Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Topped with a generous amount of sparkling sugar, these Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies are a unique addition to any holiday cookie platter!
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Remember how I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my wife and I recently piled in the car with one of our good friends for a quick whale watching weekend on the Massachusetts coast? Well, following our epic whale watching trip on Saturday afternoon, we ended up roaming around Salem, Mass. for several hours on Sunday morning before coming back home. Aside from witches, ghosts and other spooky things, Salem also has some pretty darned cool shops.
Oh, and Salem has a pretty darned cool bakery, too. We noticed this bakery had very high reviews on Yelp, and several people suggested their Honey Lavender Cookies. As soon as my wife heard lavender, she was hooked. We made our way over to the bakery for a mid-morning cookie snack. What? It was vacation. Mid-morning cookie snacks are totally allowed on vacation!
When we got back to town, I knew I wanted to try my hand at a similar style of cookie. I’ve been loving shortbread cookies lately, so I decided to whip up a batch of these Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies. Let’s just say they didn’t last very long in our house!
What are your thoughts on lavender in baked goods? I used to be opposed to it as it brought a strange herbal taste to my desserts. But then I realized that I do indeed like lavender as a baking ingredient…I just need to use it sparingly. A little bit of lavender goes a long way. Honey is an excellent compliment to lavender so I brushed these cookies with a bit of honey syrup before they went into the oven.
But the real shining star of these cookies was the generous coating of sparkling sugar that I sprinkled on top. Have you ever wondered how bakeries make their cookies and other treats look so darned appetizing? Well, for starters, they make the cookies about twice the size of your hand. But they also use little tricks like sprinkling sparkling sugar on top of their cookies, muffins and other treats. Not only does the sugar make the finished product look awesome, but the slight crunch adds a whole new dimension to the texture.
The very top shelf of my baking cabinet is always stocked with sparkling sugar. I used to use sanding sugar, but my wife pointed out that the sugar was a bit too crunchy. Then I discovered Bob’s Red Mill’s sparkling sugar. And now that’s all I keep up there on that top shelf. Plus, I have several stores near me that carry Bob’s Red Mill products, so I can always swing by and pick up more when I run low. The holiday baking season is here, people…don’t run out of sparkling sugar!
I must admit that I’m a huge fan of these Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies. Since we aren’t currently on vacation, there haven’t been any mid-morning cookie snacks. However, we have been up at all hours of the night with our new son, so midnight cookie snacks have most definitely been in effect. There may also have been some 3am, 4am and 5am cookie snacks, too. Just sayin’. Yup, in case you missed that, our son Robert (Robbie) arrived last week. Mom and baby are doing great, and we’re back home settling into our new routine. And I’m hoping that new routine involves some sleep sometime soon!
Have you ever used sparkling sugar on your holiday cookies?
Lavender in baked goods: “heck yeah!” -or- “no way!”?
Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp dried lavender
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp hot water
- sparkling sugar
Instructions
- Using a countertop mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes on medium speed).
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, flour and lavender. Mix on low speed until a stiff dough forms. Cover dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll the dough out to ~1/2” thickness. Cut cookies into 2"x2" squares and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Using a small fork, prick the tops of the cookies in several places.
- Place sheet pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a small dish, whisk the honey and hot water together until well combined. Brush this mixture across the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle the top of each cookie generously with sparkling sugar.
- Bake at 325°F for 26-28 minutes, or until edges of cookies turn light brown.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and then sprinkle baked cookies generously with additional sparkling sugar. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack until completely cool.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.
The opinions and recipe are all my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
I love Salem and all their quirkly little shops. I just wish I could have spent more time there.
These cookies sound delicious too – lavender adds such a lovely hit of flavour too.
I didn’t realize you made it to Salem, Dannii! I’m glad you did though…it’s such a unique little town! And these cookies are indeed delicious. Lavender is a strong flavor, but just a hint of it with the honey is perfect! 🙂
Congratulations on your baby boy! How thrilling 🙂
I fell in love with lavender when I went backpacking through Provence. I had the most incredible lavender creme brulee and 8 years later I still dream about it. Since then lavender and I have been besties :p I just know I’ll love these cookies.
Wishing you, your wife, and baby lots and lots of sleep!
