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Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookies

Shaina · April 14, 2014 · 23 Comments

A recipe for rich, decadent sablé cookies with a bright lemon and lavender glaze.
Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie #recipe via FoodforMyFamily.com

I carry you with me into the world, into the smell of rain and the words that dance between people, and for me, it will always be this way, walking in the light, remembering being alive together. -Brian Andreas


This weekend I drove to my grandpa’s house. Located in a cul-de-sac just a few blocks from my childhood home, I pulled up to the yellow house with my youngest daughter in the backseat to help sort through the collection of my grandparents’ lives.

We made our way, room by room, sifting through piles of mail, emptying cupboards filled with pots and pans my grandpa hadn’t touched since my grandma had passed away, pulling out treasures from decades past. My instinct was to package it all up in my car, drive away with the memories firmly tucked into the backseat next to the next generation of their line. I wanted to grab the giant family portrait from 1982 with its ornate carved frame—me the sole grandchild on my mother’s lap, my grandmother next to us, dark hair pulled into an always-present chignon at the nape of her neck.

Instead I watched as my grandma’s bright blue robe was rolled and placed in the Goodwill bag. I sorted through her handbag—still tucked in the front closet untouched for years—tossing her lipstick and a pile of clean, folded tissues, the plastic babushka she kept there for when it rained.
Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie #recipe via FoodforMyFamily.com

Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie #recipe via FoodforMyFamily.com
As I allowed memories of my childhood to be boxed or discarded, I tucked away a small number to hang on to. I pinned a brooch of a colorful snail to my daughter’s t-shirt and fastened my grandma’s gold watch around her small wrist. In our car I had her carry two small stone elephants that I played with as a child on the carpet in front of the curio cabinet where they were stored. She promptly dropped one on our cement steps, its white stone trunk splitting off.

My heart heavy, I thought of my grandpa, going through the motions each day in a home his wife had maintained and managed, careful not to disturb her things even after so many years of living alone. We had pulled pictures off the wall, a footstool, a mirror to bring to his new home where I know he carries my grandmother in his heart, even though he’s no longer surrounded by the house she made home.

The broken elephant sits on a shelf above my cookbooks, waiting for its epoxy appointment. A broken reminder of what was. My grandparents, however, live in the memories. Her, house coat on, stirring eggs in the early morning light. The way she’d brush out her hair at the end of the day, and how I always registered surprise at its length, which was never displayed. My grandpa sitting next to me at the kitchen counter as my legs swing, eggs and toast and orange juice, his voice always too loud and my grandma telling him to be quiet, her accent stronger in scolding.

Her essence is wrapped up in every tin of cookies I’ve ever made, waiting for someone to pull off the lid and see what’s stored inside. His is in the way I stack my mail and organize my children’s artwork that I should really throw away. It’s something I carry with me, but it cannot be grasped between my fingers or passed down as an heirloom.
Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie #recipe via FoodforMyFamily.com

Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie #recipe via FoodforMyFamily.com
I made these lavender and lemon sablés last Wednesday as I prepared to bring salad and sandwiches to our Lenten soup supper, my kids climbing up to the counter to get a look and bouncing up and down as they waited for a taste. I had an image of the decorated Easter egg-like glaze I just couldn’t shake. While sablé cookies traditionally have their rims coated in sanding sugar, I went ahead with my plan. The lemon in the glaze is bright and vibrant, the cookie rich and buttery with a delicate crumb.

When they were finished, I handed one out to each child, then packaged the rest up and carried them off to where others could enjoy them, sharing a bit of me and my heritage in the process.
Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie #recipe via FoodforMyFamily.com
These lovelies are a modified version of Dorie Greenspan’s sablé recipe. A slightly different technique and baking method and, of course, the lavender and lemon, oh, plus glaze.

Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookies

Yield: 24
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 48 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened (European-style butter is preferred)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 lemons, zested
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried lavender
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 cups flour
  • For the glaze
  • 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from the zested lemons)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender

Instructions

  • Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add in the granulated sugar, confectioner's sugar, salt, lemon zest, and the lavender and beat until smooth.
  • Add in the egg yolks and beat until well blended. Then add all the flour at once. Mix until the flour has been incorporated being careful not to overmix. The dough should look crumbly like wet sand.
  • Scrape the dough into a ball in the bowl you mixed it in. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
  • Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick.
  • Using a 2" cookie or biscuit cutter, cut 2" rounds from the dough. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1" apart. Once the sheet is filled with cookie dough, slide it into the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat with all cookie dough and sheets.
  • Remove the sheet from the freezer and place it immediately into the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes, just until centers are set, but edges are not browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet.
  • When the cookies are still warm but not hot, mix together the glaze. Sift the confectioners' sugar to remove lumps, and then stir in the lemon juice until desired consistency is reached. The glaze should be thick, but not stiff. Stir in the lemon zest and lavender.
  • Using a small spoon, apply a small teaspoon-sized bit of glaze to the center of each cookie. Use the back of the spoon to spread it across the cookie's surface. Allow the glaze to set completely before serving or packaging. Makes approximately 48 cookies.
  • © Shaina Olmanson
    Cuisine: French / Category: Dessert

     

    Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts, Featured, Recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Paula - bell'alimento says

      April 14, 2014 at 5:15 pm

      Mmmm I can smell the lavender and lemon all the way over here. Loverly!

