Flower Shortbread Cookies

Summer is officially here and flowers are popping up everywhere! We’re celebrating the beauty of summer with these fun flower shortbread cookies. The recipe is so easy but the look of these “biscuits aux fleurs” is quite enchanting all thanks to edible flowers!

These flower shortbread cookies are only made with a handful of ingredients (3 main ingredients) and are paleo, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, etc. And the list goes on… So wild and free!

What is an edible flower?

Many flowers are edible including rose, calendula, pansies, violas, chamomile, dandelion, and nasturtium. Eating flowers can provide extra nutrients. They make unique decorations and in this case, they lend a whimsical look to plain shortbread cookies. These flower shortbread cookies showcase the lovely and under-appreciated violas but you can use any edible flower.

If you are looking for another edible flower recipe, try my “a rose is a rose in rose petal honey.”

Before you pick and consume flowers, please review the three rules of foraging.

What are the rules of foraging?

1 Don’t eat something if you don’t know what it is!

2 Be a good steward (leave some for others)!

3 Know your land. Is it unsprayed? Is it far enough from the road? Is it your land or public property? Ask an owner?

What is the difference between violas and pansies?

While in the same family, violas are the smaller, wilder cousin of pansies. Violas can also be a more forgiving plant when handling heat compared to the pansy. They make a great addition to any garden. Pansies and violas don’t have much flavor so they are a great introductory edible flower. Raw, they taste a little like a non-bitter version of lettuce but cooked or dried, they become more decoration and have less flavor. Violas are also known as wild pansy, Johnny jump ups and heartsease.

Flower Shortbread cookies are a great afternoon snack or poetry teatime treat. There is a bit of protein with the almond flour and just a little sweetness thanks to some maple syrup. Besides flowers and the previously mentioned ingredients, you will need:

One bowl and just over half an hour to pick, mix, bake and cool!

My kids loved helping make these! From picking the flowers to rolling out the dough, it was rewarding entertainment.

These make a great addition to poetry teatime along with The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker. Enjoy, sweet readers!

Flower Shortbread Cookies

These whimsical flowers cookies are paleo and dairy free! 

Author: Apothecary Mary

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup almond flour

• 5 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

• pinch sea salt

• 2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

• 20-25 violas or other edible flower (or 8-10 pansies) unsprayed

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350. Mix almond flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, salt and vanilla (if using) altogether in a bowl.

• Between two pieces of parchment paper and on a cookie sheet, flatten and roll out the dough until 1/3-1/4 inch thick.

• Peel top layer of parchment paper off. Using a cookie cutter or jar lid (life hack #573), make circles an inch away from each other. 

• Decorate dough circles with flowers (I used 3 violas per cookie). 

• Replace top layer of parchment and using a rolling pin, press the flowers flat into the dough.

• Remove top parchment paper. Remove excess dough around the cookies, repeat steps 2-6 with remaining dough.

• Bake in a preheated 350 oven 10-12 minutes. These bake quickly so keep an eye on them. 

• Let cool and enjoy within 1-2 days. (You can sprinkle them with raw sugar for a little more sweetness).

Notes

I'd love to see your flower creations so please @apothecarymary on social media when you make these!

www.apothecarymary.com