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Home » Biscuits

Lavender shortbread (lavender cookies)

01/08/2020 by Judith 13 Comments

Lavender shortbread biscuits are buttery shortbread biscuits with hint of lavender and a light crunchy texture. They are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee and also make a welcome gift for family or friends.

Five lavender shortbread biscuits next to some fresh lavender.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

They are easy to make, quick to cook and are ideal for making in bulk and frozen. This lavender shortbread recipe is a variation on lemon and poppy seed shortbread and walnut shortbread biscuits, all of which are simply delicious. Why not bake a batch of each?

The quantities in this easy shortbread recipe are sufficient to make around 22 biscuits.

Shortbread ingredients and alternatives

  • 175g butter - use either salted or unsalted butter depending on your preference and what you have in your fridge. Remove the butter from the fridge a little while before starting to make the shortbread so that it softens enough to be able to cream the butter and sugar together easily. If you wish to prepare vegan shortbread you could use a plant based margarine instead of butter.
  • 4 teaspoons lavender flower florets - in this recipe I have used fresh lavender flowers. Simply pull each floret from the flower head until you have sufficient for the recipe. If you don't have fresh flowers you could buy dried lavender flowers but make sure they are a type intended for culinary use. The flowers will give your homemade lavender cookies a delicate floral flavour but if you would like a stronger flavour simply add more lavender.
  • 90g caster sugar - caster sugar is finer than granulated sugar and I find that it gives the shortbread a better texture. If you don't have caster sugar you could place an equivalent amount of granulated sugar in a food processor and blitz until the sugar crystals have reduced in size.
  • 175g plain white flour (plus extra flour for rolling out) - no speciality flour is needed for making shortbread.
  • 50g cornflour - cornflour is the ingredient which makes these shortbread biscuits extra crunchy. If you don't have cornflour it is not essential, simply use extra plain flour instead.
Flour, cornflour, caster sugar, butter and fresh lavender.

How to make lavender shortbread

Pick a handful of lavender flowers and collect the florets by gently pulling each floret from the flower head one at a time.

A pile of lavender florets and a single stem of fresh lavender.

Place the lavender florets in a food processor with the caster sugar and blitz for a few seconds.

Lavender florets and sugar in a food processor.

Place the butter in a large bowl, add the sugar and lavender flowers and cream together using a wooden spoon. Alternatively, the butter can be added to the sugar and lavender in the food processor to mix before transferring to a large bowl.

Add the flour and cornflour to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix. Finish off by combining the dough with you hands to form a single mass.

Roll out the shortbread dough on a pastry board to a thickness of half a centimetre (about a quarter of an inch) and cut with a biscuit cutter or form biscuit shapes by hand. Place the biscuit shapes on non-stick baking parchment on a metal baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking to reduce the risk of the biscuits spreading while they cook.

To bake

Bake in batches at 150oC, 300oF, gas mark 2 until the biscuits just start to turn golden at the edges. The biscuits will still be quite pale when ready to be taken out of the oven. They may take around 10 - 20 minutes to cook but this will vary from oven to oven and batch to batch. Check regularly, say after 5 minutes, to avoid overcooking as the biscuits will cook quickly.

If you are baking the lavender biscuits in an Aga, place the tray on the grid on the floor of the roasting oven with the cold plain shelf on the second set of runners.

When the shortbread is cooked, remove from the oven and leave on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. The shortbread will be delicate and may break easily but will harden as it cools.

Four lavender shortbread biscuits and some fresh lavender flowers.

Tips

  1. If you are making biscuits of varying sizes I recommend cooking in batches of similar sized biscuits as they will have a similar baking time.
  2. Check the lavender shortbread regularly to avoid overcooking.
  3. The biscuits will still be soft when they are ready to be taken from the oven. They will harden and set as they cool down.
  4. The shortbread biscuits will stay fresh for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container. If you plan to keep them any longer it is better to freeze them and defrost as needed.
  5. The unbaked shortbread dough can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days before rolling out and baking.
  6. If you want to make vegan shortbread use a plant based margarine can be used instead of butter.
  7. If you don't have cornflour you could use an extra 50g flour instead. The cornflour isn't essential but helps create crunchier biscuits.

FAQs

What is the secret to good shortbread?

I think the secret to good shortbread is the addition of cornflour. Cornflour makes the biscuits extra crunchy and gives them that melt in your mouth quality.

Can you freeze shortbread?

Yes, shortbread biscuits can be frozen in an airtight container for several weeks. The unbaked shortbread dough can also be frozen prior to baking.

Other shortbread recipes

If you enjoy shortbread why not try one of these other shortbread variations?

