Lavender Shortbread

Growing up, my mother was on the receiving end of a Victorian magazine subscription. Combined with that and frequent visits to the Dana Power House in Nipomo, I came away with a romanticized vision of the Victorian era. During that time period, it was not uncommon to incorporate edible flowers into many of their delicate confections.

Some of these edible flowers are roses, lavender, pansies (including Johnny Jump Ups), violets and even borage. These flowers can be crystallized and used as natural decorations to cakes and cookies.

I had wanted to create something accessible to the modern palate while still paying homage to the bygone era. Thus the quest for the cookie began. I had a general idea of what I had wanted, but I was worried about the strength of the lavender, because if you use too much, it tastes like you are eating soap....yeah, that sounds scrumptious.

What came of this experiment was a recipe which yielded a light, buttery, and amazingly crisp cookie with just a subtle taste of lavender notes, trailing at the tail end of each bite. I decided to finish it off with a drizzle of white chocolate to raise its elegance.