How could I have ever forgotten how delicious shortbread is? I used to make it all the time and now I remember why: it’s so simple, it uses hardly any ingredients, and it’s the perfect picnic cookie because there’s nothing to melt and they’re sturdy enough to easily transport.
Here I gave shortbread a spring upgrade with dried lavender buds. The subtle lavender flavor is perfect for a spring tea party. In fact, this recipe is kind of like aromatherapy for the kitchen. My house smelled like butter and lavender for two hours!

This recipe takes mere minutes to mix together. I remember when I was young, my mom used to let me “help her” press shortbread dough into the pan – the perfect job for little bakers! Another plus? You only need to heat the oven to 300 degrees so if you live in a warm climate like me, you could bake these all summer long without heating the kitchen up.

Lavender Shortbread Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar or lavender sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp culinary dried lavender buds (omit if using lavender sugar)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Cream together softened butter, sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer until smooth. Add lavender buds and mix well. Add flour and mix just until combined.
- Press evenly into an ungreased 9” Pan. Prick all over with a fork. Sprinkle with one tablespoon sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven when the edges have just turned golden.
- Immediately cut into bars or squares, then let cool in the pan for half an hour before removing from the pan.
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This recipe was featured in my French Inspired Picnic episode! Watch it now:
Happy baking,
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