Lavender Shortbread -An Easter Treat

Have you ever noticed that just like fashion, or music, or the genre of TV shows, even food is subject to trends?  Lavender seems to be one of those culinary trends that is popular right now.  As Easter approaches these shortbread cookies scented with lavender could just be the crowning treat at your Easter gathering 🙂If you happen to be one of our “chums” who visits our site regularly, you may remember that only a few days ago we had a post on Lavender Scented Honey Lemon Ice Cream.  I mentioned there that for years I had avoided floral flavored or infused foods.  But I have had a turn around, at least as far as lavender is concerned.  So when one of our ‘chums’, Wendy, (who also happens to be my cousin and the clever person who gave us that wonderful tip on how to care for cashmere), sent me a recipe for Lavender Shortbread I just had to make it and try it out to see if I would want to use it as one of the treats for our Easter lunch.

The recipe comes from the cookbook of a wonderful southern bakery.  It is called The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook after the bakery of the same name, in Savannah, Georgia.  I had the pleasure of checking out the bakery’s delicious offerings this past Fall while on a trip to visit Wendy for her birthday.  After reading our post about lavender ice cream she quickly made a copy of the Lavender Shortbread recipe from her cookbook and sent it off to me.   Now I’m sharing it with you along with a fun option I decided to try in lieu of the cookie press the recipe suggests you use.

I have mentioned before in posts that traditions, especially food traditions that relate to holidays, are really important to me.  They anchor the memories I am creating for my family and are sometimes symbols of meanings for the holiday we are celebrating. Because of this, I rarely vary the menu at our family holiday celebrations year to year.  You can see from last year’s Easter post what some of those food traditions are in my family.

Now in addition to all this, we do also love our Deviled Eggs and Spinach Dip!

Having said I don’t usually change or vary the menu at Easter, I have decided to make an addition this year.   These wonderful cookies are little treasures that everyone will enjoy.  They are easy to make, and as you see here below, you can be really creative by using some of your favorite ordinary rubber stamps to imprint your cookies with festive Easter designs.  Try these and I would be willing to bet they might just become a favorite tradition at your Easter celebration.  If you do, we would love to know about it.  I am pretty confident that they will be a hit at mine:)

Happy Easter dear chums!

Lavender Shortbread  (from The Back In The Day Cookbook)

Sublime, with floral notes

Makes 24 cookies

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender

About 1/4 cup granulated sugar for dusting

Special Equipment: Cookie stamp (optional)

Line two cookie sheets with parchment.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer), beat the butter, vanilla, and fleur de sel on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Turn the speed down to low, add the confectioners’ sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour in thirds, beating until just incorporated. Sprinkle in the lavender and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Transfer the dough to another bowl and finish mixing by hand to make sure no bits of flour or butter are hiding on the bottom of the bowl and the dough is thoroughly mixed. The lavender should be evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Use a small ice cream scoop to form the cookies, about 1 rounded tablespoon each, and place on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 1 inch between the cookies to allow for spreading.

Flatten each cookie with a cookie stamp dusted with granulated sugar, or gently flatten each cookie with the palm of your hand and then dust the tops with sugar. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours, before baking.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the edges are lightly golden. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.