Beautifully rich and buttery Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies with zesty lemon flavour and delicious bursts of floral lavender in every bite. No eggs, no dairy and easy to make!
Looking for another unique shortbread cookie recipe? Check out my Pine Needle Shortbread next, and if you love lavender, give my Blueberry Lavender Sauce a try!
These Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies are unbelievably delicious, and the texture is perfect. They snap cleanly, crumble softly and then melt away on your tongue.
With sweet, zesty lemon flavour and subtle floral pops of lavender, they're lovely with a cup of tea, perfect for spring and summer gatherings and holiday cookie tins, and they make a beautiful edible gift too.
If you have never baked with lavender before, you might be a little nervous about using it in cookies, but please don't be! Used in small amounts, it adds a delicate floral note that goes beautifully with lemon. The trick is using the right kind (more on that below) and not overdoing it. Start with the smaller amount in the recipe if you're unsure, and add more next time if you'd like a stronger flavour.
Mel x
Lavender For Cooking
For this recipe, you need dried lavender buds. All varieties of lavender are technically edible, but some taste better than others due to lower camphor levels.
Lavandula angustifolia, otherwise known as English Lavender, is the best variety to use for cooking and is a very common plant. I harvest mine from my garden.
However, you don't want your shortbread to end up tasting like cough medicine, so unless you are very sure about the variety of your lavender, be safe and buy culinary/food grade lavender. It can be found with the herbs and spices in a lot of grocery stores. You can also buy it online from Amazon.
Cookie Success Tips
- Measure the ingredients accurately. Shortbread depends on the right ratio of fat to flour, so accuracy really matters. For the best results, use a digital scale instead of measuring cups.
- Keep cool. For the best cookies, the dough needs to stay cool. If it starts getting too warm and melty (often an issue in the summer months), pop it in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes, then pick up where you left off.
Storing & Freezing
Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack, then store them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They can also be frozen either baked or unbaked:
- Unbaked: Cut out the cookies and arrange them on a lined baking tray. Freeze them uncovered until solid, then move them to a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Bake them straight from the freezer, adding about 2 extra minutes to the baking time.
- Baked: Spread the cooled cookies out on a baking tray and freeze until solid, so they won't stick together. Then pack them into a freezer-safe container or bag, with parchment between the layers, for up to 3 months. To thaw, set them on a wire rack at room temperature for about an hour.
Recipe
Vegan Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Author:Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (42 grams) powdered sugar
- ½ cup (100 grams) vegan butter or coconut oil, solid and cold
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. I like these cookies with a slightly salty edge, so use ½ teaspoon of salt. If you are sensitive to salty flavours, just use ¼ teaspoon. Do not use table salt in this recipe.
- ½ to 1 teaspoon culinary lavender buds. The more you use, the stronger the lavender flavour will be. Rosemary or thyme work well instead!
- Zest of 2 medium lemons
- 1⅓ cups (165 grams) all-purpose flour, plain flour in the UK
- up to 3 tablespoons dairy-free milk. Try not to use any. If you measure the ingredients accurately, you won't need it.
- optional coarse granulated sugar, for sprinkling
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine the powdered sugar, vegan butter/coconut oil and salt in a bowl. You can do this by hand with a fork (mash, then beat it well until you can no longer see any powdered sugar and it's light and fluffy) or with an electric hand mixer. Mix until fluffy.
- Add the lavender flowers and lemon zest and stir to combine.
- Sieve the flour into the bowl, and mix it in by hand until combined. I start by mashing the flour in with a fork, then stir it together with a spoon. Do not over-mix or use electric beaters, or the texture of the finished shortbread will be affected.
- Only add the milk if you cannot bring the dough together without it, and add it a tiny drop at a time. The dough should be slightly crumbly but hold together if you squeeze it together in your hand. The drier the dough, the better the texture of your shortbread.
- Lightly dust a surface with flour and shape your dough gently into a ball. Roll out to about 3 to 4 mm thick, then use a cookie cutter or mason jar lid to cut into shapes. The number of cookies you get will depend on the size of your cookie cutter.
- Place the cut cookies gently on the prepared baking tray, sprinkle with a little granulated sugar, then refrigerate for 15 minutes until firm.
- Remove from the fridge and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. When done, they will be gently golden on the edges and still feel soft in the middle if you poke them. They will crisp up as they cool.
- Leave the cookies on the baking tray for a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Unlike some cookies, these are best eaten when cool, so be patient!
