Hello, today.
This week was inspired by…dinner with a new friend on face plates. Pea pasta with lemon.
This week was inspired by… making avocado crab toast with Jill.
This week was inspired by … this mama, in a chevron skirt with two babies. I love how close her baby boy is playing next to her skirt. She totally has a little baby in her arms too. I like this mama. I have a soft spot for Mr. Potato Head. I want this to be me eventually (the mama… not the potato head).
I can’t think of one good reason not to put dried flowers and raw sugar into cookies.
Something feels so utterly refined and pleasingly natural about this combination.
A quick zip-a-zip in the spice grinder turns raw sugar into a powder, and lavender into a fragrant chop.
I think this is my favorite part of cut-out shortbread cookies. The scraps.
Perfect for sneaking dough bites.
These cookies bake up into simple, buttery, florally frangrant, sweet bites. I love the use of raw sugar.. it adds a really nice depth, but you can use granulated sugar if you don’t have raw on hand.
These cookies would be dreamy with earl grey tea, honey ice cream, or a cup of cold milk.
I like to stack them tall and eat far too many. You know…
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
adapted slightly from Party Like a Culinista
makes about 50 cookies
1 tablespoon dried lavender blossoms
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw turbinado sugar (you can also use granulated sugar)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 eggs, beaten (for egg wash)
extra sugar for sprinkling on top
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.
In a small spice grinder (I use my cleaned out coffee grinder) to grind up 1 tablespoon lavender and 1 tablespoon sugar. Grind it up! You could also use a mortar and pestle to grind the sugar and lavender together.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment add butter, ground lavender mixture, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Cream on medium speed until slightly more pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. There will still be raw sugar bits floating around. That’s fine. Stop the mixer, add the flour. Mix on low speed until dough comes together. The dough will be crumbly, then begin to form when it continues to mix. Dump dough mixture out onto a clean surface and form into a ball with your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Divide refrigerated dough into quarters. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter to cut cookies, or use a pizza cutter to slice cookies into squares. Use a fork to prick cookies. Brush very lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Refrigerate cookies while oven preheats.
Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. When oven is preheated, bake cookies for 8 to 11 minutes, until just browned around the edges. Remove from oven. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies last, in an airtight container at room temprature, for up to 4 days.
Ann Bowerman
I made these this weekend but substituted rosemary for the lavender. they were SO good! My friend kept snitching one everytime she came in the kitchen!
Kate P
I was glad to scroll down the comments section and actually see people attempting these cookies. Obviously they sound amazing, but to actually execute them is another world. I, too, had issues with the dough not forming with my mixer – too much flour/not enough butter? I don’t really know, but I slowly added a pinch of vanilla and some raw milk. I think I totaled 1 Tbsp vanilla (1 tsp at a time) and 4 Tbsp raw milk and by the time I had refrigerated the dough, it was easy to roll out. A 1.5″ cutter is about the equivalent of some shot glasses and basically the same size I cut homemade crackers, making this delicious cookie way too easy to eat, but oh my, it’s just SO GOOD. What an awesome recipe!!!
Pat
Tried these last night. 1 batch with, and one batch without the flowers.
Verdict-family does not like the Lavender.
However, it s the BEST shortbread I have EVER tasted.
Jess
MMmmrrmmmmmmm <3 <3 I just made these and they're crunchy and crumbly and amazing. I put a little lavender on top with the sugar to decorate and it went OH so slightly bitter… but a little bitterness could never match the buttery sugary fragrant AWESOMENESS of these cookies.
YUM and YUM.
Jessica
If happiness had a flavor it would be lavender short bread cookie flavour. I made these today in the midst of what was a rotten rotten day and they fixed everything (well I mean they didn’t stand up to my boss, clean my house, and do my assignments) but in every other way they were magical! Thank you so much Joy for sharing them.
Matt
I also had a little trouble making these adorable cookies, which seemed perfect for my valentine ! Indeed, my dough was a little crumbly after refrigeration. However, it was discovered that adding a little water to the dough while rolling (more like shaping) made for manageable cookie-cutting. If it is any help, just pouring a tablespoon or so at a time from a glass onto the dough and patting it in did the trick for me! When the dough is almost sticky, you’re set.
It comes out as nice shortbread. A smidge more lavender wouldn’t hurt in my opinion, but if you have picky eaters on hand, stick to the single tablespoon of lavender. Next time I think I’ll experiment with a bit more.
The last thing I’ll say is that the only batch of mine that came out with that beautiful darkened sugar like the one’s pictures were the ones I left in the oven for a minute or so too long. They would’ve won the beauty pageant, but they were a bit dry– even for shortbread. Having learned my lesson from that (first) batch, I only gave the others 7-8 minutes in. The sugar on those came out a bland beige, but the cookies were just moist.
Overall, I am happy I tried this. Everyone will make their own adjustments as did I, and I’m pretty sure everyone will be eating these right quick.