      Reply
    2. Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says

      April 14, 2014 at 6:07 pm

      Shaina. This post is beautiful. xo

      Reply
      • Lauren says

        April 15, 2014 at 8:52 am

        What she said! <3

        Reply
    3. Tieghan says

      April 14, 2014 at 10:37 pm

      Beautiful post. You are an amaizng writer and these cookies look so good!

      Reply
    4. Marly says

      April 15, 2014 at 6:43 am

      How sweet and delicate. Love it!

      Reply
    5. Brian @ A Thought For Food says

      April 15, 2014 at 9:23 am

      Having just lost another grandparent, your words hit especially deep. There is that desire to hold on to those tangible items, but as you described so beautifully, it’s these other things… their way of living… that we must remember.

      Reply
    6. Maria | Pink Patisserie says

      April 15, 2014 at 9:37 am

      Really, really lovely. Your post and these cookies.

      Reply
    7. Gaby says

      April 15, 2014 at 10:57 am

      Such a moving post Shaina and the cookies sound incredible.

      Reply
    8. meredith in sock monkey slippers says

      April 15, 2014 at 11:00 am

      Lemon and lavender is my favorite flavor combo! And such a great story!

      Reply
    9. Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen says

      April 16, 2014 at 8:01 am

      You have such a gift Shaina, I know I’ve said it before but you have a way of drawing me in with your words. I love this post and the cookies look equally beautiful to your story.

      Reply
    10. Laurie {Simply Scratch} says

      April 16, 2014 at 8:26 am

      These cookies are what dreams are made of! Gorgeous!

      Reply
    11. Rebecca {foodie with family} says

      April 21, 2014 at 6:58 pm

      Now I’m crying AND I want a cookie. I love my grandparents, too, Shaina. My grandma is still with us but in a home now, my grandpa passed a decade ago now, but both of them are as present in my daily life as if i were still a kid at their table. Your post captured that feeling so beautifully. And I still want a cookie.

      Reply
    12. laurasmess says

      April 28, 2014 at 7:11 pm

      These are beautiful Shaina! I’ve only just stumbled across your blog via the Bake for Good campaign and I am so glad that I did. You guys are beautiful inside and out, such a good thing to contribute to! Back to these cookies – I am loving the fragrant, herbal lavender with the tang and bright hue from the lemon. I can imagine how delicious they would be! I am definitely trying your recipe xx

      Reply
    13. Chris @ Shared Appetite says

      April 28, 2014 at 9:35 pm

      What a beautiful post and stunning cookies! Found your blog through Erin over at The Law Student’s Wife. I’m having fun looking around!

      Reply
    14. Nicole says

      May 25, 2014 at 6:35 am

      An old friend of my mom’s has a son that’s a chef somewhere in California. Every year our church has a bake sale that he sends his lemon lavender cookies to sell at. My mom absolutely loves them! She makes sure she’s the first one there so she can buy all of them! This recipe sounds very similar. Can’t wait to make them for her! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • Shaina says

        May 26, 2014 at 10:33 am

        Oh, that’s so sweet. I’m glad you came across the recipe, and I hope they satisfy a few of her cravings in between bake sales!

        Reply
    15. Carri U. says

      March 9, 2016 at 3:38 pm

      This post is absolutely beautiful. Made my day. I’m going to bake these cookies and make someone else’s day too!

      Reply
    16. Cristina Warseck says

      May 12, 2018 at 1:46 pm

      I made these today. OMG these are amazing cookies. I am so happy I found your recipe!!

      Reply
    17. Stephanie says

      May 30, 2018 at 8:28 pm

      A beautiful story; a divinely delectable cookie. Thank you!!

      Reply
    18. Mcgirt says

      November 26, 2019 at 9:35 pm

      How did you find numerous details? I enjoy the way that
      you arrange everything, because it’s actually easy to read.
      Overall, I can recommend this report to everyone who’s interested in that topic.

      Reply
    19. marls says

      May 29, 2020 at 10:27 am

      do i have to use lavender i don’t have any

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Top 10 Spring Things to Make | TidyMom says:
      April 24, 2014 at 7:13 pm

      […] Lavender and Lemon Sablé Cookie recipe at Food For My Family […]

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      January 29, 2021 at 3:16 am

      Posicionamiento Web

      Lavender Lemon Sablé Cookie Recipe | Food for My Family

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    Hello, I'm Shaina. Food for My Family is where I share recipes, tips, opinions, and my philosophy on food as Ole and I strive to teach our four children how to eat well: seasonally, locally, organically, deliciously, and balanced. [Read more...]
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