsweetened dark chocolate baking bar - Sunspire brand

1/4 cup organic agave syrup

2 tbsp. organic cacao butter - grated

1 tsp. organic vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. Himalayan salt

Place broken up pieces of chocolate into a bain-marie. Heat until melted, stirring with rubber spatula. Stir in cacao butter to melt. Remove from heat source and then add agave syrup, salt, and vanilla and whisk well.

Tip: You can interchange the liquid sweeteners in these two recipes, but if you try to do so with coconut sugar, than the texture and set will be quite off.

Let chocolate cool enough and then add to a piping bag or plastic baggie

with small tip of corner cut off. Swirl onto cookies. Enjoy!

#butterflies #cookies #chocolate #lemon