  • Lemon and poppy seed shortbread biscuits
    Lemon shortbread cookies with poppy seeds
  • Cherry shortbread biscuits
    Cherry shortbread cookies with glacé cherries
  • Walnut shortbread biscuits
    Walnut shortbread biscuits (wholemeal shortbread)
  • Raisin and spice shortbread biscuits
    Fruit shortbread with mixed spice
Lavender shortbread biscuits

Lavender shortbread

Lavender shortbread biscuits are buttery shortbread biscuits with hint of lavender and a light crunchy texture. They are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee and also make a welcome gift for family or friends. 
5 from 16 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Chill time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine British
Servings 22 biscuits
Calories 111 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 175 g butter at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoon lavender florets
  • 90 g caster sugar
  • 175 g flour plus extra for rolling out
  • 50 g cornflour

Instructions
 

  • Place the lavender florets and caster sugar in a food processor and blitz for a few seconds.
  • Transfer the lavender and sugar to a large bowl and add the butter. Cream together with a wooden spoon.
  • Sieve the flour and cornflour, add to the other ingredients and mix well.
  • Combine the dough with your hands to form a single mass.
  • Lightly flour a pastry board and roll out the dough to a thickness of half a centimetre (about quarter of an inch).
  • Form biscuit shapes with a cutter or by hand and place on a non stick baking parchment on a b baking tray.
  • Chill the uncooked biscuits for about 30 minutes.
  • Bake in batches at 150oC, 300oF, gas mark 2 until the biscuits just start to turn golden at the edges. The biscuits will still be quite pale when ready to be taken out of the oven. They may take around 10 - 20 minutes to cook but this will vary from oven to oven and batch to batch. Check regularly, say after 5 minutes, to avoid overcooking as the biscuits will cook quickly. 
  • Leave on the tray for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

  1. If you are making biscuits of varying sizes I recommend cooking in batches of similar sized biscuits as they will have a similar baking time.
  2. If you don't have fresh lavender flowers you could buy dried lavender flowers but make sure they are a type intended for culinary use.
  3. Check the lavender shortbread regularly to avoid overcooking.
  4. The biscuits will still be soft when they are ready to be taken from the oven. They will harden and set as they cool down.
  5. The shortbread biscuits will stay fresh for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container. If you plan to keep them any longer it is better to freeze them and defrost as needed.
  6. The unbaked shortbread dough can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days before rolling out and baking.
  7. If you want to make vegan shortbread, plant based margarine can be used instead of butter.
  8. If you don't have cornflour you could use an extra 50g flour instead. The cornflour isn't essential but helps create crunchier biscuits.

Nutrition

Calories: 111kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 52mgPotassium: 11mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 202IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Biscuits, Cookies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Giangi Townsend

    April 30, 2022 at 3:50 pm

    5 stars
    Only 5 ingredients? LOVE it! I cannot wait to make it. Simple but I can only imagine how wonderful they taste.
    Thank you for sharing your inspiration.

    Reply
  2. Jeannie

    April 30, 2022 at 4:11 pm

    5 stars
    love how I can pair these lavander cookies with my coffee and easy to make.

    Reply
  3. Nicola Easterby

    April 30, 2022 at 4:27 pm

    5 stars
    Lavender is such a wonderful ingredient to add into baking! These sound divine, can't wait to try.

    Reply
  4. Michelle

    April 30, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    5 stars
    So beautiful! I made these with vegan butter and they turned out great 🙂

    Reply
  5. Kimberly

    April 30, 2022 at 5:26 pm

    These sound delicious!

    Reply
  6. Sean

    April 30, 2022 at 5:31 pm

    5 stars
    I just picked some lavender from my garden this morning and I know how I will use it!

    Reply
  7. Lisa

    April 30, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    5 stars
    We have a lavender farm in our town and this is a perfect recipe for their culinary lavender!

    Reply
  8. Shilpa

    May 01, 2022 at 7:51 am

    5 stars
    Loving these lavender cookies. Melt in mouth and so beautifully flavoured with lavender.

    Reply
  9. Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady

    May 01, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    5 stars
    What lovely cookies! These would be perfect for Mother's Day as part of a self care basket with tea and lotions.

    Reply
  10. Michelle

    May 02, 2022 at 2:14 am

    5 stars
    I absolutely LOVE lavender desserts. I cannot wait to try these cookies. They're perfect for spring!

    Reply
  11. nancy

    May 02, 2022 at 3:10 am

    5 stars
    beautiful cookies. the lavender was really elegant

    Reply
  12. Jacqui

    May 02, 2022 at 9:18 am

    5 stars
    I made this with dairy free butter instead of regular, but it turned out just fine! Such a simple yet addictive recipe

    Reply
  13. Melinda

    May 03, 2022 at 2:54 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve been looking for new ways to enjoy lavender but this is the first recipe I’ve found for shortbread cookies! There’s a lavender farm near our home. 🙂

    Reply
5 from 16 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Welcome to Veggie Ideas! I'm Judith and I created this site out of a love of good food, home cooking and a desire to share recipes so that others can enjoy them too. 

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