These rich and buttery Lavender Shortbread Cookies are a delicious treat for those who like lavender. Wanna something extra? Dip them into some melted white chocolate.
This post was originally published in June 2015.I have taken and uploaded new photos and altered the recipe, but the main blog post remain unchanged.
We have recently been to Montreal, Quebec. Hold on! Is it correctly to say “recently” if that happened almost a month ago? Well. Never mind!
It was our second trip to this enchanting city. The first one wasn’t completely successful due to our strange planning. We had it last year in the mid of April when it wasn’t winter already, but it wasn’t spring either. It was quite chilly and gloomy, with small oases of snow. We weren’t any upset since the city was still beautiful and we knew we would be back later one. It’s being said the perfect time to visit Montreal, is May or September.
May? Why not! Even though we had been visiting Ottawa in May for the last two years (which is gorgeous in May because of blooming tulips), that time we opted for Montreal.
The trip turned out great and almost immaculate. Well, except a few weather issues but I won’t sound too grumpy. All Montreal’s blossoming gardens and parks made me super excited. Perhaps, I had never seen so many lilac trees in one area before or at least I hadn’t seen so many lilac species gathered together. All those fragrances were just breathtaking…I almost got a dizziness – pleasant kind of it.
Never ever have been I impressed with the gardens more than with the architecture, and never ever have I taken more snaps of the plants than the buildings.
I think if I were able to extract the lilac essence, you would have probably seen a lilac recipe today. But as you can see, I never succeed. But that trip inspired me to make something scrumptious anyways.
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
I didn’t know until now there are the lavender farms in Quebec, and thus you can buy everything lavender – from cosmetics to candy. I was lucky to have tried a Lavender Shortbread Cookies in one cozy cafe. As you may know, I’ve been incorporating lavender in many ways, including cookies, and I anticipated that one would be delicious. I was so wrong! It was yumalicious and just melt-in-your-mouth! I paired lavender and chocolate before, but it had always been dark chocolate. And I’m not going to lie – white chocolate elevates lavender flavor up to the next, more sophisticated and whimsical level. I don’t now how this works, but it does.
As soon as I had the very first crumb piece of that phenomenal cookie, I knew I would make them at home.
Needless to say that really happened, and you’ve got the evidence.
My version of the cookies turned out to be a bit different but still very delicious. I run out of lavender extract, and I wasn’t brave enough to use a bottle of lavender oil I had bought in Montreal. So I decided on using dried lavender which I had got in the trip as well. That’s why the cookies had a very delicate, almost subtle, flavor. But lavender could easily be overpowering so, in my book, it’s always better have a little but palatable flavor. You can freely experiment with its amount.
Thanks, Montreal, for inspiring me! Even though I’ve been in love with lavender for a while, you renewed our relationship, and now you’re going to see a lot of lavender things.
Everything lavender:)
And I’ve got now a new dream – to visit Quebec in the mid of summer to see its lavender fields. That must be spectacular!
And dear readers, if you have any complaints about me posting too many lavender recipes, you know where you could send your complaints:)
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
8-24
servings10
minutes15
minutes30-60
minutesThese rich and buttery Lavender Shortbread Cookies are a delicious treat for those who like lavender. Wanna something extra? Dip them into some melted white chocolate.
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Ingredients
1 cup (170 gr.) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. (20 gr.) corn starch – or substitute 2 tbsp. flour more
3/4 cup (170 gr.) butter, soften
2 tbsp. granulated or golden sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. dried lavender buds, rubbed
100-120 gr. white chocolate, optional, for glaze
Directions
- Be sure to remove the butter from the fridge 1-2 hours prior baking. In a bowl, with a mixer cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt on medium speed, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually stir in the flour, corn starch (if using), and rubbed lavender buds and mix until the mixture starts to remain dough.
- Wrap up in plastic and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. After chilling the dough should be pliable, moist, and slightly crumbly (yet easily coming together). You may need to dust it with some flour when rolling. If the dough is too firm and crumbly after chilling, let it stay 5-10 minutes at room temp.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling-pin. Cut cookies using cookie cutters.
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F). Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake for about 8-12 minutes or slightly longer (depending on size and your preference) or until edges are slightly golden. If you prefer delicate, moist, and soft cookies, bake them less, depending on their size, thickness, and your oven. If you prefer them crisp and more browned, bake them for extra 2-3 minutes or so. Either way, they will be delicious!
- If desired to garnish with the glaze, melt the white chocolate and dip in the cookies. Let the cookies set for about an hour. Enjoy!
You’re hilarious poking your head out from behind the lavender bush! These look so delicate and dried lavender sounds just adds to it. I’ve never been to Montreal, but it’s on my list.