These four-ingredient flower cookies are surprisingly simple to make! Though vegan, they’re rich, “buttery”, and melt in your mouth.
This post first appeared April 5, 2018, and was last updated August 29, 2020.
We love adding unexpected flavours like herbs and flowers to sweet desserts! Rosemary shortbread, bay leaf strawberry jam, basil ice cream, lemon lavender sugar cookies, the list goes on and on. We actually have a whole tutorial on baking with herbs. There’s just something so special about combining garden bounty with rich desserts.
To learn more about baking with edible flowers, visit this post called choosing edible flowers. It includes information on where to find them, as well as our top 12 favourite varieties you can grow yourself.
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Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
- vegan butter (also called plant-based or dairy-free)
- natural cane sugar
- whole wheat pastry flour
- edible flowers
Method
In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth.
Slowly add the pastry flour until just combined.
Flatten the dough into a disk. Wrap it with cling film and chill it in the fridge for at least an hour.
After chilling, roll the cookie dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the rolled dough into desired shapes.
Garnish each cookie with edible flowers and/or herbs. When all the cookie tops are decorated, lightly roll the rolling pin over the dough to make sure the flowers have adhered to the cookies. Chill the cookies for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven and bake the flower cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips & Notes
For best results when using vegan (also called dairy-free or plant-based) butter, look for brands that are made without palm shortening. Besides being environmentally unfriendly, palm shortening can also make for greasy cookies.
If the dough feel dry, like it won’t come together, work it at the end with your hands. We promise you, all of the flour will mix in! You just have to be patient. You can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to do the work for you.
Chilling the flower cookie dough gives the fat time to solidify, and gives the flour time to hydrate. Both of these factors make for a cookie that will spread less, which reduces the risk of burnt edges.
Don’t worry about the flowers burning in the oven! As long as you use fresh flowers they should be fine because the cookies don’t bake for that long.
We find that orange and purple edible flowers tend to hold their colour the best.
Baking time depends on the size you cut your flower cookies. We used a 2-½ inch (6-½ cm) round cookie cutter for the cookies in this post.
Feel free to use regular dairy-butter if you prefer.
More Recipes Using Fresh Flowers & Herbs
Vegan Skillet Cornbread
Rosemary Biscuits
Honey Elderflower Cordial
Lavender Sugar Cookies With Earl Grey Glaze
Recipe
Flower Cookies
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Hand mixer
- Plastic wrap or bees wax wraps
- Cookie cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Wire rack
- Spatula
Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup natural cane sugar
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flower
- Edible flowers
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the sugar and vegan butter together with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth.
- Slowly add the pastry flour, about ¼ cup (37 grams) at a time, mixing until just combined between each addition (you may want to use your hands to help it come together at the end).
- Flatten it into a disk. Wrap it with cling film (or a reusable alternative such as bees wax wraps) and chill it in the fridge for at least one hour.
- After the dough has chilled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch (½-cm) thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes (we used a 2-½ inch (6-½ cm) round cookie cutter).
- Garnish each cookie with edible flowers and/or herbs. When all of the cookie tops are decorated, lightly roll the rolling pin over the dough to make sure all the flowers have adhered to the cookies.
- Return the cookies to the refrigerator and chill for another 30 minutes.
- To bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Bake the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes, depending on or until lightly golden around the edges.
- Cool cookies on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
2pots2cook says
Am I dreaming ? I haven’t seen something that elegant for a long time. Thank you for making my day beautiful !
Sophie Mackenzie says
Thank you so much! I’m delighted to hear you love them as much as I do :)
Julia shirley says
Beautiful. I’ve seen this on brownies – so how/when do you place the flowers on a wet mixture, and how do they remain vibrant in the cooking process without discolouring?
Thanks
Julia shirley says
……see @blushingcook on Insta.
Those brownies – how is that achieved?
Kelly Neil says
Just had a look at the feed you mentioned and it’s a repost of Nigel Slater which says the brownies are decorated with pressed flowers. This leads us to believe that those flowers were not baked in the oven, and instead, the flattened flowers were gently pressed into the brownies after baking. Hope this helps!
Stephie says
These are the prettiest cookies I’ve ever seen! I think you just became my new favourite blog :)
Sophie Mackenzie says
Ah, thank you so much Stephie! You’re too sweet. Hope you get a change to try floral shortbread yourself :)
Maria Koutsogiannis says
These are beautiful! Makes me want to plant all edible flowers in my garden!
Sophie Mackenzie says
Thank you Maria! I’m right there with you. My favourite ones to grow have got to be pansy’s, nasturtiums, and corn flowers (all super low maintenance!)
Candace says
Sooooo pretty!!! 😍
Sophie Mackenzie says
thank you Candace!
Aneesah says
Hi. These are incredibly pretty. Just wanna know if the flowers lose color whilst baking? And how do I ensure they don’t burn from the heat of the oven? Thanks
Sophie Mackenzie says
Hi Aneesah, yes the flowers get a little less vibrant but oranges and purples tend to whole the colour the best. As far as burning goes, as long as they are fresh they shouldn’t burn (the oven is not hot enough and they’re not in their for too long).
<3
Emily Canizales says
they are beautiful! could i replace whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose flour?
Alexandra Daum says
Definitely!
Tanvi says
Do you know if edible dried flowers can be used, or will these burn in the oven? Thanks!
Sophie Mackenzie says
The won’t stick as easily, but you can add dried rose, chamomile or lavender to the dough to flavour them. Another suggestion is to lightly glaze the cookies with an icing after they are baked and top with dried flowers.
Katrena says
Where can I buy these edible flowers? Thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Katrena, it completely depends on where you live! You can often find them at grocery stores with the fresh herbs, or in specialty stores, online, and so on, but it depends on location. We mostly grow them ourselves in pots.
Courtney says
Hi! These look amazing!!! Are these able to be baked ahead and frozen?
Sophie Mackenzie says
for sure, the flowers are delicate and might not survive the freezer too well, you’ll need to be pretty careful with them, but the cookies totally freeze :)