Lavender Honey Shortbread

I don’t know why I one day saw dried culinary lavender in the grocery store and thought “THAT is something I need in my life,” but I did, and here we are, about a year later, finally using it. I move in a month, and can’t really bring all of my food with me, so am trying to make recipes that use up as much of it as possible in an effort not to waste it. When I was in the pantry yesterday, I came across the lavender, and remembered a fun cookie book I had that I could have sworn mentioned lavender cookies. I was right – Milk & Cookies had just what I needed.

Best part? If you do have lavender, you definitely have everything else you need, and these are quick, no fuss, slice and bake cookies.

Start by whisking together the flour, lavender, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners sugar and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the dry ingredients and beat on medium low speed until dough starts to come together.

Scrape the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and roll into a log. I decided I wanted square cookies, so I went with a square log. Roll up in the parchment paper and refrigerate for at least an hour, until firm.

When you’re ready to bake, use a serrated knife to slice the log into half-inch slices.

Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart – they won’t spread.

Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, until edges are golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

See how easy those are? Store them in an airtight container, and I feel like you need to have these with tea. They’re good alone, of course (you can’t go wrong with cookies based on butter and sugar), but they’d be perfect dunked in tea, for both the cookie and the tea.

Enjoy!

Lavender Honey Shortbread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (9 ounces) flour
• 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 3/4 ounces) confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, lavender, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners sugar and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add the dry ingredients and beat until dough starts to come together.
4. Turn out onto a piece of parchment paper and roll into a log. Roll tightly in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. Using a serrated knife, slice 1/2-inch slices. Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove to wire rack to cool.