One of the things I have very much enjoyed doing the past couple of years is visiting a lavender farm or two during the summer. Lavender is one of my all time favorite scents and I love using it in recipes. So what better way to get your hands on some than to pick it yourself?! Last weekend, Eric and I visited a lavender farm in Wisconsin called Lavender Bluff Farm to pick some lavender and wild flowers. It was beautiful! They have a cute little store also where you can buy lavender scented items along with body care items and other things. They had a short bread mix in there and Eric wanted to buy some but instead I suggested we stick to the essential oils and stuff and make some lavender short bread when we got home. So that evening I whipped up a batch of Vegan Vanilla Almond Lavender Short Bread!
It was so simple to make, the base contains very few ingredients plus the flavorings. I have made short bread before, it is actually one of my favorite cookies because of the buttery rich texture that makes it perfect for enjoying with a cup of coffee or tea! For the butter in this one I used Earth Balance because it is what I had on hand, but you could use a different vegan butter if you preferred, I have also used Country Crock in my shortbread. I used whole wheat pastry flour because it is what I prefer, but you could also use a regular all purpose flour instead or even a gluten free all purpose baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill all purpose baking flour, which I have tried myself with good results) if you wanted it gluten free.
I flavored these with vanilla extract, almond extract and some of my dried lavender and the flavor was perfect! The dough for these tasted wonderful and they smelled amazing while baking. Yes, I always have to sample the dough when making cookies, that is one of my favorite parts! I could not wait to try them!
When they were cooled and it was time to sample, the shortbread was so heavenly! Rich and buttery, scented with vanilla, almond and lavender with a melt in your mouth texture. This is amazing dunked into coffee, I tried it with a lavender latte (one of my favorite things) because why not?! If you are in the mood for some delicious, easy to make cookies, definitely give these a try!
Vegan Vanilla Almond Lavender Short Bread
Makes 16 pieces
Ingredients:
- 1 cup or 2 sticks Earth Balance or other vegan butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup unbleached granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp dried lavender flowers
- 1 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sea salt, sugar, and lavender until the butter and sugar are well incorporated.
- Mix in the lavender, vanilla and almond extracts and baking powder until well incorporated.
- Mix in the flour until the flour is incorporated.
- Place the dough in a 9 inch square pan lined with parchment and press into the pan until it is spread out completely to the edges in an even layer.
- Score the dough into 12 or 16 pieces (depending on how big you want them) using a knife, then poke the pieces with a fork a few times.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until set.
- Remove from the oven, let sit for 10 minutes then re-cut where you scored it with a sharp knife.
- Let cool completely in the pan.
- Enjoy!
Shortbread keeps for 1 week at room temperature in an airtight container or 4 months frozen in an airtight container.
