My lemon lavender cookies are so yummy, if spring had a flavor, this would be it! A delicate butter cookie with hints of lemon and fresh lavender, they're the perfect pairing with a cup of tea.
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These cookies are delicious any time of year, but if you're looking for a reminder of the warm months of spring and summer, you've found it in my lemon lavender cookies. The light citrus notes combined with just a hint of floral lavender is a match made in heaven. And the texture of the cookie is quite delicate yet soft. All of these lovely elements make it the perfect tea cookie.
Imagine snuggling up on the couch with a good book or a skein of yarn, sipping tea and nibbling on these little bites of heaven. Or sitting in an adirondack chair on the porch, basking in the warm sun like a sleepy, happy cat, with the scent and flavor of bright lemon and herbal lavender in a sweet little cookie. So relaxing...
I love a tangy lemony dessert, like lemon blackberry bread or lemon meringue pie, but I also love a good cookie combo. Whether it's my soft & chewy oatmeal raisin cookies or chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of cold milk, or coffee bean cookies with a hot cuppa joe, or biscoff butter cookies with, well, anything at all. Cookies are happiness. Period.
π Equipment
- Either aΒ mortar and pestleΒ orΒ food processorΒ is used to grind the lemon zest and lavender together to release the oils, to get the most flavor possible.
- Rolling pinΒ -Β We'll be rolling out the dough before cutting it into shapes.
- Cookie cutter -Β You can certainly get creative with this one. If you have some pretty flower shaped cookie cutters, definitely use those! But you can also use any other shape, or a drinking glass turned upside down, or even a pizza cutter (that's what I used).
π§Ύ Ingredients
These are all common pantry ingredients, with the exception of lavender. But if you don't have fresh lavender handy in your herb garden, no worries, I've got you covered.
- Butter -Β Salted butter at room temperature is perfect for creaming together with the sugar.
- Powdered sugar -Β I chose to use powdered sugar in this recipe because it lends to a much softer texture in the finished cookie.
- Egg -Β Just one large egg is all you need.
- Vanilla extract -Β AΒ mustΒ ingredient in nearly every baked good.
- Honey -Β No need to spend lots of money on an expensive honey since it's going to be baked into a cookie. Any regular honey from the grocery store will do. I like to save the fancy honeys for spreading on toast.
- Lavender -Β If it's the right time of year and you have fresh lavender growing in your herb garden, perfect! But if not, that's fine too. You can find a lovely organic lavender online. And we'll only be using a tiny bit, so you'll have plenty left over for adding to other baked goods, lemonade, or even potpourri.
- Lemon zest -Β Just a little lemon zest to give these cookies a bright flavor.
- Flour -Β All purpose flour is used in this cookie recipe.
- Baking powder -Β While the cookies don't rise very much while baking, it's still a necessary ingredient.
- Salt -Β Regular table salt, to keep things simple and easy.
See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.
π₯£ Make the cookie dough
First, cream together butter and sugar. Then, add egg, vanilla extract, and honey, and mix well.
Using either a mortar and pestle or a food processor, grind together the lemon zest and lavender until the aromas of both ingredients are released through the oils. In a food processor, this will take just a moment, but if using a mortar and pestle, it will take a minute or two.
Add the lemon zest/lavender mixture to the bowl with the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and honey, and mix until it's evenly distributed throughout.
In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry to wet ingredients and mix.
β Chill out
Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about an hour. It will be easier to roll out the dough once it's chilled a bit, plus this chilling helps the cookies keep their shape during baking.
πͺ Roll with it
Once the dough has chilled for a while, it's time to get rolling.
Preheat oven to 350β.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it's just slightly less than ΒΌ" thick.
Next, cut out the cookies in any shape you'd like and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
β Hint: Be sure to flour both your countertop and rolling pin so the dough doesn't stick to the counter. It may also help to flip over the rolled out dough after you've halfway rolled it out, to make sure both sides are floured. Working somewhat quickly helps too, before the dough gets too warm.
