Recipe: Lavender Shortbread Cookies

If you have wondered what in the world I am going to do with all of the lavender I’ve harvested this summer, here is one of the treats I made with my Melissa Lavender.

This was my Melissa harvest this summer.

 

So let’s get started.

In a grinder, grind up the lavender with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

In a bowl,  stir together the flour and salt.

Add butter, the ground lavender/sugar mixture, and the remaining sugar to the bowl of your electric mixer. Cream on medium until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour/salt mixture to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed. The dough starts out dry and crumbly, but will start to come together as you continue to mix. Dump the dough onto a clean surface and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove dough from refrigerator and cut into fourths. Take one of the fourths of dough, and on a lightly floured surface, roll out it out to a 1/4 inch thickness. While working on this piece of dough, return the remaining pieces to the refrigerator.

Once you have the dough rolled out, use a cookie cutter or knife and cut into shapes. My first batch I cut in squares and I really think the round ones look nicer, but also cook better. I used a cookie cutter, but you could use an upside down glass or a small bowl.

Prick the cookies with a fork.

Then brush with egg wash.

Sprinkle the cookies with sugar. If you have made lavender sugar, it can be used instead of the plain sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once oven is heated, bake cookies for 10-13 minutes until they are brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

I’ve found that this recipe bakes best if the butter is cold when you put it in the mixer. It’s a little harder to mix, but the cookies were nicer looking. Also, I love using Sugar in the Raw for both inside the cookie and on the top. On my last batch, I added my lavender sugar and they were so good!

Dave and I have been to several lavender farms in the past couple years and we found that they all used Grosso for baked goods. I don’t know if it is the difference in the soil here at Happy Acres or in Indiana, but our Grosso is too medicinal tasting and the reason I never liked lavender in cookies. At a conference we attended last year, one of the speakers from northern Indiana suggested we grow Melissa since it was much better for food applications. She was right! So if you don’t like lavender, it may be you are trying one that is more for medicinal use than culinary. Also, lavender is strong, so a little goes a long way.

Now for a gift for you. If you would like a little of my Melissa to make your own lavender shortbread cookies, email me at lheines at wowway dot com. Due to the potential problems of shipping agricultural products out of the country, this giveaway needs to be limited to US residents only. 🙁 The first three emails with addresses I receive will be sent a couple of tablespoons of lavender to make their own couple batches of these delicious cookies. Yum!