These aromatic, delicious lemon lavender cookies are soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. They have a unique flavor combination.
Have you ever tried desserts with lavender, like my Earl Grey Lavender Cake? If not, you should definitely try them! They really have a unique flavor.
These lavender and lemon cookies are unlike your ordinary cookie. They're made with dried lavender flowers, aka culinary lavender.
I was inspired to make these cookies from my flavored sugar recipes. For this recipe, I made lavender infused sugar, which is really easy.
Although they're similar to lemon lavender shortbread, these cookies are slightly different, as they have eggs and leaveners. They're actually lemon lavender sugar cookies.
Looking for more cookie recipes? Try my Ultimate Chocolate Chunk Cookies, my Healthy Tahini Breakfast Cookies, or my Ladokouloura Greek Olive Oil Cookies.
This lemon lavender cookie recipe will become one of your favorite cookies ever.
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love this lavender cookie recipe:
- What do these lemon lavender cookies taste like?
- WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
- Ingredients for lemon lavender cookies
- What is culinary lavender?
- Equipment you'll need
- HOW TO MAKE LEMON LAVENDER COOKIES
- Step-by-step Instructions
- Recipe Notes
- Storage Tips
- Freezing Instructions
- Freezing Cookie Dough
- Freezing Baked Cookies
- TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- FAQs
- MORE COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY!
- Recipe
Why you’ll love this lavender cookie recipe:
These are the best lemon lavender cookies! Here are few reasons why this recipe works:
- It's really simple. You can whip up thees lavender lemon sugar cookies in no time!
- It's unique. One thing I adore about these lemon lavender butter cookies is that they're not very common. Just great for when you want to make something different.
- The cookies hold their shape well. This recipe is is perfect for cutout cookies because the dough is amazing to work with.
- It's perfect for gifting. These lemon and lavender cookies would make a really nice gift for just about any occasion. You can also make extra lavender sugar to sweeten your favorite tea, cocktails or put it in a fancy jar as a gift.
- Great for get-togethers. These cookies are perfect for special occasions, like wedding showers.
- A wonderful flavor. These lavender lemon cookies taste delicious.
What do these lemon lavender cookies taste like?
These easy lemon lavender cookies are buttery, tender with a slight floral overtone. The lemon adds zest and freshness which compliments the lavender. On their own, they are not that sweet, either. The optional lemon glaze makes them sweeter, but it really elevates the lemon flavor.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Ingredients for lemon lavender cookies
- Flour & leaveners: Unlike shortbread cookies, these cookies have leaveners. I use all purpose flour and baking powder.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch really makes the cookies chewy inside.
- Sugar: I use regular granulated sugar for the cookies and powdered sugar for the glaze.
- Lemon: I use both lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Egg: I use 1 organic egg.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract.
- Salt: A bit of salt enhances all the flavors.
- Lavender: You'll need culinary lavender for this recipe. I use dried culinary lavender buds.
What is culinary lavender?
Culinary lavender refers to lavender that's used in cooking and baking. You can find both fresh and dried lavender at spice shops, health food stores, farmers markets, and even online.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.
Equipment you'll need
- large mixing bowls
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
- cookie cutters
HOW TO MAKE LEMON LAVENDER COOKIES
Step-by-step Instructions
Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
First, make the lavender sugar. Blend the dried lavender and sugar in a food processor until the flowers are finely ground. It's OK if the sugar becomes powdered. If you don't have a food processor, you could use a mortar and pestle, instead.
Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
In another large mixing bowl, beat the butter with the lavender sugar and lemon zest until it's fluffy and everything is well combined.
Add the egg and the vanilla and mix to combine.
Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until it's crumbly.
Use your hands to squeeze the crumbles until the dough comes together. You may need to add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of flour if the dough is too wet. You should be able to pick up the dough in 1 piece.
Cut the dough in half and roll it between 2 sheets of parchment paper, about ¼ inch thick. I always use cookie guides so that I get the exact thickness for all my cookies. Then put the rolled out dough in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Then bake the cookies until they're light golden brown on the edges.
TOP TIP
Creaming the butter with the lavender sugar and lemon zest is A LOT easier if the butter is softened and at room temperature. I find it easier to cut the butter into small pieces or grate it with a box grater before beginning.
