30 Minute Vegan Pansy Shortbread
My favorite thing to do with cooking, is create a bucket list! There are so many recipes I come across that fall into this category and I try my best to work my way thru them. However, sometime recipes escape me.. like these vegan Pansy Shortbread Cookies!!
Around 2014 edible flowers started making their way into recipes for everything from salads to desserts. They add aesthetic appeal to just about anything and I personally love working with them.
I discovered this cookie concept last year while pregnant. The vibrancy of these cookies just install caught my eye and I knew I had to give it a try. While this recipe may look detailed and time consuming, it’s so quick and easy and guaranteed to make you swoon just based on their appearance!
There is so much I love about this recipe. They are fairly quick, easy, can be buttery soft or you can bake for longer to create a more crisp texture, requires one bowl, has minimal added sugar, require not even a vegan egg, are perfect for spring and summer, you can switch up the flowers to feature other edible varieties, can easily be made in bulk, and are perfect for entertaining!
If you love innovative vegan recipes, you have to try these new vegan Pansy Shortbread Cookies!!
Why this recipe is great:
Easy
Fun
Festive
Buttery Soft
Aesthetic Appeal
Requires one bowl
No vegan eggs needed
Vegan Pansy Shortbread
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 10 - 15 depending on size 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp orange blossom water (optional)
- assorted fresh pansies, cleaned, stems removed
- Zest from 1 lemon
- Zest from 1 orange
Instructions
- Combine sugar, vegan butter, lemon and orange zest, vanilla, and blossom water in the bowl of a standing mixer, whip until light and fluffy.
- Now add the flour and whisk until just combined and dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and chill in the freezer for 30 mins.
- While the dough chills, prep the flowers by removing the stems from the pansies, and place them on a large sheet of parchment paper. Place another sheet on top, and then weigh it down with a baking sheet topped with books or simply a butcher block. Allow the flowers to flatten for 30 mins or for best results overnight. I don’t recommend white pansies as they will turn clear with the heat.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F
- Roll out the dough to between two sheets of parchment paper. Create the desired thickness and cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter or even a glass. Once cut out, remove with a spatula to prevent them from breaking.
- With your flowers ready to go, bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes for larger cookies and less for smaller. These cookies don’t brown, but will be soft and firm up once cooled.
- Take the flower buds and lightly press them into the hot cookies once you pull them from the oven. You don’t need to apply too much pressure as the heat will naturally cause them to wilt and stick to the cookies. If the flowers don’t look the way you like. Simply remove the flowers, place the cookies back in the oven for 1 minute, and place new flowers. If your flowers are not flat enough you can lay a magazine on top while they are on a cooling rack to further flatten the flowers.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
hello! I plan to make these soon for the spring! can I sub vegan butter for vegan shortening?
Hi Janell, I believe you can, but I always work with vegan butter and haven’t tested with shortening. Please let me know how they turn out!