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 prime that gives a satisfying, candy tongue scratch, and are punctuated with black sesame. I am not going to lie – it took a couple of makes an attempt to nail them down, as lots of you already know, coping with floral flavors generally is a bit difficult. However now, as written, they’re great!
Rose Shortbread Cookies: Inspiration
These buttery gems took place once I was tasked with bringing dessert to a pal’s home. She was cooking a formidable Ottolenghi-inspired feast, and I believed these could be a reasonably end, with the rose petals and all. Within the years since that dinner they’ve change into a part of my common shortbread repertoire, and I make them usually 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 quantity. However the taste acquired 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 grew to become extra aromatic, balanced, and helped nail what I supposed (and hoped for) from the beginning. I counsel utilizing a little bit of warning when baking with rose water, as a result of every bottle appears to differ in power, high quality, and scent. Strictly for reference, I am going to point out that I’ve been utilizing Nielsen-Massey Rose Water. If you happen to’re uncertain in regards to the high quality or power of your rose water, begin with half, and style the dough. You may 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 bar of chocolate, embrace some salted caramels, possibly a couple of dates, and so forth. Or you possibly can 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 properly. Take pleasure in!