How to Make Pansy Topped Shortbread Cookie: A Floral Delight

I am a huge shortbread fan and when I saw these beautiful pansy topped shortbread cookies, I knew I had to make them. They are the perfect for Easter, Mother’s day, Baby or Bridal showers. Special floral cookies using real pansies! Who knew you could use real pansies on cookies like this? Make sure to use homegrown or organically grown pansies to avoid pesticides.

Ingredients 

The ingredients are most likely what you have in your cupboard and fridge. They don’t take hardly any time to whip up a batch.

• 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
• Optional you could add lemon zest to the dough
• Assorted fresh pansies, approximately 30 flowers, Best to use homegrown pansies to avoid pesticides (I just used flowers from the garden center)

How to make shortbread

In your kitchen aid mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and mix until combined. Or you can use your food processor.

Add the flour and extract, mix just until the dough comes together into kind of lumps.

Pull dough out of mixing bowl and place onto a floured surface and bring together into a smooth flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 2 hours

Prepare the Pansies

While the dough is refrigerating you can get your Pansies ready. Pull the stems off your pansies. The brighter colored pansies the better they will turn out.

Press the flowers between sheets of paper towel or waxed paper, using heavy books to weigh them down. Let them sit for at least 30 minute or up to several hours. I just did 30 minutes.

Bake Shortbread Cookies and Top with Pansy

Preheat oven to 325

Roll out dough to about 1/4″ in thickness. Using a round cookies cutter measuring 2 1/2″ cut out cookies and place on cookie sheet.

Bake 9-11 minutes. Shortbread cookies do not brown up. These cookies will be pale and soft when they come out of the oven.

Bake shortbread cookies and while they’re hot from the oven, gently place the pressed pansies on top, lightly patting them down so they adhere.

You can experiment using one or more on each cookie. The heat of the cookies will bond the delicate petals to the surface, so don’t press too hard.

Enjoy your Pansy Topped Shortbread Cookie

Sprinkle with granulated sugar if you like. They look so gorgeous! Let the cookies cool completely to firm up. After they’ve cooled they can be stacked on a platter

More Cookie Recipes

Apple Cider Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mini Magic Bar Cookies

Vanilla Meltaway Cookies topped with peaches

Pansy Topped Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Pansy Topped Shortbread Cookies

Buttery shorbread cookies topped with fresh pansies

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 11 minutes mins

Servings: 3 dozen

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• Optional you could add lemon zest to the dough
• 30 Assorted fresh pansies approximately 30 flowers, Best to use homegrown pansies to avoid pesticides (I just used flowers from the garden center)

Method

 

Make Shorbread

1. Put the sugar and soft butter into the bowl of a mixer or food processor and combine completely.
2. Add the flour and extract, and mix just until the dough comes together into a lump.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring together into a smooth flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 2 hours.

Prepare Pansies

1. Remove the stems from the pansies, and place them on a large sheet of paper towels or waxed paper.

   Place another sheet on top, and then weigh it down with a baking tray or other large flat surface, topped with several heavy books. Let the pansies press for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if you like.

Bake the cookies and top with pansies

1. Preheat the oven to 325F

   Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out with a cookie cutter.

   Use a 2 1/2 inch cutter.

   Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, depending on thickness. Your cookies will not brown, they will be pale and soft when done.

   Remove the tray from the oven and gently press the flat pansies onto the hot cookies, pressing slightly to adhere the flowers to the cookies.

   Don’t press too hard, the heat of the cookies will do the job. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.

   Let the cookies cool completely on a rack.Note: the cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.