Edible Flower Shortbread Cookies are beautiful and delightful melt-in-your-mouth cookies. They feature sweet lemon shortbread dipped in a sweet lemon vanilla bean glaze adorned with pressed flowers. This surprisingly simple recipe only requires a few steps and is perfect for hosting and gifting.
Celebrate Spring with these delicious floral cookies! The super bloom this year has got us jazzed about flowers and we couldn't resist adding them to our recipes. Edible flowers add the perfect light touch to other baked goods as well.
We love these cookies whenever we are in the mood for lemon shortbread but we want a little extra zing. Decorate your own batch with snapdragons, calendula, lavender, rose petals, pansies, marigolds, and more. Make them on your own or gift them to impress your friends and family!
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About Edible Flower Shortbread Cookies
- Texture - These buttery cookies have a firm exterior and crumbly interior. The flowers melt in your mouth.
- Flavor - The cookies are rich, lemony, and lightly sweet. The flowers add a light floral flavor.
- Time - It takes just 15 minutes to prepare the dough, 1 hour to chill it, about 12 minutes to bake, and just a few minutes to whisk the glaze.
- Effort - These easy cookies cookies require minimal effort. All you need to do is mix the ingredients, chill the dough, bake the cookies, and whisk the glaze.
Ingredients
Edible Flower Cookies
- Edible flowers - Edible flowers often feature a mix of marigold, snapdragons, calendula, rose petals, lavender, mint, and more. You can buy them at most local grocery stores or order them online.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar provides sweetness in the cookies.
- Lemon zest and lemon juice - Fresh lemon juice and zest add brightness to the cookies.
- Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract adds complexity and sweetness to the dough.
- Butter - Butter provides richness. We prefer European butter because it has a higher fat content resulting in a crisper, more buttery cookie.
- All purpose flour - All purpose flour is the foundation for the cookies.
- Kosher salt - Kosher salt accentuates the rich flavor of the cookies.
Lemon Glaze
- Powdered sugar - Powdered sugar is the glaze's sweet base.
- Lemon juice and zest - Lemon juice and zest provide the bright lemon flavoring.
- Vanilla bean paste - Vanilla bean paste adds a decadent vanilla flavor to the glaze.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Lavender shortbread cookies - Add lavender syrup for an extra floral accent.
- Nuts - Add chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts to the dough for a hearty and rich crunch.
- No glaze - Omit the lemon glaze for a lighter and purer edible flower shortbread cookie.
Instructions
- Remove stems - First, gently remove the green stems from each flower. (Photo 1)
- Place on parchment paper - Place on a sheet of parchment paper with space between each flower. (Photo 2)
- Press flowers - Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and place a heavy book on top to press out the moisture. Alternatively, open a heavy book and place the parchment paper between two pages, then place an additional book or heavy object on top. Allow to press for 1-2 hours. (Photo 3 and 4)
- Cream butter - In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer and cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then use a silicone baking spatula and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl walls to bring the butter mixture to the center of the bowl. (Photo 5 and 6)
- Combine ingredients - Reduce speed to low and add sifted flour and kosher salt and mix until the ingredients are just combined. (Photo 7 and 8)
- Roll the dough - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll with a rolling pin to create a ¼-½-inch sheet of dough, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Photo 9 and 10)
- Cut cookies - Use a cookie cutter of choice and cut the dough. Then form the excess dough into a ball, roll it out into a sheet again, and cut with the cookie cutter. Continue until all the dough is used. Finally, place the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Photo 11 and 12)
- Heat oven and bake - Once the cookie dough is cut and ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and bake for 10-14 minutes. When done, the edges will be lightly browned. Finally, remove from the oven and let cool.
- Whisk glaze - In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste until it forms a smooth glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice. (Photo 13)
- Glaze cookies - Then, dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, allow the excess glaze to drip into the bowl, and place each cookie on a wire rack. (Photo 14)
- Add flowers - While the glaze is still wet, gently place pressed flowers on each cookie. Then use chopsticks or tweezers to gently tap the flowers so they adhere to the glaze. Finally, allow the glaze to set and dry. (Photo 15 and 16)
Note - This recipe makes 21 3-inch cookies or 40 1½-inch cookies. The number of cookies varies depending on the size of the cookie cutter. Remember that the smaller the cookie, the shorter the bake time.
Storage
Store these flower cookies in an air-tight container and keep in a cool, dry place for up to 7 days. Let cookies cool completely before you store them in a container to ensure the cookies maintain their crumbly texture. The steam from hot cookies will result in soft cookies cookies inside of the container.
