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Yesterday marked Mother’s Day in the United States, as well as in Australia and many other parts of the world.

Typically, Mother’s Day celebrations include big family brunches, dinners in restaurants, or fancy afternoon tea parties. This year, low-key, pandemic-friendly celebrations reigned supreme, with most families choosing to celebrate safely at home.

I’d fully intended to post this simple slice and bake shortbread with spring flowers recipe in time for Mother’s Day baking, but my computer had other plans. Between tech troubleshooting and a whoopie pie recipe experiment taking waaay longer than it ever should’ve (more on that later!) time just got away from me. So, I decided to hold off on posting until I could give this delightfully simple shortbread recipe the attention it deserves.

Colorful Teatime Treats

Thankfully, these shortbread biscuits aren’t just for Mother’s Day. Rolled in crunchy Demerara sugar and sprinkled with edible dried flowers, they make for a colorful teatime treat. They’re perfect for spring celebrations like baby and bridal showers, and a reasonably long shelf life makes these great for gifting, too.

Slice and Bake Shortbread Tips and Tricks

Though tempting, do not skip either of the chilling steps in this recipe! Chilling your dough log for at least 30 minutes will make it much easier to slice, and chilling the slices will prevent your biscuits from spreading in the oven. If you’re short on time, I suggest making the dough log the night before and chilling it in the fridge overnight.

Use a very sharp knife when slicing your shortbread. A dull knife will produce ragged-looking biscuits, or even cause your shortbread dough to crumble.

I designed these as “slice and bake” biscuits, but you can also roll out the dough and cut it with a metal biscuit cutter instead. See this recipe for some tips for making rolled shortbread biscuits.

Choosing Your Flowers

I made my slice and bake shortbread with this spring flower blend, featuring edible rose, cornflower, and marigold petals. However, you could just as easily use any blend of edible flowers–I often enjoy adding dried lavender and hibiscus to my bakes. Rose petals are also lovely in shortbread, perhaps accompanied by a dash of rosewater.

A few things to keep in mind when baking with flowers:

Not all flowers are edible, and not all “edible” flower varieties are food-grade. When choosing your flower blend, you want to look for something clearly labeled “edible,” “food grade” or “culinary grade.” Ideally your flower blend should be organic and non-GMO as well.

There are numerous food-grade flower blends available online, and you can often find locally grown dried flowers at the greenmarket or farmer’s market. Many teas are made from dried flower leaves and blossoms, so an upscale tea shop may also be a useful source.

If you can’t find edible dried flowers, you can always make this recipe without them! Feel free to add sprinkles or sanding sugar for a bit of color, or top with chopped fresh herbs if you prefer a savoury biscuit.

Other shortbread recipes you might enjoy:

Funfetti Slice and Bake Shortbread
Apricot and Rosemary Shortbread

If you make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

Simple Slice and Bake Shortbread with Spring Flowers

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Author: becky
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 14-16 biscuits 1x

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Description

Rolled in crunchy Demerara sugar and sprinkled with spring flower petals, this simple slice and bake shortbread makes for a colorful teatime treat.

Ingredients

Scale

145 grams unsalted butter (10 tablespoons)
55 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
180 grams all purpose flour (1 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon)
2–3 grams edible dried flowers* (about 1/4 cup), plus more for sprinkling
Pinch salt
Demerara sugar, for rolling

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Instructions

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugar and whip until fluffy and well combined. Add flour and a pinch of salt, and mix on low until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Use your hands to work in the dried flower petals, and continue kneading gently until a loose dough has formed.

Shape dough into a log, approximately 8 inches / 20 centimeters long and about 1.5 inches / 4 centimeters in diameter.

Roll the log in Demerara sugar, pressing down gently to make sure the sugar adheres to the dough.

Wrap log in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 30 minutes.

While dough chills, preheat oven to 190° C / 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, and set aside until ready to use.

Unwrap log and slice into 1/2-inch / 1.25-centimeter thick slices. Ttransfer to prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with additional dried flowers, pressing petals gently into the tops of the slices.

Transfer tray to the freezer and freeze for 10 minutes (or chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if your tray doesn’t fit in the freezer!)

Bake in preheated oven until shortbread is just lightly golden around the edges, about 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store shortbread biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.