It may be my Scottish roots, but I adore a dry, buttery cookie that’s made almost entirely of butter and flour. Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Sandies, and any and all flavors of shortbread make my pastry-loving heart sing.
I’ve made many kinds of shortbread cookies over my decades of baking, and this is definitely one of my favorite versions. I love the subtle, unique flavor that the dried chamomile gives these cookies. I find it to be less overtly floral than other “tea” flowers, like lavender. To me, it’s reminiscent of fresh pineapple and citrus zest, the perfect flavor to complement a rich buttery cookie.
Why these cookies are awesome
There are only 6 ingredients required to make these cookies, and you’re likely to have all of them in your pantry, with the exception of chamomile (unless you’re a big tea drinker!).
Although it’s a very simple recipe, every ingredient has been extremely thought-through. There’s salted butter to temper the sweetness, powdered sugar for the lightest texture, and a lower amount of gluten in the flour to maximize tenderness.
Every time I make shortbread cookies, I always cut the all purpose flour with a bit of flour that doesn’t contain gluten. I call for brown rice flour in this recipe, but you could also choose cornstarch, white rice flour, or another similar starchy flour that doesn’t have a strong flavor.
To boost the lovely chamomile flavor, I like to sprinkle some chamomile sugar on top of the cookies. This is optional, but definitely gives them a nice flavor and texture!
My best tips for making these chamomile shortbread cookies
Shortbread cookies are very easy to make, but I do have quite a few tips to make the best version ever.
- Use super soft butter. Your butter should be warmer than room temperature, similar to the texture of mayonnaise.
- Cut the all purpose flour with brown rice flour or cornstarch. This limits gluten production, resulting in tender cookies.
- Don’t overwork the dough. Overworking the dough will result in tough cookies, and nobody wants tough shortbread!
- Chill the cookies before baking so they keep their shape. Warm cookies = warm butter = sloppily shaped cookies. For nice sharp edges, your cookies should go into the oven feeling cold and solid.
- Sprinkle your shortbread cookies with chamomile sugar after baking for the best flavor and texture!
With that, I’ve given you everything I can to make super successful cookies. Make these for yourself, take them to a neighbor, share them with a loved one, and enjoy!
If you give them a try, let me know in the comments!
Chamomile Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Chamomile Shortbread
- 9 ounces salted butter, very soft
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- 2 tablespoons dried chamomile, powdered or whole buds
Chamomile Sugar
- 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground chamomile**, see notes
Instructions
For the chamomile shortbread:
- In a large bowl, cream the butter with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until whipped, light, and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the salt and stir to incorporate. Add the powdered sugar; mix until combined.
- Sift together the flours and dried chamomile. (If using whole dry chamomile buds, grind them into a powder first. Remove any large pieces of stem that make it through the sifter, if necessary.)
- Add flour mix to butter mixture; stir just until combined.
- Roll dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4" inch thickness. Do NOT add flour – it will make the final texture of your cookies tough.
- Chill dough until firm, about 20 minutes.
- Cut out desired shapes. You can use a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or a fluted pastry wheel, like I did here. Re-roll any leftover dough scraps to cut more cookies as needed, but try to minimize re-rolling and shaping dough, as it will get tougher the more you work it.
- Chill cut cookies again until firm, at least 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 325° F while chilling.
- Bake until cookies are firm but not yet browning, about 12-15 minutes. Adjust cooking time if necessary, depending on cookie size (see notes).
- Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes before applying chamomile sugar.
For chamomile sugar:
- Combine sugar and chamomile until thoroughly mixed.
- Sprinkle chamomile sugar lightly over freshly baked cookies.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
