Sitting quietly with a cup of tea and a view of lavender plants stretching into the distance is a captivating way to slow life down a bit. Perhaps there is a bunch of lavender in a vase next to where you sit, and you reach out to gently touch and smell the flowers. Add the buttery sweet crunch of a shortbread cookie

touched with lavender, and your senses will sing with the sight and scent of the flowers surrounding you and the sweet lavender flavor on your tongue.

These classic 1-2-3 shortbread cookies are easy to make, and the touch of lavender elevates them from tempting and delicious, to absolutely irresistible. To make the shortbread, you’ll need a kitchen scale that measures in either grams or ounces. The 1-2-3 of the recipe refers to the proportions of the ingredients to each other. It actually doesn’t matter what the measurements are as long as the proportions remain the same. So, 1 part sugar + 2 parts butter + 3 parts flour = amazing cookies. Here’s how to make the delightful, European-style shortbread cookies with a sweet suggestion of

lavender.

The “parts” used in this recipe are either 80gms or 3 ounces in size. One last note: use either grams or ounces when you make the cookies - don’t switch back and forth.

Here you go:

Oven temperature: 325 degrees F / Baking time: 27-30 minutes

Equipment: kitchen scale, large mixing bowl, small bowl, measuring teaspoon, cookie sheet, food processor or mortar & pestle (optional), bench scraper or knife, ruler, rubber scraper, fork, metal spatula, parchment paper, wire cooling rack

Ingredients: This recipe uses proportions of ingredients; one part sugar to two parts butter to three parts flour, plus dried lavender flowers to taste. The recipe measurements below will yield dough that can be patted to approximately seven to eight inches square / ½ inch thick, yielding approximately four dozen one-inch square cookie bites.

80 grams (3 ounces) superfine sugar (regular sugar is fine too) 80 x 1 = 80 (one part)

160 grams butter (6 ounces), softened to room temperature 80 x 2 = 160 (two parts)

240 grams (9 ounces) all-purpose flour 80 x 3 = 240 (three parts)

1 - 1½ teaspoon dried lavender buds

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Mix it up:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, 165 Celsius, or Gas Mark 3.

2. Grease the cookie sheet or place a sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet.

3. Place the small bowl on the scale and tare or zero the scale so you are measuring just the

ingredients, not the bowl too! Set the scale to read in grams or ounces as you prefer.

4. Measure ingredients separately, emptying the small bowl into the larger one between

measurements. Be certain to clean out the small bowl with a rubber scraper between

measurements too.

5. If you wish to grind the lavender into smaller pieces, place either the sugar or the flour into the

bowl of a small food processor, add the lavender buds, and whirr until the lavender is ground.

Or, grind the lavender in a clean mortar and pestle and add to the large mixing bowl when it is

as fine as you desire.

6. Using your clean hands, mix the ingredients in the large bowl until the butter is entirely

incorporated and the dough resembles fine crumbles and sticks together when pressed into a

ball.

7. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and press the dough mixture into a rough square about 8X8

inches and about ½ inch thick.

8. This part is optional, but makes breaking the cookies into smaller pieces after baking much

easier: Using a ruler and bench scraper or knife (or eye-balling the sizes without a ruler), first

score, then cut through the dough to the bottom of the pan to create cookies - any size that

appeals to you is fine. Do not separate the cookies. Prick the tops of the cookies with a fork if

desired, place the pan in the oven, and bake for about 25 minutes. Check the cookies

frequently after the first 25 minutes, but allow them to bake for 2-5 minutes more, watching

them carefully. The cookies should be firm and appear dry, with very little browning, except

along the edges.

9. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes on the baking pan, then

carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack. You can again cut the cookies with the bench scraper

as soon as you remove them from the oven, or you can carefully break them apart after they

are cooled.

10. Store in an airtight container. These cookies freeze well, which makes them perfect to have on

hand as a buttery lavender treat for unexpected guests.

Yield: 48 - 1-inch shortbread cookies bites; 50 calories per cookie