Cynthia Diez says
I know this is vegan; Can I use 1:1 gluten free flour?
Melanie McDonald says
I haven't tested this recipe with gluten-free flour.
Anna says
Great recipe, but your recommended temp is too high and your time is too much. I use an oven thermometer so I know my oven is accurate and all other recipes I do just fine with. I spent quite some time making these cookies and spent quite a bit of money on the ingredients so to have them burn is extremely frustrating!
Melanie McDonald says
350°F for 10 to 12 minutes is not too high or too long for cookies. It's a standard, moderately low cooking temperature, and 10 to 12 minutes is a pretty standard time for any type of cookie. If you burnt them then that's a problem on your end. A standard-sized cookie can't possibly burn at 350°F after 10 to 12 minutes.
Debbie says
Made these for my colleagues and they all loved it! Though this was quite hard to make compared to many of the non-vegan shortbread recipes I have tried. I know this was mainly because of the use of hardened coconut oil, it meant the dough softened a lot quicker than recipes that used butter (I think because of the heat from working with hands). It wasn't a huge hurdle, I just had to work quickly. Thank you for the lovely recipe!
Ruby says
Best vegan AND non-vegan shortbread recipe out there! I love playing around with the flavors, like balsam fir and orange. I will have to say that trying to roll the dough out can be a crumbly mess, what I recommend is pressing out the dough with your hands to flatten it and then smoothing that out with a rolling pin for a neater look.
Kristin says
Love these cookies! I made a few adjustments including adding juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1 tablespoon of earth balance butter and about 2 tablespoons of dried lavender flowers and leaves. Giving 4 stars because there are very few cookies in the world that I feel are perfect. These are definitely worth a try!
Mandy says
These are amazing! I ended up having to use the milk and a tad more to get the dough to come together but turned out great! I shared this recipe in my Instagram acct @veganista_fuerst ? so good!
Emily says
Amazing recipe! I was so worried it would be too dry and crumbly when I was cutting them but they are the perfect shortbread texture. I didn’t have lemon and lavender so I used orange zest instead and they were wonderful. Can’t wait to try with lemon & lavender. Thank you!
Jamie says
These taste delicious and have a crisp texture, but the surfaces of the cookies feel oily, which is unpleasant. I followed the recipe exactly and measured by weight, so Im not sure if I did something wrong or if that's just the result of baking with a lot of coconut oil.
Daphne says
Lovely cookies! I've made them twice now and they're so good :D It's interesting how the lavender taste gets stronger with time, though these rarely survive the day after they were baked... Everyone I shared them with was super excited about them and it's been fun to make them guess the 'secret' ingredient, no one expects lavender in a cookie!
Love from Belgium!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Daphne. I'm really pleased you are enjoying them!
Lori Sue Fox says
This was my first time baking with Coconut Oil. The lemon flavor certainly came through, but I would make again using more lavender. I did you the juice of the lemon, instead of milk, to bring the dough together, and used my hand in the end to make a ball of the dough. This cookie in not a butter cookie, but does make a nice vegan alternative. Thank you for sharing.
Madison says
These are perfect!
Tara says
I just wanted to share with you a deep gratitude. I made these the other day for a small gathering and everyone loved them. It's such a relief to follow a recipe and have it turn out perfect on the first try!! I did have to use a bit of milk, but I chose full fat canned coconut milk and used 2 tablespoons.
Adi Jones says
Amazing! I love these cookies and make them every winter.
Siobhan says
I just made these last night and they are ridiculously good! I’ve been craving shortbread cookies for awhile and these were everything I wanted and more. I did have to add a little bit of plant milk to mine, I used unsweetened cashew milk. Will definitely be making these again!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed them Siobhan!
Nicole says
Love this recipe! I found it easier to work with in small batches. Breaking the dough into smaller sections and making a few cookies at a time. I don't add the lemon zest either. So good!
C. says
These turned out really well..
I replaced the lavender with 1 teabag of chamomile flowers.
The dough was difficult to roll out without falling apart; if treated gently and with patience the results are worth the effort.
Definitely compares well to conventional shortbread.
Thank you for the recipe.
Ashlee B says
Easy to follow recipe. Stellar flavor. Elegant appearance. Highly recommended. Thank you!
Judy Doan says
We Have a Winner!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. Since going vegan I have missed my (former) lavender shortbread cookies. With a doubtful mind, I tried your recipe....I couldn't resist and tried one while still warm: Mmmmmmmm delicious. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Judy. I'm so pleased you enjoyed them!