Dried culinary lavender and fresh lemon zest give these pretty cookies, sandwiched with a luscious lemon buttercream, bright taste.
Lemon-Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Serves: approximately 20
Ingredients
- 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 3 1⁄2 teaspoons dried culinary-grade lavender, divided
- 1 3⁄4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Lemon Curd Buttercream (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line several rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the work bowl of a spice blender, combine 2 teaspoons granulated sugar and 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dried lavender. Pulse until lavender is broken into smaller pieces and almost smooth. Combine lavender sugar with remaining sugar, stirring until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, lemon zest, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and 1⁄2 cup lavender sugar with a mixer at low speed and gradually increasing to high, until light and creamy. Beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture, in 2 additions, beating until well incorporated.
- Divide dough into 2 portions, flatten each portion into a disk, and wrap securely in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until dough is hard but still soft enough to roll out, approximately 1 hour.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough disk to a 1⁄8-inch thickness. Crush remaining 2 teaspoons lavender, and sprinkle 1 teaspoon crushed lavender onto each dough disk, incorporating it into the dough as it is rolled out. Using a 1 3⁄4-inch fluted round cutter, cut as many rounds from dough as possible. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle tops of cookies with remaining lavender sugar. Freeze for 20 minutes to prevent cookies from spreading as they bake.
- Bake cookies until set and lightly golden brown around edges, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Place Lemon Curd Buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a medium open-star tip (Wilton #32). Pipe buttercream onto flat surface of half of cookies, outlining edges and then filling in centers. Top with remaining cookies, flat side down. Place cookies in an airtight container and refrigerate until needed, up to a day.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: Bake cookies up to a month in advance and freeze (unfilled) in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper until needed. Let thaw before using. Fill and assemble cookies just before serving.
Lemon Curd Buttercream
Serves: 1 cup
Store-bought lemon curd gives basic buttercream marvelous zip. Use for a filling for sandwich cookies or to top your favorite cupcakes.
Ingredients
- 1⁄3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 1⁄4 cup prepared lemon curd
- 1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and creamy, stopping to scrape sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, 1 cup at a time, until well incorporated, approximately 2 minutes, stop- ping to scrape sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Beat in curd and salt until mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes more. Use immediately.
