Lavender Shortbread Cookies are crisp and buttery, and subtly perfumed of lavender.
Ingredients
Lavender Sugar:
½ cup white sugar
½ tablespoon dried lavender
Red and blue liquid food coloring (optional, if you want to dye the Lavender Sugar purple)
Cookies:
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons lavender sugar, divided
½ cup unsalted butter, plus a little more to press the cookies, at room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Lavender Sugar: Process the dried lavender and sugar in a blender or food processor until they have a fine texture (they should have the texture of superfine/castor sugar). Measure out and set aside ¼ cup of Lavender Sugar to make the cookie dough and 2 tablespoons of Lavender Sugar to use on top of the cookies. There will be 2 tablespoons of Lavender Sugar leftover; I used this in the tea that I drank with the cookies.
If you want to dye the Lavender Sugar purple to use on top of the cookies: Preheat oven to 325F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the 2 tablespoons of Lavender Sugar that you set aside with a drop or two of both red and blue food coloring. Stir to combine the coloring and the sugar, and then add more food coloring to achieve your desired color. (If you add too much coloring you can add more plain white sugar.) Spread the colored sugar out on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until dry. After baking, sieve the sugar to remove any lumps.
For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner. Cream together the butter and ¼ cup of Lavender Sugar that you measured out. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir the dry ingredients into the wet. If the dough is too sticky to handle, refrigerate it for 15 minutes. Using a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon, measure out the dough and roll them into balls. Place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass with butter, and then dip it in the dyed Lavender Sugar (if you didn’t dye your sugar, just dip the buttered glass in the regular Lavender Sugar). Slightly flatten each ball of dough with the buttered and sugared glass, dipping in more butter and sugar as needed. Bake until light golden, about 16 to 18 minutes, and then cool completely on the baking sheet before removing. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe by An Edible Mosaic™ at https://www.anediblemosaic.com/lavender-shortbread-cookies/