Lavender Shortbread

After our trip to Hitchin Lavender I thought I'd would try experimenting and cooking with it. We has friends over for dinner today so I made lavender Creme Brulee originally. It was all going very well until I forgot there were in the open. Burnt Creme Brulee.

Undeterred, I thought I would try something else. I came across a nice simple recipe for lavender shortbread. We love shortbread so I just had to try this. The lavender in it is really subtle, but a nice little addition.

Lavender Shortbread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (granulated is fine if you don't have caster)
2 tbsp very finely chopped lavender florets (fresh or dried) - freshly picked from Hitchin Lavender
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint - from the allotment
2 1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 corn flour
pinch of salt

How to make it:
Preheat your over to 160°C

In a big mixing bowl cream together the butter, sugar, lavender and mint.
Mix until it is light and fluffy (or until your arm hurts).
Add the flour, corn flour and salt and beat until it is all mixed in.
Divide the dough in half, flatten it out a bit and wrap in cling film. Stick it in the fridge to chill until it is firm.
Sprinkle a little flour on a surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. use a cookie cutter or whatever you want to cut out the cookies
Lay out on some baking paper lined oven try leaving about an inch between each cookie to allow for expansion.
prick each a few times with a fork. you can create a pattern if you want to maybe.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until pale golden, but do not allow to brown.
When cooled a little place them on a cooling rack and sprinkle over a little sugar.

Original recipe can be found here