Thank you so much, Lauren! Baby Robert is awesome…but I sure would appreciate some additional sleep. But I’ll gladly deal with the sleepless nights! So lavender creme brulee, eh? That sounds awesome! I can see why you’d dream about that one for 8 years! Lavender is such a fun flavor to sneak into baked goods. Thank you, and happy (early) Thanksgiving!
Congratulations! I know this is a new adventure but it is an exciting one, minus the lack of sleep! 😉 What a beautiful combination of flavors!
Thank you so much, Nancy! You’re right…this is indeed a new adventure, and we’re off and running. (We sure as heck aren’t off and sleeping…haha!) At least we have tasty cookies to keep us going, right? 🙂
How did I miss that your baby was born last week?? CONGRATULATIONS!! I envy you, I so want another baby.. sleepless nights and all 😉
ps. love the honey & lavender shortbread cookies!! (my favourite cookie of all time)
Oh, you didn’t miss anything, Johlene! I haven’t posted any pictures or anything yet…we’re just trying to get our feet under us at this point. 🙂 You sure about that? Another baby even with the sleepless nights? Haha! These nights are killers, but I’ll gladly put up with these nights in exchange for that little bundle of baby. And yes, honey + lavender = win! Thank you so much!
David! I don’t know how did we survived with out yelp early on. I used to live in a small town in the south of France called Aix-en Provence and lavender is a big thing for them; they use it for everything! This cookies look great! You are such a great baker!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Gaila! I have always wanted to visit southern France…but for now, it’s still on my bucket list. Honey + lavender is such a delicious combination. 🙂
Thanks for posting this recipe. I love lavender!
Where did you purchase the dried lavender ?
Hey Dinna! My wife actually picked this lavender up for me, and I don’t know where she got it. But you can find lavender at any spice store (like Penzey’s) or your best bet is probably just ordering it online (Amazon). A little bit goes a long way, though, so you don’t need to order too much! I hope you enjoy these cookies as much we did. 🙂
Congrats again David – but nothing like cookies and coffee to keep you fueled through mid morning and mid night diaper changes -eh?! Especially when those cookies look as adorable as these do! I did not know Bob’s Red Mill sold sparkling sugar so thanks for that tidbit! Though I must admit, when I saw “lavender” for a second I thought Ben had taken over your blog for the day! Happy Thanksgiving to you, Mrs and baby Spiced!
Cookies and coffee galore are needed to get through these late nights! Sparkling sugar is my secret weapon when it comes to fancy baked goods. I always keep a stash of it in my pantry! Haha…I know, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ben when I wrote up this post. I was like, “Ben will be so proud of me…haha” Thanks, Shashi!
The flavors sound beautiful David! And wow how did I miss this!! Congratulations you guys, that’s wonderful! So glad to hear that mom and baby are doing well, much love to all of you!
You didn’t miss anything at all, Manali I just haven’t posted any photos or anything yet as we’re still trying to get our feet under us. Soon enough, though! I really appreciate your kind words! 🙂
Congratulations Dave on your new baby!! Sounds like you has fun in Salem! These cookies look amazing…love how they have lavender in them…so unique! 🙂
Lavender is a really fun ingredient to use in baking! I just have to use it sparingly as it’s pretty potent. But honey + lavender is an excellent combination in my opinion! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi David! Like Shashi I thought Ben was involved here! Hands down I would choose shortbread every time! I thought middle of the night cookie attacks were normal! Let the in-laws take turns with Robbie during the day so you two can catnap! 🙂
Oh, we are most definitely letting the in-laws help out. Mom-in-law is currently rocking lil Robbie to sleep while I catch up on work and Laura catches up on some winks. It’s crazy around here these days, but at least we have cookies! (Although if Ben was around, the cookies would probably be gone by now…) 🙂
Oh my goodness, David! Am I dreaming? Lavender? On your blog? I really am speechless! (a bit of drama won’t hurt, right? Sure I remember you mentioned some lavender stuff you might have got). These cookies are fantastic. Glad that you combined lavender with honey and this sugar toping. This realy lifts these cookies up to another level. Approved. Mark this day in the calendar. We’ll be celebrating it every year now. And how could I miss your news? Congrats on your arrival! Is it a sign that you put together in one post these two things, eh? I bet yes! Let’s hope Spicedblog Junior would love lavender much stronger than his father. Imagine receiving lavender cakes on all holidays?:)
So you finally guilted me into it, Ben. I had to break down and post something with lavender. Haha! And the fact that these cookies earned the Ben Seal of Approval? That’s legit! Maybe we’ll have to declare Nov 24 to be Spiced Lavender Day…it’ll be the one day each year that I break down and include lavender in a recipe. Haha! You didn’t miss any news at all…I just haven’t had time to post a proper picture of the little guy yet. Soon enough, though! Thank you so much! 🙂
I have to admit, I’ve never actually had lavender in any sort of dish….but the idea intrigues me! Congrats on the new baby….something to truly be thankful for!