For lemon lavender cookies with lemon glaze, simply mix the lemon juice with the powdered sugar and drizzle over the cookies after they've cooled completely.
Recipe Notes
Storage Tips
You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about a week.
Freezing Instructions
You can either freeze the cookie dough or freeze baked cookies.
Freezing Cookie Dough
Flatten the cookie dough into a disk and then place it in a freezer bag or freezer-safe airtight container. You could also wrap it with plastic wrap first. It can be frozen for up to about 2 months. To thaw, just place it in the refrigerator. Then roll it out, cut it and bake as directed.
Freezing Baked Cookies
After the cookies have cooled completely, store them in freezer bags or freezer-safe airtight containers. They can be frozen for up to about 2 months. To thaw, remove them from the bags or containers and let them sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Use a digital scale. For consistent results and accuracy, I highly recommend using a digital scale to accurately weigh all the ingredients.
- Use a food processor. You can save a lot of prep time by using a food processor to make the lavender sugar.
- Don't overwork the dough. Be gentle with the dough so the cookies don't get hard or tough.
- Chill the dough. This dough needs to be chilled before cutting out shapes. I find it much faster to put the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes rather than chilling it in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Adjust the amount of cookies. The number of cookies will depend on the size of your cookie cutters. My cookie cutter was 3 inches (7.6cm) and I made around 16 cookies.
- Every oven is different. Baking times may vary, so keep an eye on the cookies until the edges are light brown. Mine took about 15 minutes.
- Make sweeter cookies. Drizzling the lemon glaze on top will give you sweeter cookies (I'll include it in the recipe card below).
FAQs
Yes! Instead of the refrigerator, I put the dough in the freezer for a few minutes so it's easier to cut out the cookies. If you want, you could also refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours (or overnight), but the freezer saves a lot more time.
For a more prominent lavender flavor, you can use some lavender extract instead of vanilla extract. For this recipe, I would use about half a teaspoon lavender extract.
Apart from lemon, which is my personal flavor combination, there are other foods that are good with lavender, too. Orange, sage, and honey are great options.
Happy baking!
MORE COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY!
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Let me know how these lemon lavender cookies turn out for you in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!
Recipe
Lemon Lavender Cookies
Equipment
- round cookie cutters (mine are 3 inches, about 7.6cm)
- mixing bowls
- parchment paper
- baking sheets
- hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- rolling guides or rings (optional)
Ingredients
For the lemon lavender cookies
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender flowers
- 2 cups (250 g / 9 oz) all-purpose flour (+ extra, if needed)
- ¼ cup (25g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I like to cut it into small pieces or grate it)
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 medium or large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the lemon glaze (Optional)
- ½ cup (65g / 2.3 oz) powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml /½- 1 fl oz) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the lavender sugar
- Blend the dried lavender and sugar in a food processor until the flowers are finely ground. (If you don't have a food processor, you could use a mortar and pestle, instead.) Set aside.
Make the cookies
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, beat the butter with the lavender sugar and lemon zest until it's fluffy and well combined.
- Add the egg and the vanilla and mix to combine.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until it's crumbly.
- Use your hands to squeeze the crumbles until the dough comes together. You may need to add a little more flour, a tablespoon at a time if the dough is too wet. The dough should come together in one piece.
- Cut the dough in half and roll it between 2 sheets of parchment paper, about ¼ inch (0.6cm) thick. Then put the rolled out dough in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- Take the dough out of the freezer and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
- Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until they're light golden brown on the edges. (I bake them one tray at a time.)
- Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat the procedure with the other piece of dough.
- Transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Make the lemon glaze (Optional)
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl.
- Drizzle over the cooled cookies.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about a week.
- The number of cookies will depend on the size of your cookie cutters.
- Don't overbake the cookies or they could get too hard.
- Detailed freezing instructions are included in the post.
Amy Hermansen
Question can I use Lavender oil instead of crushed Lavender?
Voula
Hi, Amy! I would not use essential oil, but you could use food grade lavender oil, which is safe for cooking. However, I've never used it before, so I don't know how much to use. You really need to be careful with food grade lavender oil, though, because if you add too much, the cookies might end up tasting like soap! That's why culinary lavender buds are so much more convenient and reliable. Hope this helps!☺️