Lavender Shortbread Cookies Recipe: Easy Slice and Bake

I love these simple cookies as an Easter dessert recipe. Next time try these Earl Grey chocolate thumbprint cookies!

Table of Contents

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🥫 Storage
• 💭 Tips for success
• 📚 Related recipes
• 🥄 Equipment
• 📞 The last word
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

• easy slice & bake recipe
• freeze well
• perfect for baby showers and bridal showers

Slice and bake lavender cookies are buttery and sweet with a delicate lavender note.

The dough is made ahead and stored in the refrigerator to slice and bake as desired, or frozen for longer storage.

🧾 Ingredients

For these lavender shortbread cookies you'll need the following ingredients: 

• salted butter
• powdered sugar
• vanilla paste
• kosher salt
• all-purpose flour
• dried lavender flowers (culinary grade)

I especially like lavender in cookies. These easy shortbread cookies are lightly sweet and buttery with a delicate floral flavor.

They are as feminine and girly as cookies come and as welcome at Spring teas, parties, and showers as a string of heirloom pearls.

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

1. Add the lavender buds and milk to a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Drain.
2. Cream the butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the vanilla paste and salt; beat well.
4. Blend the flour and the lavender in a medium bowl; beat into the butter mixture.
5. Form into a roll and wrap in waxed paper then in plastic wrap. Chill.
6. Preheat the oven to 300F.
7. Roll the log of cookie dough in Confectioner’s sugar to coat the outside.
8. Slice ¼-inch thick slices and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.

🥫 Storage

Cool cookies completely on wire racks. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

You can also freeze these shortbread cookies baked or unbaked.

💭 Tips for success

• The key to cooking with lavender is to use it sparingly or else your food will taste like soap. A wonderful, hand-milled French soap but soap none-the-less. This is a wonderful buttery cookie with a subtle flavor when it's done right.
• The recipe is one of the few I've developed that NEEDS salted butter. It just makes the cookies taste better.
• Soaking the lavender buds in whole milk for 5 minutes or so before using them helps the flavor to really develop.
• You can grind the lavender if you wish. I just like how the purple flecks look in the cookies.
• Store your lavender in the freezer to keep it fresh.
• Add lavender buds to a couple of cups of sugar, cover, and store for a few days. You'll have a delicious lavender sugar that you can sprinkle on top of these cookies before baking, or stir into your tea.

📚 Related recipes

• These butterscotch oatmeal cookies were called Buckaroons when I was growing up. I have no idea why but they are one of my favorites to this day.
• 50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet is exactly that. If you're looking for cookies but not sure what you want check it out.
• Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookies are my go to recipe anytime I need a rolled sugar cookie.
• Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies are a kid-classic with a glass of milk.
• Cherry Slice and Bake Cookies are perfect for Christmas and Valentine's Day!

🥄 Equipment

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Culinary lavender can be tricky to find and when you do it is often REALLY expensive. I found it on Amazon for a lot less than anywhere else but you get a ton of it. No problem, it won't really go bad and you can use it in sachets and such.
Culinary Lavender lasts for a long time in the freezer and there are plenty of ways to use it.

Vanilla paste works better than vanilla extract in this recipe because it doesn't "water down" the dough but still gives a good vanilla flavor. You can use vanilla extract if you don't have the vanilla paste.

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas 4-oz. Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste

📞 The last word

If you aren't familiar with culinary lavender you're missing out. It's one of the main ingredients in Herbes de Provence, it is amazing with lamb or chicken, and it's fabulous in all kinds of side dishes and desserts.

When we had the tea room my daughter and I used lavender in baking and beverages as much as possible.

Not only is it kind of unique but it gives foods and drinks a wonderful tang that is almost lemony.

In fact, it's wonderful with lemon zest in almost anything. It goes with white chocolate, too, like in this lemon and lavender white chocolate truffle recipe.

Lavender shortbread cookies just taste like spring to me. They are light and feminine ... definitely tea-room worthy!

These are crumbly, buttery, and not too sweet just like classic shortbread cookies should be.

The light golden tops are spotted with pieces of lavender flowers and it's very pretty. They are always on my list for Easter but they would be wonderful at baby or bridal showers.

They'd work well at a Spring tea, too.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

How these Lavender Cookies ALMOST Killed the Photographer

I made these crumbly butter cookies as part of my Christmas cookie collection a few years ago. They were a hit.

Well, except when my daughter tried to kill the photographer with one.

Family Pictures Aren't Easy

You see, all of my kids were home for Christmas in 2015. This is no easy task because I had, at the time, eight kids, two kid-in-laws, and three grands. It's even more complicated because three of my kids are in the military.

We had not all been together at the same time in years and we hadn't been together for Christmas in at least a decade. Since everyone was together, (and I am pretty sure that took a special dispensation from God Himself) I wanted to get pictures done. Well, that posed two problems.

1. We never hire anyone to do pictures because both Erin and Matthew are talented photographers.
2. Since Chris and Ariel flew in on the 23 and out on the 26 the only day we could do it was Christmas Eve.

Luckily Erin has a friend that is also a very talented photographer and she agreed to come out to our house to do the shoot. But that still doesn't tell you how Erin tried to kill her with a cookie.

How Our Picture Shoot Was Almost a Crime Scene

When the photographer got here Erin handed her a cookie and said, "My mom made these and they're amazing. Try one."

And the photographer dutifully took a bite, not asking what they were.

Apparently you can be allergic to lavender.

A little Benadryl and we got the pictures done. They were amazing. Sara absolutely works well under the influence of Benedryl.

Originally published January 5, 2016. Last updated July 13, 2021 for readability.