Lavender Lemon Sugar Cookies.

Lavender Lemon Sugar Cookies are sweet, dainty lavender lemon sugar cookies, perfect for summer baking. They’re lightly sweetened buttery shortbread cookies hinted with lavender and lemon. Decorate simply with edible flowers for the easiest and prettiest buttery summer cookie. Easy to make, so pretty, and delicious!

It’s not a secret that I love making things not only taste delicious but also look delicious and hopefully pretty. It’s not always the easiest task, but I try and try again until I feel like I’ve captured just how delicious a recipe is. Trust me, it can be hard. But these cookies?

I didn’t even have to try. I just created, styled, and baked. Sure, I spent time on them, but you guys? These cookies are always going to turn out pretty…and yes, I promise you that they’ll taste delicious too. These cookies are not just about their looks, and I couldn’t be more excited to share them.

And even better? You’d think these cookies would take a lot of time and effort, but in reality, they’re actually so easy—and almost impossible to mess up.

Simple, simple.

So delicious.

Pretty, dainty, and summery.

Just a few of my favorite things.

Here is the story.

I’ve wanted to make edible flower cookies for the longest time. It all started last summer, around mid to late August. I was working on planning the wedding cakes for my brother Brendan’s upcoming September wedding. Lynd’s, my now sister-in-law, had asked if I would make their wedding cakes. I hesitated, but I just couldn’t say no. One of the ideas that Lyn’s had was to make one of my layer cakes. This blackberry lavender naked cake to be exact. But she asked if I could decorate it with dried edible flowers.

I loved the idea so much, but I never got around to drying the flowers and ended up just using fresh. It was all fine, and still pretty, but from that point on, I really wanted to bake cookies with that idea in mind. I knew if I put fresh flowers on a cookie, the flowers would obviously dry up as the cookies baked. I’ve seen it done before but have never gotten around to testing a recipe myself.

Until now. With all of our lavender growing in the garden (it smells incredible and is one of my favorite herbs/flowers we are growing), I made it my goal this summer to finally bake these cookies that I’ve been dreaming up for the past year. This past week I finally went for it.

And you know what? I was expecting to have to do a lot of testing and spend way too much time on these, but I got them right on the very first try. Everything from the cookie to the flavors and the decorations.

I was shocked and excited.

I guess sometimes dreaming does pay off.

I love these cookies!

To make Lily’s lavender cookies…

You really only need some lavender, a few pantry staples, and some edible flowers…if you’d like.

Now, first things first. You do not have to use edible flowers as I’ve done. The flowers on top of the cookies are really just decoration. It’s the lavender and the lemon that flavor these cookies and make them so delicious. So while I love the finished look the edible flowers give, you don’t have to use them.

Start off by making the lavender sugar. It’s simply dried lavender, lemon zest, and sugar. The trick is grinding the lavender in the food processor to start breaking it down. If you don’t have a food processor, you can grind the lavender in a coffee grinder, or use a mortar and pestle to grind it down. Or just simply use your fingertips to crush the lavender up into pieces.

Once the lavender is crushed, mix it with the sugar and lemon. Now you have lavender lemon sugar.

Next, beat the dough together. It too is simple…lots of butter, some of that lavender lemon sugar, vanilla, and flour – easy!

Once the dough comes together, roll it out. Then cut the dough into circles.

At this point, simply brush the cookies with a beaten egg and sprinkle on the remaining lavender lemon sugar. You can now bake the cookies or decorate them with flowers. If you’re decorating with flowers, it’s easy: gently press your flowers into each cookie and then bake. It’s important to note that as the cookie bakes, the flowers will shrivel up a bit and lose color. I actually loved this “vintage” feel that the cookies took on.

So pretty, but not perfect, the flowers give the cookies an almost old look, I love it!

But really, how do the cookies actually taste?

Good…really good. Or delectable, as I now love to say.

The cookie itself is buttery and light. It’s sweet but not overly so, and the lavender and lemon are hinted at just perfectly and subtly.

Here’s what I will say: Personally, I don’t eat the edible flowers on top of the cookies. I find them to be pretty flavorless. Since the flowers dry up in the oven, they’re pretty easy to pluck right off before eating.

Some edible flower notes…

I order my edible flowers through Gourmet Sweet Botanicals, which deliverers via overnight shipping and has never let me down. I found the dahlias to bake up the nicest, but the pansies were pretty too, though they shriveled up the most. I also loved these little yellow sun daisies and found them to be so pretty and summery.

Oddly, I didn’t use any chamomile, but I’m sure that would be great and so pretty.

Oh, and then I also added our fresh lavender, both in the cookie and for decoration. That bakes up really nice too.

And with that, I will leave you to your cookie baking.

Another note: These cookies make the perfect summer afternoon snack or dessert when broken up over vanilla ice cream with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey. There are so many options with these cookies.

Have fun with them and enjoy!

If you bake these, please share the photos. I can’t wait to see what you guys create!

Looking for other summer floral-inspired recipes? Here are some favorites:

Blackberry Lavender Naked Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

Blueberry Chamomile Galette

Blackberry Lavender White Chocolate Scones

Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake

Lastly, if you make Lavender Lemon Sugar Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Lavender Lemon Sugar Cookies

4.31 from 139 votes

22

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 155kcal

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Prep20 minutes mins

Cook15 minutes mins

Chill Time10 minutes mins

Total45 minutes mins

Lightly sweetened buttery shortbread cookies hinted with lavender and lemon and decorated simply with edible flowers...pretty AND delicious!

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons dried lavender
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ▢ 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour , plus more for rolling
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 egg white
• ▢ edible flowers, such as pansies, lavender, dahlias, and chamomile, (optional)

Instructions 

• 1. To make the lavender sugar. Add the lavender to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the sugar and lemon zest, pulse to combine.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, 1/2 cup lavender sugar, and the vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Beat until combined, and the dough begins to form a ball. If the dough is crumbly, add 1-2 tablespoons milk or water until the dough comes together.

  3. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you're using enough flour or your dough will stick. Cut out the cookies using a 3 inch circle cookie cutter or cut into similar size squares. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. I recommend using a spatula to lift the cookies. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the dough.

  4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush each cookie with beaten egg white, then sprinkle with the remaining lavender sugar. If using edible flowers, gently push them into each cookie to adhere. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 12-14 minutes or until just lightly golden on the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Notes

Edible Flowers: I order all my edible flowers from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals. You can eat the flowers or pick them off prior to eating. We prefer to pick the flowers off, then enjoy the cookies! 

Dried Lavender: You can order dried lavender online or pick up at most Whole Foods. I order mine from Amazon. 

If you don't have a food processor: you can grind the lavender in a coffee grinder, use a mortar and pestle to grind it down, or simply use your fingertips to crush the lavender up into pieces. 

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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