Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

After swearing that I was going to sit on my butt and watch movies all day, something that pretty much never ever happens, I ended up making these cookies. I couldn't help it! I'm just not one of those people that can have a day of doing nothing. Honestly, I wish I could sometimes and I'm sure my Hunny would agree. I drive him crazy when he wants to relax and I'm making all kinds of noise and getting in his way all day long... oh well :)

The cookies are absolutely amazing! I love the flavor of lemon and lavender together, so I found this recipe off of pinterest. I didn't have to change a thing other than add a tad more lemon than called for. The cookies are beautifully fragrant and are quite pretty themselves. I want to imagine myself sitting in a circle of friends with big frilly hats, a cup of tea and these cookies arranged on the table in-between us.

Ingredients:

COOKIES
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (or more, depending on the consistency after you add the lemon juice)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract)
1–1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 2 large lemons, preferably Meyer)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cornstarch
2–1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

ICING
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon, preferably Meyer)
1–2 tablespoons lemon juice

COOKIES
1. Cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Mix in the lemon juice (or extract) and zest. Set aside.
2. Sift together the salt, cornstarch and flour. Add this to the butter mixture and stir until the flour coats the butter but isn’t completely worked in. Add the lavender flowers.
3. Using your hands, lightly rub the ingredients together until the mixture is no longer dry. You will know it’s done when it forms easily into a dough ball. Try not to overwork the mixture or you will end up with tough cookies.
4. Flatten the dough out into a disc and place in a plastic re–sealable bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to three days).
5. Preheat the oven to 325° F.
6. Take the fully–chilled dough and place it on top of a piece of parchment or a Silpat. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/3 inch. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. (This dough barely spreads, so don’t worry about leaving a lot of space between each cookie.) Remove the scraps from between each cookie and re–form into a flat disc. (If dough has become too soft or warm, re–refrigerate it for a few minutes before attempting to roll it out.)
7. Lift up parchment paper or Silpat and place on top of cookie sheet. Transfer sheet to upper third of oven and bake for about 15 minutes (or until the edges of the cookies just start turning golden on the edges). Allow to cool before icing. If you already decorated the cookies with colored sugar, you won’t need to ice them (although I did both to some of my cookies and they turned out extra–special!).

ICING
1. Whisk together first three ingredients. Start mixing in lemon juice by using one tablespoon at first, then continue adding in only enough to produce a smooth, fluid icing.
2. It is easiest to ice the cookies by dipping the tops into the icing and turning them over onto a wire rack (that has a paper towel under it to catch the drips). The icing will dry on the cookie and not stay sticky.

Then.... EAT and Enjoy!!!