These are buttery, whole-wheat shortbread cookies – aromatic with rosewater, flecked with toasted nuts and dried rose petals. They’ve a crunchy dusting of sugar on high that gives a satisfying, candy tongue scratch, and are punctuated with black sesame. I am not going to lie – it took a number of makes an attempt to nail them down, as lots of you understand, coping with floral flavors could be a bit difficult. However now, as written, they’re great!
Rose Shortbread Cookies: Inspiration
These buttery gems happened once I was tasked with bringing dessert to a pal’s home. She was cooking a powerful Ottolenghi-inspired feast, and I believed these can be a reasonably end, with the rose petals and all. Within the years since that dinner they’ve turn into a part of my common shortbread repertoire, and I make them typically for particular events and holidays. I imply, they’re so pretty and attractive!
Baking with Flowers
The trick with cooking or baking with florals is determining how a lot is an excessive amount of, and the way little is simply too little. For instance, with this shortbread recipe, the primary couple of makes an attempt I used dried rose petals solely, and a very good quantity. However the taste obtained pushed round a bit, bullied and overpowered by the browning butter.
Second try? I gave the rose notes a lift by layering the petals within the dough with a splash of rose water. The dough instantly turned extra aromatic, balanced, and helped nail what I supposed (and hoped for) from the beginning. I recommend utilizing a little bit of warning when baking with rose water, as a result of every bottle appears to fluctuate in energy, high quality, and scent. Strictly for reference, I will point out that I’ve been utilizing Nielsen-Massey Rose Water. In the event you’re uncertain concerning the high quality or energy of your rose water, begin with half, and style the dough. You’ll be able to at all times alter with extra from there. Belief your senses :)!
These little shortbread cookies are excellent alongside different bite-sized treats on a post-dinner sweets board. I like to interrupt up a very good bar of chocolate, embody some salted caramels, possibly a number of dates, and so forth. Or you might do a cookie-only sampler, with a spread of tiny cookies. They’re nice for events and showers and boxed up as a present as nicely. Get pleasure from!