You can also freeze the cookies for up to 1 month. To freeze, let the cookies reach room temperature then place them in a freezer friendly storage bag, press out the air, and seal them. When you are ready to enjoy them again, thaw them in the fridge or on the counter.
Baking Tips
- Don't over-mix the dough. This ensures the cookies spread evenly and have a light texture. Over-mixing will make the cookies tough and dense.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour to ensure the dough solidifies and the cookies don't spread too much. If the dough still feels too soft after 1 hour, pop it back in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes.
- Use an aluminum baking sheet for even heating and line the baking sheet with parchment paper to minimize sticking and cleanup time.
- Bake on the middle rack for even baking. If baking more than one sheet of cookies, place the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking to ensure the cookies bake evenly.
Recipe FAQs
You can use a variety of flowers for edible flower cookies. But our favorites are marigolds, lavender, snapdragons, and rose petals. Some other popular flowers are chamomile and pansies.
You need to handle the flowers delicately and add them at the right time. For our recipe, wait until the cookie glaze is set, then use chopsticks or tweezers to gently add the flowers to the cookies.
Edible flowers can be found at most local grocery stores in the produce section. They can also be found at farmers markets, online, or grow your own.
Yes, you can use edible flowers with most cookie recipes. However, we recommend pairing edible flowers with a mild flavored cookie recipe like shortbread or sugar cookies. If a recipe is already richly flavored, it may overpower the floral flavor.
First, use high-quality ingredients to ensure that the shortbread has a decadent and buttery flavor. Second, don't overwork the dough or it won't have the signature crumbly texture. Finally, you need to use the proper ratio of sugar, butter, and flour (1, 2, 3).
Shortbread should be the perfect balance of crunchy and soft. It should be slightly crunchy when you bite into it but tender and crumbly on the inside.
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📖 Recipe
Edible Flower Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookies
- ½ cup edible flowers about 18 grams
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest or zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
Instructions
- Press flowers - Gently remove the green stems from each flower. Place on a sheet of parchment paper with space between each flower. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and place a heavy book on top to press out the moisture. Alternatively, open a heavy book and place the parchment paper between two pages, then place an additional book or heavy object on top. Allow to press for 1-2 hours.½ cup edible flowers
- Cream butter - In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer and cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Use a silicone baking spatula and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl walls to bring the butter mixture to the center of the bowl.1 cup butter, ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 4 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Combine ingredients - Reduce speed to low and add sifted flour and kosher salt and mix until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over-mix the dough.3 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Roll the dough (cookie cutter) - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll with a rolling pin to create a ¼-½-inch sheet of dough, then refrigerate for at least 1 an hour. Use a cookie cutter of choice and cut the dough. Form the excess dough into a ball, roll it out into a sheet again, and cut with the cookie cutter. Continue until all the dough is used. Place the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with about 2 inches between each cookie.
- Roll the dough (roll and slice) - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough into a 1½ to 2-inch wide log, wrap tightly, and twist the ends. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Slice into ¼-½-inch cookies and place them onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with about 2 inches between each cookie.
- Heat oven and bake - Once the cookie dough is cut and ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 10-14 minutes. The edges will be lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Whisk glaze - In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste until it forms a smooth glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar; if the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice.1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Glaze cookies - Dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, allow the excess glaze to drip into the bowl, and place each cookie on a wire rack. While the glaze is still wet, gently place edible flowers on each cookie. Use chopsticks or tweezers to gently tap the flowers so they adhere to the glaze. Allow the glaze to set and dry.
Video
Notes
Baking Tips
- This recipe makes 21 3-inch cookies or 40 1½-inch cookies. The number of cookies will vary depending on the size of the cookie cutter. The smaller the cookie, the shorter the bake time.
- Don't over-mix the dough or the cookies will be tough and dense.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour to ensure the dough solidifies and the cookies don't spread too much. If the dough still feels too soft after 1 hour, pop it back in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes.
- Use an aluminum baking sheet for even heating and line the baking sheet with parchment paper to minimize sticking and cleanup time.
- Bake on the middle rack for even baking. If baking more than one sheet of cookies, place the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through.
- Press and dry edible flowers the day before for even quicker prep.
Storage
- Store cookies in an air-tight container and keep in a cool, dry place for up to 7 days. Let cookies cool completely before you store them in a container to ensure the cookies maintain their crumbly texture. You can also freeze the cookies for up to 1 month. To freeze, let the cookies reach room temperature then place them in a freezer friendly storage bag, press out the air, and seal them. When you are ready to enjoy them again, thaw them in the fridge or on the counter.
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