Shortbread has always screamed holiday to me! As we cozy up with the cooler days I start to turn my attention to cookies and I particularly love the not-too-sweet cookies like pizzelle, biscotti and shortbread. Maybe this is because they go so well with hot cocoa, or maybe they remind me of cooking in the kitchen with mom. In any event, I love these lemon rose shortbread cookies as a holiday treat for family or as a hostess gift.
All parts of the rose are edible – including rose hips and rose petals. If you are in an area where roses go dormant during the winter months, you can find edible flowers in many supermarkets, especially gourmet markets. If gathering the petals from your own or a neighbor’s garden, be sure that they have not been sprayed or treated.
Another option for these lemon rose shortbread cookies is to use candied rose petals. You can either make your own or purchase them. Making candied rose petals is very easy. After washing and drying your clean, unsprayed petals, just brush each petal individually with a clean brush in egg white, and then in superfine sugar to coat. Dry your candied rose petals on a cookie rack and use the same day.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup butter, softened (but not melted)
- 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs finely shredded lemon peel
- 1 Tbs rose water
- 1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Teaspoons finely snipped rose petals or candied rose petals
- Coarse sugar for garnish
Instructions for Lemon Rose Shortbread Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with a whisk or an electric mixer for about a minute. Add sugar until combined. Beat in the lemon peel and rose water. Next, beat in the flour in batches. Add the rose petals last. Using a spatula, scrape the sides and mix in any remaining flour.
Form the dough into a ball, kneading as you go until smooth.
- If rolling the dough out, use a lightly floured surface and roll to a 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters and cut to desired shapes. Sprinkle each cookie with the coarse sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes
- If you prefer to make true shortbread cookies, press the dough into a very lightly sprayed cookie pan until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick. Spread the dough with your fingers so that it is even across the entire surface, pressing it into the edges of the pan. After the shortbread is flat and a consistently even thickness, score it into squares with a fork or with a pastry wheel. You can become creative and make squares or pie shapes. These score lines are where you will be able to cut (or break) the shortbread into pieces after baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes, depending upon the thickness and your altitude.
Bake until the edges are just slightly browned. Remove the shortbread from the pan so that it does not keep cooking. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Stack cookies in pairs and tie with ribbon.
