How to make beautiful, pressed flower cookies
Making these edible flower cookies had been on my culinary bucket list for a long time. I had seen them all over Instagram and was dying to try them out. But living in Paris meant that access to wild herbs and edible flowers was quite limited. But good things come to those who wait, right?
Fast forward and few months and we’re living in Fontainebleau, right next to the magnificent forest. And I even have my own little garden with fresh herbs growing. Talk about pure foodie paradise!
During the first confinement period, one of my favorite pastry chefs slash naturopaths, Jennifer Hart-Smith aka Tookies Gambetta, was giving online pastry classes. One of the first ones was on how to make these edible flower cookies. Needless to say, I was more than ready to learn how to make them!
During her wonderful class, she gave us a lot of information on how to forage for edible flowers and herbs. Surprisingly, I was able to make my first batch of edible flower cookies using things I found in my garden!
Notes on edible flowers:
You can find edible flowers sold at your local supermarket, greengrocer, or at the farmers market. However, they can be hard to track down. If you’re having a hard time, then maybe your backyard is the best place to look!
Wisteria, pansies, elderflower, chive blossoms, begonias, lilacs, rosemary flowers, rose petals, lavender flowers, and marigolds all make excellent options. Or, you can go a more herbal route and use fresh rosemary, thyme, chives, oregano, mint, coriander, marjoram, clover, carrot tops, fennel tops, and more! Just know that the herbal version of these cookies can be quite strong in flavor, so I would use them sparingly along with whatever flowers you can find.
I also like to add poppy seeds, buckwheat, or even sesame seeds for extra texture.
I hope that you love these cookies as much as I do!
The edible flower cookie recipe
Edible flower cookies
Ingredients
- 130 g butter
- 130 g sugar
- 100 g almond flour
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 90 g rice flour
- 190 g T65 flour
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch salt
- edible flowers and herbs (see section above on edible flowers)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a standing mixer using the leaf attachment, cream the butter, the vanilla, and the sugar.
- Add the almond flour, rice flour, T65 flour, salt, and finally, the egg. Mix until the dough is smooth and everything is well incorporated.
- Note: if the dough feels very sandy and crumbly, add one teaspoon of water and mix again. If needed, add more water and mix until the dough because smooth and comes together.
- Take the dough, shape it into a ball, and then roll it out in between two sheets of parchment paper and put it in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours, or even overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Take out the dough from the fridge, and sprinkle some flour on your work surface.
- Remove the top layer of parchment paper.
- Scatter the edible flowers on top of the dough, then place the parchment paper back on top of the dough. Take your rolling pin and gently roll on top of the parchment paper while pressing down lightly. This should press the flowers into the dough.
- Remove the top layer of parchment paper. Cut out circles using a cookie cutter. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the edges start to brown slightly.
- Cooking note: during the cooking time, every few minutes you should open the oven door and let the air out. Take out the cookie sheet, and using a flat spatula, gently press down on the cookies. This will help them to all be the same thickness and will stop them from puffing in some spots.
If you’re looking for another French sable or shortbread cookie recipe, don’t miss my chocolate cinnamon cookies!
I hope you enjoy these beauties as much as I do!