Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread

Spring strangely feels like spring this year. Why is it strange? It is because typically in Georgia the weather goes directly from winter to summer. You wear a jacket one day and sleeveless shirt the next. Mother Nature decided to give us a beautiful season. Peonies are still blooming along with others that are usually bloomed out by now. One way to celebrate the lovely flowers is with baking. Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread was inspired by some of them blooming now in my garden.

The recipe was another one on my to-bake list for years. I adore real lavender fragrance (as in from the flowers and not the manufactured kind like in soaps and air fresheners). What I didn’t know until a few years ago was that lavender is edible. I saw a recipe for lavender cookies and was intrigued. It was filed away in the to-do pile until now. I dug it out after the announcement of Flowers being the May Creative Cookie Exchange theme and seeing the gorgeous blooms in front of my house.

Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread combines floral and earthy flavors. Poppy seeds add a bit of crunchy texture to the buttery, fragrant shortbread. The recipe started out as rolled and cutout cookies. However the dough was too crumbly to roll and it fell apart. I had to go back to the drawing board and work out the process. It wound up being wedges of shortbread made by pressing the dough into a tart pan.

The recipe has a chain of adaption. Mine is adapted from Lavender Shortbread Cookies I saw on Big Fat Baker . I then found she adapted it from Joy the Baker who adapted it from the book Party Like a Culinista. Part of my method was adapted from a shortbread recipe in Martha Stewart’s Cookies. (Links to books are affiliate links that take you to Amazon where you can purchase them).

Do you enjoy flowers and cookies? I’m sure you do. Scroll down to find more recipes by bakers participating in the Creative Cookie Exchange. It’s such a tasty virtual cookie swap. In addition, there are my Lime Sugar Cookies that also celebrate flowers and the spring season.

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Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread

A recipe for Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread. Dried lavender flowers and poppy seeds give both floral and earthy flavors to buttery shortbread.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Author Renee

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar divided
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or cream

Instructions

1. Lightly grease a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. Grind the lavender, 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, and lemon zest in a spice or coffee grinder until it is a finely ground (like a powder).
3. Beat the butter, lavender powder, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Whisk together flour, poppy seeds, and salt in a medium bowl. Add to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Mixture will be crumbly.
5. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and press down very firmly with your hands. Smooth out as much as possible.
6. Chill the dough in the pan covered with plastic wrap for 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
8. Remove and discard plastic wrap. Use a heat-proof 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter to cut a round from the center. Discard dough round and put cutter back in the center.
9. Use a wooden skewer to prick holes in 1/4-inch increments all over the dough.
10. Lightly brush the top with milk or cream. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
11. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown and firm in the center.
12. Immediately after removing shortbread from the oven, use a paring knife to slice into 12 wedges. Do not wait to slice after they have cooled.
13. Let shortbread cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
14. Remove shortbread from the pan. You may need to cut again to break apart the wedges.
15. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe Notes

A recipe for Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread. Dried lavender flowers and poppy seeds give both floral and earthy flavors to buttery shortbread.

The Creative Cooke Exchange theme this month is May Flowers! All that snow and rain has to lead to something, right!? If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura via email (thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com) and she will get you added to our Facebook group where we coordinate events.

You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Facebook page, our Pinterest Board, and our monthly posts. You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:

• Orange Blossom Honey Madeleines from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
• Flower Cookies from A Baker’s House
• Rose-Lemon Meltaways from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Lebanese Pistachio Cookies with Orange Blossom Water from The Spiced Life
• Lemon Persian Rose Shortbread from Noshing with the Nolands
• Lavender Poppy Seed Shortbread from Magnolia Days
• Hibiscus Sugar Cookies with Hibiscus Syrup from Food Lust People Love