Summer Scottish Shortbread

I love the combination of lemon and lavender. And, I love shortbread. This recipe combines a traditional buttery Scottish shortbread with the flavors of summer. I have had a beautiful wooden shortbread mold with a traditional thistle design since I made a trip to Scotland in 2010 just before our wedding. I had it packed away and discovered it last year when we moved houses.

I love shortbread cookies, but sometimes they can be a bit boring. When I was researching recipes, I found that most recipes have the same ingredients - butter, powdered sugar, flour, and salt. I thought I'd make the taste more interesting and add a touch of lavender (not too much) and lemon.

I have also been experimenting with using sea salts in various recipes and found Jacobson Salt Company and love their products. For this recipe, I used their infused lemon zest salt mixed in with regular sugar for the outside coating of the shortbread cookies. It's a beautiful combination of sweet and salty. You will love this recipe. Happy Summer everyone!

Scottish Summer Shortbread

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon dried lavender

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp sea salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Instructions

· In a large bowl, cream the butter, lemon zest, and lavender with an electric mixer until light and creamy (about 3 minutes).

· Next, add the powdered sugar and beat well for another 1-2 minutes.

· Add the salt and flour and mix well on low until it forms a soft dough.

· Shape to dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.

· Use a shortbread mold to form the cookies (coat the mold with the sugar mixture), or simply roll them into a ball, coat with the sugar, lemon zest, and sea salt mixture, and press with a cookie press.

· Transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.

· Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes or until only lightly browned. Baking time may depend on the size of the cookies. Cool on a wire baking rack.

· Repeat steps for additional cookies.