Summer has indeed sprung, and its once gentle sunshine has turned slightly murderous as the temperatures in my garden continue to climb far beyond what my plants prefer. My chamomile is particularly wounded, and all but three of those poor plants have dried out to a yellowed dust. The remaining three, however have new growth, and I’ve also found the other culprit of the issue, which was a leak in the waterline in their raised bed. In my haste to use the blossoms before the heat devoured them, I decided to turn them into these delightfully tasty chamomile tea shortbread cookies.
The chamomile tea is steeped in milk, and is used for both the glaze and the cookies themselves. I also have the dried loose leaf chamomile tea in the cookies themselves, and fresh chamomile as decorations on top, along with some other edible flowers from the garden, like pansies or snapdragons. It makes for a buttery, floral, and slightly pineapple-y cookie, since the fresh chamomile have a wonderfully strong pineapple kick to them.
Should You Use Fresh or Dried Chamomile in the Chamomile Tea Shortbread Cookies?
I recommend using the dried chamomile to steep in the milk, and also recommend using dried chamomile in the dough. The flavor is a bit more concentrated in the dried herb, so the flavor will come through more pronounced. But if you do happen to have some fresh chamomile, by all means use it as a decoration! The fresh stuff has the aforementioned delightful pineapple taste that tends to dissipate once the chamomile is dried, so it adds a little something extra to the mix.
If you don’t have fresh chamomile, you can also use dried chamomile to decorate the cookies. Really whatever food-safe flowers you have, fresh or dried, you can use to sprinkle or press onto the glaze for decoration. Anything from rose petals to violas to calendula to pansies will do. I hope you enjoy these chamomile tea shortbread cookies, my friend, and that you stay cool during these soaring temps! Here’s some popsicles to help 🙂
Chamomile Tea Shortbread Cookies
These buttery tender cookies melt-in-your-mouth, and marry the wonderful classic shortbread cookie with the delicate and floral flavors of chamomile tea. It's a pairing made in heaven, and sure to become your new favorite cupboard cookie.
Ingredients
Chamomile Infused Milk
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon loose leaf chamomile tea or 1 tea bag of chamomile tea
Chamomile Tea Shortbread Cookies
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter or plant butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon chamomile infused milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or 1-to-1 GF baking Flour with xanthum gum
- 3 tablespoons dried chamomile tea
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Glaze + Toppings
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons chamomile infused milk
- 1 cup fresh chamomile blossoms about 54 flowers, or other edible flower or petals of similar size
- 8 fresh pansies or other edible flower of similar size
Instructions
Chamomile Infused Milk
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Heat the milk in a small saucepan or briki until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat, add the chamomile, and allow to steep until the milk cools to room temperature. Strain, reserving the milk.
Chamomile Tea Shortbread Cookies
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In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, 1 tablespoon of the infused milk, and the vanilla, starting at low speed and increasing to medium until smooth. Add the flour, dried chamomile, and salt and beat until a stiff dough forms. Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick oval, wrap it in plastic or beeswrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough out until it is ¼-inch thick. Use a 2 ¾-inch (7 cm) round cookie cutter to cut out the circle shapes (if you use a smaller size, they will bake faster, if you use a larger size, they will take longer to bake).
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Place the cookie on the baking sheet, leaving 1-inch between the cookies. Place the trays on two baking racks positioned towards the center and bottom. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges, swapping the trays on the baking racks halfway through so they bake evenly. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
Glaze and Assembly
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Whisk together the powdered sugar and the infused milk until smooth. Dip the cooled cookies in the glaze, then place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet or cutting board to catch the excess glaze.
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While the glaze is still wet and unset, press the edible food-safe flowers onto the cookies. Serve and enjoy! Will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week.
