Gingery Lavender Shortbread

A couple of weeks ago when we went door to door, up and down our street to collect food for the food bank, we met our across the street neighbor for the first time.
She happens to be an older woman who lives all alone. Her husband passed away quite a few years ago and she has no children. We stayed and talked to her for a while.
The next day my 5 year old was begging to go across the street to talk to her again.
The next day- same story. and the next day and the next day.

So, we decided to make her a treat and go drop in to say hi and see how she was getting along.

I am growing lavender and had successfully dried some, so I was anxious to use it in a recipe.
I found this shortbread recipe in a book I have on the shelf and made a few tweaks to it. I added lemon zest and a little bit of salt and topped the shortbread off with some purple sugar.

We had to taste test it before we took it over (of course), and then we tied some ribbon around it and headed off across the street.

The kids were happy because we made someone else smile and because we were able to have a sweet treat. We had some shortbread leftover so I shared with some other friends. I thought the lavender flavor was faint, but one taster said it was definitely noticeable.

Gingery Lavender Shortbread- adapted from BH&G the ultimate cookie book

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• zest of 1 lemon
  

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In bowl, combine flour, sugar, crystallized ginger, lavender, and ground ginger.
4. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling.
5. Form mixture into a ball; knead until smooth (dough may be crumbly at first but will come together as you work it with your hands).
6. Roll or pat dough onto prepared cookie sheet in 11” x 6” rectangle.
7. With large knife, carefully halve rectangle lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 16 slices.
8. Do not separate slices.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are light brown and center is set.
10. Re-cut the rectangle and separate the slices while warm.
11. If desired, sprinkle with additional sugar.
12. Cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes.
13. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
14. To Store: Place cookies in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container.
15. Store at room temperature for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.