β²οΈ Bake
Bake on the center rack of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. They won't brown like many other cookies and the color actually won't change much, aside from maybe just a little golden hint at the edges.
Let cool and enjoy with a hot cup of tea!
π§Ί Storage
When kept in an airtight container at room temperature, these lemon lavender cookies will stay delicious for up to a week.
β FAQ
There are many different varieties of the lavender plant (and lavandin). Some taste better than others. While some plants import lightly delicious herbal flavor in their lavender buds, others taste like soap. Yuck! When purchasing lavender in the store or online, it should be labeled culinary lavender.
And if you'd like to check if the plant that's growing in your garden is a tasty one, you can just taste it (which is the easiest way, of course). To learn more about what types of plants are best for eating and more info about the process that's used in harvesting and drying lavender for culinary uses, check out Sage Creations.
I recommend that you chill this dough for at least 1 hour, but you can also make it the night before and chill in the fridge overnight.
Do you love sweet treats as much as I do? Check out a few more of my recipes now!
- Coffee Bean Cookies
- Mom's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Biscoff Butter Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
- Matcha Crinkle Cookies
- Lemon Blackberry Bread with Lemon Glaze
- Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- Blondie Brownies
- Cinnamon Roll Donuts
- Sweet Cream Cold Foam (Starbucks Copycat Recipe)
Did you make these Lemon Lavender Cookies? Let us know in the comments below!
π Recipe
Lemon Lavender Cookies
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle or food processor
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, at room temperature
- ΒΎ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons dried lavender (culinary grade)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
- 2 ΒΌ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ΒΌ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- First, cream together butter and sugar.
- Then, add egg, vanilla extract, and honey, and mix well.
- Using either a mortar and pestle or a food processor, grind together the lemon zest and lavender until the aromas of both ingredients are released through the oils. In a food processor, this will take just a moment, but if using a mortar and pestle, it will take a minute or two.
- Add the lemon zest/lavender mixture to the bowl with the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and honey, and mix until it's evenly distributed throughout.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry to wet ingredients and mix.
- Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about an hour. It will be easier to roll out the dough once it's chilled a bit, plus this chilling helps the cookies keep their shape during baking.
- Once the dough has chilled for an hour, preheat oven to 350β.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it's just slightly less than ΒΌ" thick.
- Next, cut out the cookies in any shape you'd like and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. They won't brown like many other cookies and the color actually won't change much, aside from maybe just a little golden hint at the edges.
- Let cool and enjoy with a hot cup of tea!
Notes
- Rolling out the dough: Be sure to flour both your countertop and rolling pin so the dough doesn't stick to the counter. It may also help to flip over the rolled out dough after you've halfway rolled it out, to make sure both sides are floured. Working somewhat quickly helps too, before the dough gets too warm.Β
- What is culinary lavender? There are many different varieties of the lavender plant (and lavandin). Some taste better than others. While some plants import lightly delicious herbal flavor in their lavender buds, others taste like soap. Yuck! When purchasing lavender in the store or online, it should be labeledΒ culinaryΒ lavender. And if you'd like to check if the plant that's growing in your garden is a tasty one, you can just taste it (which is the easiest way, of course). To learn more about what types of plants are best for eating and more info about the process that's used in harvesting and drying lavender for culinary uses, check outΒ Sage Creations.
- How long can you chill homemade cookie dough? I recommend that you chill this dough for at least 1 hour, but you can also make it the night before and chill in the fridge overnight.
- Storage: When kept in an airtight container at room temperature, these lemon lavender cookies will stay delicious for up to a week.
- Suggestion: If you enjoy these, you're gonna love our coffee bean cookies!Β
Barbara
They have such a complex and sophisticated flavor profile, delicious! Thank you!
maplewoodroad
Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed them! π
Sara R.
Omg thank you. I bought a big bag of lavender from Costco and I didn't know what else to make with it. These were so yummy!
maplewoodroad
Perfect! Thank you! π