I love shortbread, and there’s nothing better than homemade shortbread. This recipe makes wonderful sweet and crisp biscuits to fill the biscuit tin (if they don’t all get eaten first!)
This week I decided to make shortbread biscuits, partly as a way to make use of some of the beautiful lavender flowers and new rosemary growth in the garden.
Lavender adds a lovely unusual perfume to these sweet and crisp shortbread and makes them feel really summery.
So, if you are looking for a sweet treat for your afternoon tea or coffee or to welcome visitors give my Sweet and Crisp Summer Shortbread with rosemary or lavender a go!
Sweet and Crisp Summer Shortbread
Using fresh herbs and edible flowers from your garden, you can make this quick and simple summery shortbread to delight your family or visitors.
Ingredients
- 150 g plain flour
- 100 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 50 g caster sugar
- 2 sprigs of lavender, flowers removed from stems (I used purple, but white or pink would also work)
- 1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C. Make sure your oven has time to reach this temperature before baking your biscuits.
- Add the flour and cubed butter to a large mixing bowl. Rub together using your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar to the mixture and stir to combine.
- At this stage, you can make a single batch of shortbread. If you want to use just one flavouring, double the quantity of either the rosemary or lavender in the ingredients list. I split this batch and made half and half. If you want to split it, do so now, and separate the mixture into two bowls.
- Ad the lavender flowers or chopped rosemary and stir to mix.
- Using your hands, bring the mixture together into a dough. It will be quite dry and crumbly but try and press it together as much as you can.
- Turn the dough onto a clean, lightly floured work surface.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle, approximately 1/2 cm thick. Cut into even fingers and place onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
- Repeat steps 5-8 if you have split your batches.
- Chill in the fridge for around 20 mins, then remove and place in the centre of your preheated oven.
- The biscuits are done when they are lightly golden but not browned; this takes around 20 mins.
- Leave the biscuits to cool on a wire rack (you can slide the parchment off the tray with the biscuits on instead of removing the individual biscuits).
- Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!
Notes
Be careful not to add too much rosemary or lavender, as both are quite strongly flavoured.
You can use shaped cutters instead of cutting into fingers if you prefer. I have done both with great results.
The shortbread can also be made without flavourings, or with other herbs such as time, or orange or lemon zest.
This sounds fantastic! Bookmarking so I can try this later.
Visiting today from Hearth & Soul #5&6
I hope you enjoy them! Let me know how you get on.
They look and sound delicious. xx