Lilacs are blooming, and their season is short, so I try to make as much use of them as possible. Aside from bringing a few vasefuls into the house, I love adding them to recipes like salads, tea, panna cotta, scones, or cookies. I first made this shortbread recipe a few years ago, and it is too good not to share. If stored in freezer-proof containers, they freeze very well, and I have kept them frozen for more than six months without losing any of their flavor. These cookies would be perfect to serve at a tea party, garden party, or bridal shower. I recommend making the candied lilacs the night before making the shortbread.
Lilac Shortbread
Ingredients:
Shortbread:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup lilac sugar, packed (see notes)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh lilac blossoms, stems and leaves removed
Icing:
Reserved lilac sugar (see notes)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup water
1 3/4-2 cups powdered sugar
Candied lilacs (see notes)
Instructions
Shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, lilac sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until mostly combined. Gently mix in the lilacs. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter and roll to 1/4-inch thickness, dusting with additional flour as needed. Using a 1 1/4-inch fluted square cookie cutter, or other circular cutter, cut out the cookies, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Arrange the cookies with 1/2-inch spacing on parchment-lined sheet pans and bake for 9-11 minutes or until just starting to turn golden on the bottoms. Cool completely on the pans.
Icing:
Add the reserved lilac sugar, blueberries, and water to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low boil. Remove from heat and mash the berries. Cool completely, then strain through a fine mesh sieve or several layers of cheesecloth. Beat in 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Test a cookie by dipping it halfway into the icing. If it is too thin, beat in another 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Dip the remaining cookies, scraping excess icing on the edge of the bowl, and set on a wire rack. Garnish the iced side of each cookie with a candied lilac. Let stand until the icing sets. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 64 cookies.
Notes: To make candied lilacs, stir 1/4 cup of light corn syrup with 1/4 cup of room temperature water. Sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar over a platter. Trim 64 lilacs of their shafts so they lie flat. Dip each lilac into the syrup mixture, brushing off excess, then place on the sugar. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the top of the lilacs. Let stand at room temperature for 8 hours or until dry. Shake off excess sugar and use the lilacs for garnishing the shortbread. For the lilac sugar, add 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup lilac blossoms to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Use 1/2 cup packed lilac sugar in the shortbread recipe and reserve the rest for the icing. You can use larger or different-shaped cookie cutters or a fluted pastry cutter if you don’t have a small cookie cutter.
