Lilac Shortbread Cookies combine the rich and crumbly buttery dough and a delicate subtle floral aroma. They are also moderately sweet.
Hello everyone. Happy Monday. No kidding. It is happy today. Why? Because I am back to my lilac recipes!
In case you missed it, last week I posted something different for a change. Please feel free to check this Chive Pesto and this Potato Chive Soup.
Lilac Love
However, it’s time to get back to lilacs. Oh lilacs, that’s my new love #SorryLavender. I will get back to you one day. Promise. (I didn’t specify which year, though lol) You won’t believe how many photos with the lilacs in the background I styled! Also, you won’t believe how many lilac-infused recipes I tried! Spoiler alert: a lot. Luckily, the lilac season in Nova Scotia is almost over, otherwise I won’t be able to stop. Even though I am loving this lilac kick, I would still like to share some luscious salads, tasty bruschetta, and refreshing ice cream this season, too!
So far I have shared these recipes:
Lilac Martini Vermouth Cocktail
Blueberry Oatmeal with Lilac Syrup
This time we are not going to use lilac syrup. But I strongly encourage you to make some for our next lilac endeavors!
Lilac Shortbread Cookies
Back to these Lilac Shortbread Cookies. When I was thinking how to incorporate the lilac flavour into the recipes, the most obvious idea was lilac sugar. However, lilac sugar takes a week to make, and I didn’t have any patience to wait.
As the result, I came up with the idea to infuse the butter! So, the idea is very simple. To simmer the butter with plenty of lilac florets for a few minutes. We don’t need to make brown butter, as it will interfere with the delicate floral flavour, but we intensify its aroma, too. Then leave it alone for an hour or so, until solidified. And melt it again – do discard the solids! (You will loose a bit of the butter itself, too.)
The recipe is easy-peasy. Just mix up all the ingredients until pliable cookie dough. While your oven is preheating, I would recommend to chill it out. The cookies are not extremely sweet – just like we love. Indeed, they are barely sweet. Feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking (More sugar – less flour.)
Flavour and Décor
The flavour is very subtle. I would not say you could absolutely detect the lilac flavour. More like an abstract floral flavour. But it’s delightful! If you make some glaze, that will bring in more flavour! Of course, the cookies will be sweeter, but with the moderately sweet biscuits, that’s a nice balance – even with the glaze they are not overly sweet. Besides, the glaze adds a nice smooth finish and also a little bit of the purple hues. That’s lovely, too.
As you can see, I tried making floral ornaments by incorporating some lilacs into the dough prior to baking. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. They turn brown, and they don’t introduce any flavour whatsoever. Personally, I would just stick to either plain or glazed cookies.
If you lucky to have lilac sugar, please go ahead and use it instead of the regular sugar. Lilacs are not lavender, it’s extremely hard to overpower the dish with their aroma.
So I hope you like these Lilac Shortbread Cookies. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen. Also don’t forget to make some lilac syrup as you might want to have for my upcoming recipes!
Cheers for now.
Lilac Shortbread Cookies
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minutesLilac Shortbread Cookies combine the rich and crumbly buttery dough and a delicate subtle floral aroma. They are also moderately sweet. The cooking time doesn’t include making the lilac syrup.
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Ingredients
- Lilac Shortbread Cookies
1 and 1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 cups lilac florets (no green parts or leaves), firmly packed
~ 2 and 1/2 cup cake flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp. corn starch (or more flour)
a small pinch of salt
- Glaze:
~1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp. lilac syrup
Directions
- In a small saucepan combine the butter and lilacs. Melt and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Don’t allow the butter to brown! Cool until the butter is solidified, for about 1 hour then melt again and discard the solids using a sieve mesh. There will be about 1 and ¼ cup of the melted butter. Slightly cool it before using.
- Combine the melted butter with the sifted flour, starch, powdered sugar, and salt. As always, you might need to incorporate less or more flour. The dough will be pliable, soft, moderately moist to the touch, could be slightly crumbly on the edges – but still easily forms the dough. If you feel like the dough is too soft, I wouldn’t recommend adding too much extra flour. Instead pop it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Working fast, roll the dough out. You don’t need to sprinkle it with extra flour – if the dough is a bit sticky, roll it out on some parchment paper plus lightly dust the rolling pin. Using a cookie cutter or knife, cut out the cookies. Arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet using some space (about 1,5 cm) between them. Place the sheet in the refrigerator while preheating the oven.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (~165 degrees C).
- Bake the cookies, depending on their size, between 12 and 15 minutes. Personally I preferred cookies to be pale (As browning would affect already subtle floral aroma), but that’s up to you. Remove from the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes (They’re super crumbly when hot) then transfer to a rack to fully cook.
- If desired, you can cover the cookies with the glaze. Just simply combine and whisk in a small bowl the powdered sugar and syrup, adding more dry/wet components to reach the desired consistency. The suggested amount would be enough for 1/2 to 2/3 cookies, so you might want to increase it (Or leave some of the cookies plain.) Garnish with a few lilacs if desired and let the cookies set for about an hour. Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
Love these shortbreads! They must smell amazing in the oven with the lilac. Such a thoughtful use of ingredients as always, beautiful cookies.
Catherine recently posted…Keto Lemon Berry Cupcakes
Thank you Catherine!
Such an interesting and beautiful looking cookie. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers but I have never eaten them. You are enlightening me to new possibilities with flowers. Thanks
Thank you Judee!
Absolutely stunning cookies Ben! I love how this shortbread recipe isn’t overly sweet and the subtle purple color on the glaze is gorgeous. Now I need to go ask my neighbor if I can take some of their lilacs….
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs recently posted…Easy Almond Joy Pie
Thank you very much Tasia!
If you share some cookies with your neighbor, I guess they won’t be against you collecting the lilacs :)
I am definitely crowning you the Lilac King! Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly come up with a better lilac recipe than the last one, you go and do it again… and again! These cookies are just gorgeous, Ben!!! And, I’d be willing to bet they taste even better than they look! I’ve really gotta find me some lilac, because I need these cookies in my life!
Thank you very much Cheyanne for your kind words!
I think you can find on the Internet some lilac-infused sugar and syrup, as an option.
Brilliant! Thank you for the tip!!
Ben, these cookies are so beautiful! I love how you decorated and styled them, just gorgeous! Also, I think the way you infused the lilac flavor is brilliant! Our lilac season is over now, but I will have these cookies on my list to try next lilac season!
Thank you Laura!
It’s interesting, what you had to say about incorporating the florets into the dough, because before I had gotten to that part of your post, I had already noticed that you’d done this, and I really liked it! I noticed that they’d browned, but I think that the browned ones look really nice in contrast to the purple ones you sprinked into the glaze. So yes, I don’t think I’d like the brown ones on their own, but in combination with the ones that you glazed, I think they’re gorgeous. Also, the color of that glaze = spectacular!
Thank you Jeff!
yeah, I think as the contrast, both purple and brown florets work nicely!
Wow, what a great idea to infuse the butter rather than the sugar – and it speeds up the whole process, too. Perfect! These cookies are truly stunning, Ben. Like I could see these for sale in a bakery. I’m a big fan of shortbread cookies, and I could be willing to munch on a couple of these cookies…you know, for research purposes. :-)
David @ Spiced recently posted…Coca Cola Pound Cake
Thank you David!
I would gladly share wit you some, but they’re currently out of stock :)
That is a great way to infuse the butter. I recently had coffee infused butter and was wondering how they did it. And now I know! Your cookies look so pretty.
Thank you Tandy!
Lilacs are so wonderful aren’t they!? The best smell! I really need to try baking with it! Your shortbread cookies are the perfect way to use it.
They are! Thank you Katherine.
I’m loving these lilac recipes and a good shortbread recipe is a must. These are possibly the prettiest shortbread I’ve ever seen.
Thank you Marie!
You are knocking me out with these lilac recipes, Ben. These shortbread cookies are absolutely gorgeous! I’ve always loved lavender shortbread, so I know I’d love these.
Thank you Marissa!
I grew up making shortbread cookies with my grandmother and still addicted to them! The infusion of lilac is a delicious addition and love the pretty pastel glaze.
Kim | Give it Some Thyme recently posted…Cherry Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Thank you Kim!
These cookies looks fabulous, what an brilliant idea to flavor the cookies with Lilac flower, I am sure it must have tasted yum! Awesome recipes, and blog!
Thank you very much!
These are beautiful cookies! I grew up with lilac bushes lining the north side of our back yard. They were so fragrant when they blossomed every spring.
Thank you Liz!
What a fancy shortbread recipe! I really love the idea of infusing butter with lilac. And of course that glaze..a dreamy and beautiful subtle purple colour… just exactly what I love!
angiesrecipes recently posted…Carrot Cake Bliss Balls #refined-sugar free#gluten free#dairy free
Thank you very much Angie!
Now I want to make similar cookies, just with rose :)