Rose Petal Shortbread

I seemed to be baking a lot of cookies these days. I find that I'm constantly looking for something crunchy or crispy whether savoury or sweet to munch on, so I guess cookies satisfy the cravings other than chips :p

Saw this recipe on the May 2013 issue of Food & Travel and decided to give it a try since I do have a bottle of Nissey Massay Rose Extract sitting in the fridge from a previous cupcake bake.

For the rose petals, initially I bought a pack of dried rose buds from a chinese herbal provision shop but I find the aroma a little weird. Those found in Chinese herbal shops is typically used for soups. In the end, I bought a bottle of gourmet dried edible rose petals which is very costly. It's only much later that I manage to find rose petal tea at a much affordable price.

The baking process was fairly straightforward, the dough was a little wet so it was essential to first roll the dough into individual logs and then freeze the logs for ease of cutting. That said, the cookie will still spread a little during baking. The aroma of the rose was intoxicating and my entire house was filled with the lovely scent. Texture of the cookie was light and brittle, like that of shortbread and I love the distinct taste of rose.

The dough keeps well in the freezer so it's possible to make a big batch and freeze the dough for smaller batch baking. And the cookies keep quite well in airtight container. I have a tub (reduced to a few pieces) for almost 2 weeks now and they are still good.

Rose Petal Shortbread

(Recipe from food&travel magazine May 2013 issue - Allan Bakes Really Good Treats)

Makes 30-40 cookies, about 4cm diameter

• 185g plain flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 75g icing sugar
• 1/2 lemon, zest
• 1 tbsp dried edible rose petals, tear into tiny pieces
• 175g unsalted butter, slightly softened but still cold, cut into cubes
• 1 tsp rose extract

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius. Line baking tray with baking paper or Silpat.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together 2 times. Then sift in the icing sugar and mix well.
3. Add lemon zest and rose petals. Mix well.
4. Add butter cubes and rub into flour mixture (using hands or spatula). Add rose extract and mix till dough forms. The dough will be malleable and slightly wet texture.
5.  Divide the dough into 3 portions. Place each portion on a freezer bag, roll into 3-cm diameter logs, wrap around using the freezer bag and freeze for minimum 30 mins.
6. Unwrap chilled logs and cut into 0.5cm slices. Arrange on lined baking tray and place 2 cm apart as the dough will spread a little.
7. Bake for 10-12 mins, or until shortbread is browned. Watch closely from the 10th minute onwards.
8. Leave shortbread to cool completely before keeping in airtight container.

Optional
60 coarse sugar
1 tbsp dried rose buds
100ml boiling water

There's an optional step in the recipe. Place dried rose buds in boiling water and seep for 30 mins, let cool completely before using. Discard rose buds. After cutting the dough into discs and before sending to bake, dip each disc into the rose water, and sprinkle some coarse sugar onto the cookie surface.

I tried making a few cookies with the optional step and found it to be redundant. The rose water didn't make much difference as the cookie was already very fragrant (probably coz I used rose extract). The coarse sugar made the cookie top crunchy but it also made the sugar much sweeter which I didn't want.

 

 

I'm selling these cookies, whether in box or small packaging. Pls email me at dreamersloft@gmail.com if interested!