Chamomile Shortbread Cookies
Rich, buttery chamomile shortbread cookies made with salted butter and whole flower buds, dusted with a fine chamomile sugar.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Chamomile Shortbread
- 9 ounces salted butter very soft
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tablespoons dried chamomile
Chamomile Sugar
- 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1 tablespoon 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. 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.
- Allow cookies to cool for about 10 minutes before applying chamomile sugar.
For chamomile sugar:
- Combine sugar and chamomile until thoroughly mixed.
- Sprinkle chamomile sugar lightly over freshly baked cookies.
Notes
*Need ground chamomile? Open a bag of pure chamomile tea or grind it yourself using a spice grinder or mortal and pestle.
Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.