So lavender is a really interesting flavor to use in baked goods, Kathy. I find it to be pretty potent, though, so I use it pretty sparingly. But honey + lavender is a great combination. And thank you so much for the kind words. We truly do have something to be thankful for this year! (Now if only the little guy would start letting us get some sleep…haha)
I was wondering when your son was going to make his entrance. Congratulations! I wish you and your family all the best. But, down to business … mid-morning snack has got to stay! You’re going to need your energy, now that you won’t be sleeping more than a few hours at a time.
Yup, the little guy is here in all his glory! And he loves hanging out with us in the middle of the night. It’;s like his favorite time of the day. He sleeps like a champ all day long, and then wants to hang out all night. We gotta get his internal clock checked out! Thanks, Jeff…and happy Thanksgiving, man!
David I love all sugar crusted cookies and then these have lavender! So these might just become my favorite cookies!! Love the way you photographed them too!
I couldn’t agree more, Ami! The sugar crust on cookies is my favorite part! Thank you so much, and Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
No, I’ve never used sparkling sugar on my cookies, but you’ve given me a 100 reasons why I should! Your cookies have totally awakened my inner cookie monster, you know we all have one ya know?! 🙂 BTW- Beautiful presentation!
Oh my gosh…it’s going to change everything, Tonya! That extra little sprinkle of sparkling sugar makes a world of difference in both taste and presentation. Give it a shot! And I definitely have an inner cookie monster. In fact, I like to say that my diet is the cookie monster diet. 🙂
Congrats!!!! This is a great recipe btw! Perf way to celebrate! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving btw!
Thank you so much, Cailee! I hope you are having an awesome Thanksgiving yourself! 🙂
Congratulations to you both for the arrival of Robbie! How cool is that?! Awesome news Dave and glad to hear everyone is well.
Lavender is a fantastic flavoring and one I don’t use that often. I am sure Ben is drooling over these. I love a good shortbread cookie and that finishing sugar on top is perfect. Love that crunch! #WolfPackBakery
Thanks, Kevin! Yup, everyone is doing well here…although Mom and Dad are just a wee bit (i.e. VERY) tired right now. I’m with ya on lavender. It’s a fun flavor to use, although I have to use it very sparingly. I’m sure I can send any leftover lavender to Ben, though. Haha! 🙂
I love shortbread cookies and I love adding different ingredients to my basic recipe to change things up. I will say I an skeptical of using lavender while baking because of one recipe I made with it. I was not a fan of the flavor, but like you mentioned it may have been that I used too much lavender. I will give it a try again in another recipe. I also like that you mentioned using sanding or sparkling sugar. I use it on my muffins now and it makes them look so pretty! I found the sugar in TJ Maxx of all places and was looking for another for the sugar again but couldn’t find it. Thanks for sharing that Red Mill has a sparkling sugar. I will have to see if it’s in my grocery store here.
Yeah, I’m with you here, Tamara! I’ve played around with lavender before, and it was just wayyy too overpowering. I only used 3/4 teaspoon of lavender in this recipe, and there’s still a noticeable lavender flavor. It’s crazy how strong that stuff is! Yeah, I’ve seen sparkling sugar in TJ Maxx before, too…but it’s hit or miss. Now I know I can always find it thanks to Bob’s…and they have a handy dandy product finder on their webpage. It really is my secret trick when it comes to baking cookies and muffins!