preheat oven to 350°.

in a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. sifting isn't necessary, but you want to make sure that the dry ingredients are well combined and there are no clumps. set aside.

with a hand held or stand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese. once smooth, add lemon juice and zest, also the vanilla & lemon (if using) extract(s) and mix to combine. add egg and basil then mix again. add both sugars and mix until completely smooth. make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.

add the dry ingredients in three parts to the wet. mix each addition until just moistened. once all the dry ingredients have been added make sure there are no clumps but do not over mix (it'll make the cookies a bit tough).

prepare 2 cookie sheets with either cooking spray, parchment paper or silpat. scoop 1 tbs portions on to cookie sheets leaving 2" between them. these cookies dont spread a lot but the space between them will help them to bake more evenly. bake in your preheated 350° oven for 12 minutes, rotating once half way through. once done, let cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes then remove them to a cooling rack to come down to room temp. if you're making the glaze it's important that they are cooled all the way or the glaze will melt and soak into the cookies.

for the glaze simply mix the lemon juice and powdered sugar together until completely smooth. top the cookies with as much or as little glaze as you like. if you feel it is too thick add additional lemon juice 1 tsp at a time. if it is too loose, add more powdered sugar 1 tbs at a time.

these cookies are not too sweet and go very well with tea or would be a nice addition to brunch.