This Hibiscus Lavender Shortbread recipe combines delicate floral flavor with the buttery richness and crumbly texture of traditional shortbread. Just five ingredients; perfect for a brunch, shower, or any time you want a taste of elegant simplicity.
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What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
Some years ago, I was gifted with a bottle of hibiscus lavender syrup, a botanical syrup intended for flavoring beverages. It was perfect for making floral-infused cocktails and sodas, but then I started experimenting; I wanted to make something with a little more substance. Shortbread seemed an obvious answer.
Shortbread is a perfect stage upon which to showcase subtle floral flavors. This Hibiscus Lavender Shortbread recipe combines the syrup's delicate botanics with the rich, buttery flavors and crumbly texture of traditional shortbread. It is elegant simplicity in one delicious bite.
This lavender shortbread recipe is based on a basic, traditional shortbread. However, instead of relying on infused sugar or whole flower buds to imbue the floral notes, a flavored cocktail syrup does the job.
The process for making these flavored shortbread cookies is the same no matter what flavor of syrup you use - lavender, or otherwise - so the shortbread possibilities are only limited by the flavors of syrup available (e.g., lemon shortbread, raspberry shortbread, mango shortbread, etc.).
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
★ Flavored syrup: We used Hibiscus Lavender Botanical Syrup for these cookies, but you can use any flavored beverage or cocktail syrup you like. (Try our homemade ginger syrup for a tasty ginger shortbread!)
★ Butter: Using unsalted butter to make shortbread , but we use salted butter all the time.
★ Flour: Use all-purpose flour. ( We have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour.)
★ Rice flour: Use regular rice flour. (We use Bob's Red Mill Organic White Rice Flour.) You can also make rice flour at home in a blender or coffee grinder.
Rice flour adds starch without protein, thus reducing the overall protein content of the dough, making it more tender. Do not use glutinous rice flour; it will make the cookies too chewy.
Substitutions: You can substitute more all-purpose flour in place of the rice flour, but it will change the texture of the cookies.
★ Salt: Start with a pinch of fine grained salt, like table salt or fine sea salt. People have different tastes when it come to how much salt they like in their shortbread. You may need to experiment a bit to determine how much salt you like.
How to Make Flavored Shortbread Cookies
The example images below include dough and cookies made with a delicious hibiscus-lavender botanical syrup; however, this shortbread recipe can be made using any flavored beverage or cocktail syrup.
Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C).
Make Dough
Using an electric mixer, mix together together the butter and syrup on low until the syrup has started to incorporate into the butter. Once the syrup starts working in, turn the mixer up to high for 10 minutes. Stop once or twice to scrape the bowl as necessary, but run it for the full 10 minutes.
This long creaming time allows the syrup and butter to fully emulsify. Not only is this critical to the success of this shortbread recipe, but it also makes it much easier to mix in the flour and salt without overworking the dough.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flour and salt together.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the syrup-butter. Mix only until combine.
Take the dough out of the mixer and check that it is holding together. It will be a bit softer than traditional shortbread dough; however, if it is too crumbly, knead it by hand 4-7 times until it begins hold together.
Pat the dough into a ball, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until thoroughly chilled.
Shape Dough
No Rolling Option: If you intend to cut shortbread rounds, instead of shaping the dough into a ball, form it into two oblong shaped logs before chilling, each about 1½ inches wide. Then, after the dough has thoroughly chilled, simply cut the cookies off the log in ¼-inch to ⅜-inch rounds, and put them on the baking sheet.
Roll the chilled dough out in small batches, ¼-inch thick to ⅜-inch thick. I find the easiest way to do this is to cut approximately ½-inch thick slices from the chilled dough, and then roll it just enough to get it to the thickness I want. The less you work the dough, the better.
Once the dough is rolled, cut it into the desired shapes. You can use cookie cutters, or cut it into more traditional shapes (i.e., rounds or fingers).
Place the cut cookies on a parchment covered baking sheet, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes, and as long as overnight. This will solidify the butter so the cookies retain their shape better.
Bake Cookies
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on thickness), or until edges are just barely beginning to turn golden.
Hot shortbread is fragile: do not try to move the cookies off the baking tray immediately. Allow them to cool on the tray for five minutes or so, and then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool.
The cookies will harden as they cool.
FAQs & Expert Tips
It isn't necessary to frost shortbread, but you can do so if you want to; especially if you like your shortbread on the sweeter side.
You can make a simple glaze by combining 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of the same syrup that you used for the cookies. If the glaze is too thick, add a little water to thin it down. If it's too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Cool the cookies completely, and then pack them into air-tight containers.
Shortbread can be stored at room temperature for two to three weeks, two months in the refrigerator, and eight to twelve months in the freezer.
Source: USDA
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Hibiscus Lavender Shortbread
Equipment
- 1 Parchment Paper or a silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- ½ pound butter 2 sticks; room temperature
- ½ cup lavender syrup or any flavored beverage syrup
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup rice flour
- ⅙ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, mix together together the butter and syrup on low until the syrup has started to incorporate into the butter. Once the syrup starts working in, turn the mixer up to high for 10 minutes. Stop once or twice to scrape the bowl as necessary, but run it for the full 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and salt together.With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the syrup-butter. Mix only until combine.
- Take the dough out of the mixer and check that it is holding together. It will be a bit softer than traditional shortbread dough; however, if it is too crumbly, knead it by hand 4-7 times until it begins to hold together. Pat the dough into a ball, and wrap it tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until thoroughly chilled.
- Roll the dough out in small batches, ¼-inch thick to ⅜-inch thick. The easiest way to do this is to cut approximately ½-inch thick slices from the chilled dough, and then roll it just enough to get it to the desired thickness.
- Once the dough is rolled, cut it into the desired shapes. Use cookie cutters, or cut it into more traditional shapes (i.e., rounds or fingers).
- Place the cut cookies on a parchment covered baking sheet, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes, and as long as overnight. This will solidify the butter so the cookies retain their shape better.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on thickness), or until edges just barely begin to turn golden.
- Hot shortbread is fragile: do not try to move the cookies off the baking tray immediately. Allow them to cool on the tray for five minutes or so, and then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool.The cookies will harden as they cool.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Krystal S says
I made this with Monin Lavender syrup, added 1/2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste, and the full two cups of flour and oh my gosh we were in heaven! Just the right hint of lavender from the syrup. Great tea cookie. This is my new go to base. So insanely easy!
Renée says
I’m so glad you like them! I can imagine that the vanilla bean paste addition can only make them better. Thanks for your valuable feedback!
Paula says
Where would I find the syrup! Great post. I might have to wait in the rice additive
Elena says
I love shortbread and the addition of the lavender sounds wonderful!
Pech says
Lovely photos, though I wonder why these are regular birds and not the shape of a chicken 😀
Renée ♥ says
This is Portlandia, baby!