Lavender Short Bread Cookies

or just plain shortbread cookies

Finding a location to work on a plein air landscape is not always as simple as it may seem. A shady spot is required as well as a day without shifting weather conditions. You need to find a spot on public land or along the road where you can safely park, hopefully minus swarming gnats. The gracious owners of Orchard View Lavender Farm generously allowed me to set up on their property.  I found a spot, shaded by one of their out-buildings, that would not allow curious onlookers to sneak up behind me. Their residence is on the property along with a charming gift shop that sells everything from ice cream to soaps enhanced with lavender. As well as the rows of different varieties of lavender, the property is dotted with beautifully maintained flower gardens. They welcome visitors on Friday, Saturday, and Sundays.

Lavender peaks here in New Jersey between the end of June and the beginning of July and there are several lavender farms in the state. Lavender is a flowering plant in the mint family that I typically associate more with cosmetics or sachets than with baking. The scent of lavender does not awaken my taste buds in the same way as basil or dill. The shop at the farm sells lavender enhanced shortbread cookies baked locally, as well as tins of culinary lavender buds. I was intrigued, so I purchased a tin with the intention of trying my hand at making shortbread cookies. An employee in the shop informed me that a little bit of lavender goes a long way, and that the longer you store items baked with it the stronger the flavor becomes.

After perusing several recipes and making three batches, what follows is my final and best effort. The shortbread cookies are easy to make and will melt in your mouth,  However, I was never able to truly taste the lavender, even with the ones that I stored in an airtight container for several days. Perhaps it is because the lemon zest and vanilla overpower the lavender, or because my lavender happened to be stale. It does add some pretty flecks of color to the cookies and makes for an interesting conversation starter, but feel free to omit it when you bake.

Ingredients

1 c. unbleached flour

1/2 c. salted butter

1/3 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. lavender (pulverized)

1 t. grated lemon zest

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Bring the butter to room temperature. I placed the butter in a metal mixing bowl, covered it with foil, and set it on the patio table in the sun to soften. Cream the sugar into the butter with a wooden spoon. Mince the lavender until it is very fine and cream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla. Add the flour and mix everything together. Form the dough into a ball and place it on a floured board. 

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 9 x 10”. The dough will be between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. At this point you can use cookie cutters, or a sharp knife to simply cut the dough into little rectangles. I used a knife so that I didn’t need to roll out the dough more than once.  Some of the shapes around the outside will be imperfect, but they will still taste good. Place the board with the shortbread cookies into the fridge to chill for about 45 minutes. 

Transfer the shortbread cookies to a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper using a spatula. The parchment paper prevents the cookies from browning on the bottom. With my second batch, some of the cookies were breaking as I moved them, so I let the dough warm up for about five minutes. Leave a little space around each cookie as they will puff up slightly.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they turn a bit golden. The recipe makes about 24 small cookies that can be stored for several days in an airtight container.

Photos and art by Vicki Smith.

How many squares have you filled in on your summer Bingo game?

Thanks for reading!

Vicki