Sunday Afternoon Tea

It was warm on Sunday

Really warm

And after such a cool May

it's like a furnace has been turned on

But our porch is on the East side of the house

And there are big trees in the front yard

Which means that it is shady in the morning

And shady (and cool) in the afternoon

And I like to be outside as much as possible

Sunday afternoon, I took tea on the porch

With my tea tray and my rocker

The Johnson Brothers Indies because it has the wee teapot

Tea is Tazzo's Ginger Tea

It's a great afternoon tea

The nosh:

Ina's Jam Thumbprints -- with my additions

became coconut lemon thumbprints!

And if I take tea alone,

my companion is always a book

And almost always a cookbook

This one, Miss Hulling's Favorite Recipes

Miss Hulling's was a well known St. Louis restaurant

(with several locations)

Published in the 50s, it has some great recipes

And is the kind of cookbook that I'm so fond of!

It's Thursday and I'm sharing my front porch tea with Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday.

COCONUT LEMON THUMBPRINTS

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
grated rind of 1 lemon1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
lemon curd

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Add lemon zest and mix again.  Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of lemon curd  into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.