Oatmeal and Lavender Shortbread
QueenSashy
Photo by James Ransom
- Serves
- About 24 cookies
These nontraditional shortbreads deliver a burst of flavor from toasted oats and lavender. They love to be served with tea, even more so with a glass of champagne and vanilla ice cream. They love to be served with cheese at the end of a meal. They love to be packed into a school lunch. They make great roadtrip snack. They make great movie companion. And for a very unusual breakfast/brunch on a hot sunny day, try them with whipped goat cheese and lemon coulis (http://food52.com/recipes/21714-oatmeal-and-lavender-shortbread-with-whipped-goat-cheese-and-lemon-coulis).
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt (several folks mentioned in their comments that they reduced the amount of salt. I like my shortbreads on the salty side, so take a note of that)
- 3/4 tablespoon dry lavender flowers
Featured Video
This shortbread was sublime. The oats contributed an almost coconutty texture and a lovely toastiness, and the lavender was a delightful, graceful note. We thought they were delicious right out of the oven, but, as the notes say, they were even better the next day: a little sturdier for packing and with a deeper flavor. Next time I will dial down the salt a tad. Much as we adore salt, using unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon of salt was a little too much for us. There will definitely be a next time -- these were delicious!
Directions
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325° F convection (or 350° F for a regular oven). Toast the oats for about 10 minutes. Let the oats cool completely and then process in a food processor, until powdery.
- Step 2
Beat the butter with sugar until creamy. Stir in the oats, flour, salt, and lavender. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and pat it into a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Wrap up the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 2 hours.
- Step 3
Preheat the oven to 325°F convection (or 350°F regular bake). Slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick the top of the shortbreads with a fork. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden (somehow, for a lot of cookies in my oven I found 22 minutes to be the magic number). Slide the parchment onto a wire rack and let the shortbreads cool.
- Step 4
The shortbreads can be kept in an airtight container for about a week.