This beautifully rich Lemon Lavender Shortbread is full of zesty lemon flavour with delicious subtle bursts of floral lavender in every bite. It literally melts in your mouth and has perfect shortbread “snappability”!
I was given the challenge of making shortbread as good as ‘real butter’ shortbread after I joked with someone that anything they could cook, I could cook better and vegan. Having never attempted vegan shortbread before I was slightly worried that I might not be able to keep my word but after the success of my Chocolate & Coconut Cream Cookies and my Vegan Digestive Biscuits I knew I had a pretty good chance.
I started with my Chocolate & Coconut Cream Cookie recipe and adapted it until I got the perfect shortbread texture. I try my best to use whole-food ingredients in almost all of my recipes but occasionally all purpose flour and refined sugar is what is necessary to get the best results. I figure that as long as I eat whole foods most of the time, the odd indiscretion won’t hurt too much. I did try using unrefined sugar in this recipe, but after experimenting with powdered sugar realized that the results were much better.
Be aware when buying sugar, especially refined varieties, that it often is not vegan. You might be horrified to hear that charred animals bones are often used to bleach and filter it. I buy Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Powdered Confectioner’s Sugar as it is certified vegan but I am sure there are other varieties available too.
Using the powdered sugar gives these Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies their characteristic melt in the mouth shortbread texture. If you struggle to get hold of vegan powdered sugar it is possible to make your own by putting regular sugar in a food processor or blender until it becomes a fine powder. Don’t try substituting granulated sugar for the powdered sugar in this recipe because you won’t get the same results.
If you have never tried cooking with lavender you might be a little wary of using it here. Please don’t be. The combination of the lemon and lavender is just beautiful. They are two flavours that work extremely well together especially in shortbread.
As far as I know all varieties of lavender are 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 also a very common plant. However, you really don’t want your shortbread to end up tasting like cough medicine so unless you are very sure of what variety your lavender is, I would be safe and use culinary lavender. It can usually be found with the herbs and spices in grocery stores. It is also available from Amazon here (this is an affiliate link – see bottom of post for more details).
It took quite a few attempts to get this recipe just right but it was so worth the effort. These Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies are unbelievably delicious and their texture is just perfect. They ‘snap’, they ‘crumble’ and most importably they taste amazing with their zesty lemon flavour and delicious subtle bursts of floral lavender. You can make them and eat them all yourself, but bear in mind that they also make a wonderful gift. Buy a pretty little box or bag from a craft store and they would be perfect to gift to a special teacher at the end of this school year.
I personally think that this recipe beats regular ‘butter’ shortbread hands down. It has the same ‘short’ texture and the flavour is a real winner. Let me know if you agree by leaving your feedback below.
Just another quick note – I often use cups for measurement but in this recipe weight measurements are best. Cup sizes vary depending on where you are in the world and how you scoop it/pour it in makes a huge difference to how much the cup holds. In a lot of recipes you can get away with slight variations but with this one, being accurate is key to good results.
Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 40g | ⅓ cup natural powdered sugar
- 100g | ½ cup coconut oil , hard (refined or unrefined if you don't mind a slight hint of coconut - if your kitchen is on the warmer side and your coconut oil is soft put it in the fridge to firm up before you start)
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt (see recipe note)
- 1/2 teaspoon lavender flowers
- 2 lemons , zested (you only need the zest for this recipe)
- 165g | 1⅓ cup all purpose flour (plain flour in the UK)
- 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk , try not to use the milk. Only add it if you really cannot get it to come together without as it affects the texture of the shortbread.
- light granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and get a cookie sheet ready. If your sheet has a tendency to stick then line it with parchment paper or a silicone mat .
Combine the powdered sugar, salt and the coconut oil in a bowl. Use a fork to mash together very, very well until you can no longer see any powdered sugar and it's light and fluffy. You can use a food processor to do this part too if you prefer.
- Add the lavender flowers, zest of the lemons and stir well.
- Sieve in the flour and mix by hand until everything is combined. I start by mashing in the flour with a fork then stir together with a spoon at the end a bit. Do not over mix or use electric beaters here.Too much mixing will affect the texture of the finished shortbread.
- Add the milk only if you need to to bring the dough together. It should be slightly crumbly but hold together if you squeeze it together in your hand. The drier you can get away with keeping the dough, the better the texture of your shortbread, I did not need to use any milk at all but if you do, add it very, very gradually.
- Lightly dust a surface with flour and shape your dough into a ball. Roll out to about 3 - 4 mm thick then use a cookie cutter or mason jar lid to cut into shapes.
- Place gently on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and press into the tops of the cookies very gently with your fingers.
- Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.They will start turning a little golden around the edges when done.
- Keep an eye on them in the last few minutes as they can turn from ok to overdone very quickly. They will still feel slightly soft in the middle when done but will firm up as they cool.
- Place them on a cooling rack to cool.
- Unlike some cookies these are best eaten when completely cooled so be patient!
Recipe Notes
I like a very slight salty edge in these cookies so used half a teaspoon of salt. If you are sensitive to salty flavours then just use 1/4 teaspoon. As far as I know all varieties of lavender are 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 also a very common plant. However, you really don’t want your shortbread to end up tasting like cough medicine so unless you are very sure of what variety your lavender is, I would be safe and use culinary lavender. I often use cups for measurement but with this recipe weight measurements are best. Cup sizes vary depending on where you are in the world and how you scoop it/pour it in makes a huge difference to how much the cup holds. In a lot of recipes you can get away with slight variations but with this one being accurate is key to good results.
Prashanti says
Thank-you, I and my family loved these! So much so that my mother asked why I’d made such a small batch. Here’s my question to you then – can I double the recipe exactly?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes I have doubled the recipe many times. So glad you are all enjoying them!
