
Butter shortbread cookies are one of my favorite cookies ever. These are infused with lemon zest and lavender to create a delicious buttery cookie. Made with quality ingredients, these lavender shortbread cookies pair perfectly with a hot cup of roasted dandelion root coffee and are the perfect afternoon treat or dessert.
Choosing Lavender for Your Shortbread Cookies
You want the lavender you choose for cooking to impart a subtle floral quality to your finished product. Choose the wrong lavender and your baked goods may end up tasting like soap.
Even though other species of lavender are safe to consume, it is best to use English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. This lavender shortbread recipe uses just a touch of organic dried lavender for a hint of flavor.
If you grow your own English lavender, you can dry your own in a dehydrator at 100°F for several hours, checking every half hour or so for dryness. After cooling, store in a cool dry location in a closed glass jar.
Organic Food-Grade English Lavender |
Can I freeze my shortbread cookies?
Yes! You can freeze the baked cookies by placing them in a freezer-safe container. Label the container and you can store them for up to 3 months. To serve, remove the cookies from the freezer and allow them to thaw completely before serving.
If they become slightly soggy you can place them in a preheated oven at 350°F and bake them for 3-4 minutes. Just long enough to toast them.
Can I make my own powdered sugar?
Yes! Mix 1/2 cup organic cane sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot powder. Place in a high speed blender and blend for 30 seconds or until fluffy. This will yield about 1 cup powdered sugar.
What is the secret to good shortbread?
The secret to good shortbread cookies is the butter-flour ratio. You want to use double the amount of flour as butter. For this recipe, 1 cup of butter is used, so 2 cups of flour is used. Your dough will be slightly crumbly but stick together.
Be sure to use softened butter for best results, but if it is too soft, the cookies may spread when baking.
Allowing the dough to chill for 30 minutes helps keep the dough together and results in beautiful cookies that keep their shape.
Why did my cookies spread?
If your cookies spread a couple of things could have happened. Not enough flour was added. Make sure you are using the full 2 cups of flour. The other reason could be not chilling the dough before baking. This really helps the dough keep its shape while baking.
Lastly, don’t substitute maple syrup or honey in this recipe or the cookies will spread.
Can I use a hand mixer to make these cookies?
A stand mixer works best for this recipe, but a hand mixer may be used. Once the mixture becomes crumbly, stop the hand mixer and squeeze the dough. If it holds together, it is ready to be formed into a ball using your hands. If it does not hold together when doing the squeeze test, add a very small amount of water, no more than 1 teaspoon. Mix with your hands to form a ball of dough.
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Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- zest of one lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons food grade organic lavender
- 2 cups organic unbleached flour
- 1 cup organic powdered sugar *
- juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add your unsalted butter. Using your paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds to loosen up the butter.
- Add the sugar and salt, and beat on medium speed with the butter, salt, and sugar until well combined.
- Pause and scrape down the sides of the bowl so the butter and sugar are well combined.
- Add the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and lavender. Mix until combined.
- Slowly add the flour by adding ½ cup at a time to start allowing the flour to incorporate with each add.
- Turn the dough out onto the piece of parchment paper and form the dough into a log.
- Roll the parchment up to create a log. Place in the fridge and chill for 30 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and remove the piece of parchment paper. Cut the dough into ½” disks using a bench scraper, pastry cutter, or a butter knife and place them on the prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart.
- Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes or until the sides have turned golden brown.
- Meanwhile, add the powdered sugar to a bowl and slowly add the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring between each addition until you get the desired consistency.
- Once the cookies are done baking, remove them from the oven and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
- Allow cookies to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Dip one side of the cookies into the icing and place them on the cooling rack so the icing can settle.
- Optionally you can sprinkle with additional lavender.
- Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Your cookies will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
Notes
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Kristen says
This is an intriguing recipe; I’m really interested to try this! Do you just crush the lavender with your fingers or do you grind it really fine?
Thanks for the great idea. I will report back when we make them!
Susan Vinskofski says
Crushing the lavender with your fingers is perfect, but the lavender may be used as course or as fine as you prefer. It’s really just a matter of personal preference.
Kristen says
Thanks! Looking forward to trying it out.