Lavender Shortbread

Adding lavender to baked goods may sound like an odd idea but I urge you to give it a try.  I used fresh lavender in this recipe but dried lavender (more readily available to non gardeners and city dwellers) would also work.  The key to shortbread is to chill the dough between each step.  Shortbread is very sticky and tedious to work with, chill, chill and then chill it some more, it's the only way to make the process manageable. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups finely milled flour

1 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

2 sticks of butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp of fresh lavender buds or blossoms (stems removed)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk together salt and flour and set aside

• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter (at room temp) until fluffy.

• Add sugar and continue to beat until well combined.

• Stir in lavender.

• Gently fold in flour/salt mixture and stir (by hand) until combined (using a pastry cutter for this part may help, dough should be smooth and very sticky when finished).
• Divide dough into two balls, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Press dough into disks between two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap and roll out to 1/4" thickness.

• Cut cookies into desired shapes, place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and chill for at least 15 minutes (to help them hold their shape when baking).

• Bake for 8-10 minutes (turning cookie sheets once to ensure even baking) until edges are very lightly browned.

• Chill on wire rack (or in my ill-equipped case, a cutting board) until firm and cool.

• I drizzled ours with white icing (4 parts confectioners sugar whisked with 1 part milk) but they're delicious on their own as well.  They will keep for several days stored at room temperature in a covered container.

~Happy Sunday Everyone~