Abby Salling says
I’ve made these for two different events where fellow vegans/vegetarians were in the minority, and they’ve been a hit with both the meat-eating and veg crowd! I love these cookies, and love that I’m able to bake without animal products!
@AbbyEatsLA on Instagram
A Virtual Vegan says
That’s awesome. Thank you Abby! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them!
Adi says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love it so much and can’t wait to make it again.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Adi. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!
Mei-Belle Sun says
Hi! Is there any way to make this without the lavender or lemon? I just need a good vegan shortbread recipe that does not use vegan butter and this one seems perfect!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes just omit it and it will be fine!
Carson says
So many yummy recipes that I have had to skip over because my husband and I both hate anything coconut. Do you have any suggestions on how to make this (or any other of your recipes) using something besides coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
Most of my baked goods are actually completely oil-free. Some older recipes use oil/vegan butter, and there are some like this one that can’t be made without using either coconut oil or vegan butter. I haven’t tested this recipe with anything other than coconut oil but vegan butter would work instead. The quantity might just need changing slightly. As for my other recipes, vegan butter can almost always be used as a sub for coconut oil but like this recipe, the amount needed always differs slightly. Refined coconut oil has no coconut taste or smell by the way. If it’s just the flavour you both don’t like then that might be a solution.
AM says
I love lemon and shortbread cookies are my favorite so i wanted to try these out. I brought these to a cookie exchange where I have a vegan friend. These cookies amazed everyone there. Just saying “lemon lavender” makes these sound extraordinary, the smell is beyond amazing, and the cookie was perfectly crunchy, slightly salty (love hem that way), and delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe. I couldn’t get the dough to stick well without the liquid but instead of adding the vegan milk, I personally added about two tablespoons or so lemon juice, one squeeze at a time, and this might have given them an extra lemony flavor. Thank you again! These will be my go to cookie recipe for tea time, Christmas, and beyond! Love!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them. Thank you!
Ginny says
fantastic shortbread, vegan or not!
Gin says
Anyone tried this using real butter?
Ginx says
I am newly vegan (one month) and have always baked. I am known for my lavender cookies. So, I looked with interest at your recipe.
I actually put the dough into a shortbread pan and cooked it about 14 minutes. I cooled it 10 minutes and turned it out onto a board to gently score for easier cutting when completely cool. This was tasty.
It would be great if you could come up with a recipe that does not require coconut oil. That stuff is as bad for you as butter or lard! See https://nutritionfacts.org/video/what-about-coconuts-coconut-milk-and-coconut-oil-mcts/
Thanks for the recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Unfortunately it’s impossible to make good textured shortbread without a fat of some kind so coconut oil or vegan butter needs to be used. I do try to bake oil-free when I can and have played with oil-free shortbread but you can’t get that short, melt in the mouth texture. As for coconut oil and it’s effect on your health, that totally depends on who you listen to and which study you read. The latest research made public by the American Heart Association, who incidentally are very corrupted by corporate interests, was funded by Pfizer, Glaxo-Smith Kline, AstraZeneca, Amgen etc who all manufacture cholesterol-lowering medications, like statins. It is in their interests to keep people unhealthy. I am personally of the opinion that coconut oil is a lot better for you than eating animal fats and will continue to eat it in moderation.
REBECCA PLATT says
This cannot be a shortbread cookie without butter. Is the coconut oil supposed to substitute for the butter.? One of the comments mentioned the “butter” flavor which is why I am asking. I am very skeptical of this recipe because of its very few ingredients so wanted to double check that this recipe is correct.
Have you made them more than once?
Thanks.
A Virtual Vegan says
This is vegan shortbread. It has exactly the same texture as shortbread made with butter and is made in exactly the same way. The recipe gets excellent feedback. You can see it has five stars and many good reviews. It has few ingredients because shortbread has few ingredients. All shortbread is is flour, butter, sugar and maybe a touch of salt. This one is no different except for the lavender and lemon and a substitute for the butter. I test all of my recipes upwards of 5 times each, sometimes many more times than that and would never post something that wasn’t going to work. If you follow the instructions exactly you will get great shortbread cookies.
Tasha Rapkin says
I just made these. They’re incredible. Crunchy, buttery, delicious. Thank you for making my night extra nice!
A Virtual Vegan says
That’s awesome! I am thrilled you enjoyed them so much. Enjoy the rest of your evening!
Kaylyn Van As says
Just baked these lemon lavender shortbread cookies. They really did bake well, and I am so happy to know that I can bake vegan shortbread cookies now! Here in South Africa we don’t have the same brand of powdered sugar (that I know of), so I had to use a different one which resulted in these lacking sweetness. Perhaps I should double the amount of sugar next time.
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m glad they baked up well. If you have a blender you could make your own powdered sugar just by blending up regular granulated sugar until it is a fine powder. You might get away with doubling the sugar but it could affect the texture, especially as the dough would end up drier so you would more than likely need more liquid to bring it together. They would probably also brown a lot more quickly so if you do, keep a careful eye on them.
Kaylyn Van As says
Thank you for the tips! I’ll definitely give it a go again. My mother loves them 😀
Allie says
I made these last night, and they turned out pretty tasty! I used (relatively) fresh lavender, which made the lavender profile a little too intense for my taste; if I were to do it again, I’d cut the amount I used down by about 1/2. That was my bad though, I didn’t read the recipe notes at the end. The hint of lemon was very nice and the texture came out just right. When the dough was too dry, I cut it with a little lemon juice instead of milk to punch up the citrusy flavor. My only qualm is that my recipe made exactly half of the 20 suggested servings. I wish I could have made more!
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed them Allie and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback!