Mothers Day Floral Shortbread (Print)

Buttery shortbread with delicate edible flowers, ideal for a charming Mothers Day celebration.

# What You Need:

→ Shortbread Dough

01 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
02 - 2/3 cup powdered sugar
03 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
04 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
05 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Decoration

06 - 1 egg white, lightly beaten
07 - 1/4 cup edible dried flowers
08 - 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract.
03 - Sift flour and salt into the mixture. Stir until just combined into a soft dough.
04 - Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.
05 - Cut dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters and place on prepared baking sheets.
06 - Lightly brush each cookie with egg white. Gently press edible flowers onto cookies and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
07 - Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until edges are pale golden. Do not overbake.
08 - Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
09 - Arrange cooled cookies in a decorative box for gifting.

# Top Tips:

01 -
  • They taste like luxury but come together faster than you'd expect, giving you time to actually wrap them nicely.
  • Edible flowers turn basic shortbread into something that feels handcrafted and thoughtful, the kind of gift people photograph before eating.
  • The dough is forgiving enough for someone baking at midnight but refined enough to impress the most discerning palate.
02 -
  • Overbaking by even two minutes turns these into crunchy shortbreads instead of tender ones—watch them like you're guarding treasure because they go from perfect to overdone faster than you'd think.
  • If you can't find edible flowers, citrus zest stirred into the dough creates a lovely flavor variation that's equally elegant and foolproof.
03 -
  • Sift your flour even if it seems unnecessary—this removes any lumps and helps create that signature tender crumb shortbread demands.
  • If your egg white brush leaves the cookies looking too wet, let them sit for 30 seconds before pressing flowers on so the flowers adhere without sliding.
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