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.
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.