Flower-pressed and oh-so-pretty, these shortbread cookies are the dreamiest. A buttery dough with crisp edges and a tender, melt-in-the-mouth crumb, each one pressed with edible flowers before baking. Powdered sugar gives the cookies their softness, with a small spoonful of sourdough discard adding tenderness beneath the butter.
This recipe is fairly adaptable to your garden and pantry, shaped by whatever is blooming, fragrant, and close at hand. The seeds from a fresh vanilla bean, orange blossom or rosewater. Cardamom, lemon zest, matcha, or the tea of your choice.
Ingredients You’ll Need for These Whimsical Flower Cookies
Butter. Unsalted and room temperature.
Powdered Sugar. Gives the cookies their melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and a light crispness.
Egg Yolks. Rich flavor and structure for the dough.
Sourdough Discard. Optional, but lovely here — it adds softness and a gentle tang.
Salt. Balances the sweetness and sharpens the flavors.
All-Purpose Flour. Hayden Flour Mills all-purpose Sonora is my go-to.
Edible Flowers. Unsprayed. I grow most of my own or source them from the farmers’ market. Pansies are a favorite, along with violets, lilacs, jasmine, borage, and marigolds.
Additional flavoring
Extracts: rosewater, orange blossom, vanilla, almond.
Spices: cardamom, tonka bean, chai spice, the seeds from a scraped vanilla bean.
Florals: finely ground lavender, dried chamomile.
Tea: finely ground black tea, hojicha, oolong, matcha.
Zested citrus: lemon, orange.
In the cooler months, warming spices work especially well, and you can replace a small portion of the flour with spelt or rye for a deeper, more grounding flavor.
Baker Notes
These cookies benefit from a little planning ahead. I like to make the dough, roll it out, and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (see baking schedule below). A longer rest deepens the flavor and makes the dough easier to work with.
Freezing the cut cookies after the flowers are pressed helps preserve their color and keeps the cookies from spreading as they bake.
Baking Schedule
Long-Fermented Flower Cookies
Day 1
Make the shortbread dough, roll between two sheets of parchment, and refrigerate overnight.
Day 2
Press the flowers, cut the cookies, and freeze overnight.
Day 3
Bake the cookies.
Same-Day Flower Cookies
Make the dough, roll between two sheets of parchment, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Press the flowers, cut the cookies, and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Bake.
Sourdough Flower Cookies
Description
makes about 16 cookies
Ingredients
Sourdough Flower Cookies
1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60g) confectioners sugar
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 g) sourdough discard (optional)
2.5 cups (300g) all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
edible flowers: pansies, lilacs, jasmine, marigold, violets, borage…
Flavor of choice
seeds from a vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange blossom, rose water
1 teaspoon citrus zest
1 tablespoons finely ground tea or matcha powder
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, both sugars, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the yolks, discard and vanilla and mix until combined. On low speed add the flour and mix until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Place the dough on a large sheet of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment on top and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick . Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 1-24 hours, this allows the dough to firm up. . A longer refrigeration time ferments the dough making it easier to digest.
- Remove the top piece of parchment paper and lightly press a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to make an outline for the cookies. Decorate with flowers and replace the parchment on top. Gently roll to adhere the flowers to the dough. Remove the parchment and cut out the cookies.
- Place the parchment on a baking sheet and freeze for a few hours, preferably overnight.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F
- Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet pan, leaving 1/4-inch space between them. Lightly sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 12-16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway. Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
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