Soft and crumbly, these little lemon verbena shortbread biscuits work well with ice creams, fruit or indeed alongside tea or coffee. They make the most of the herbs you have growing in your garden – in this case lemon verbena although you can vary the herb – try rosemary, lemon zest or thyme instead. Or use lavender flowers.
They are super easy to make. I love the convenience of rolling the shortbread dough into “logs” and slicing off rounds to bake as you need to. The lemon verbena shortbread biscuit dough can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 3 months. It means that a freshly baked lemon verbena shortbread is always on hand. How good is that?
I like to ice these but they look great with the impression of the fork or a dusting of icing sugar to the cooked biscuit. Choose your favourite!
Suggested recipes to pair these shortbread biscuits with are Poached Apricots with Lemon Verbena or Blackberry and Merlot Sorbet
LEMON VERBENA SHORTBREAD RECIPE
Ingredients
- 250g unsalted butter, softened
- 140g caster sugar, plus extra for topping
- 1 egg yolk
- 300g plain flour
- 2tbsp lemon verbena leaves, finally chopped
- icing sugar to finish (optional)
Method
- Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat in well.
- Fold in the flour and lemon verbena leaves and bring together to form a dough.
- Knead lightly and shape into two sausages. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 mins
- Heat oven to 180c/160c fan.
- Slice the shortbread dough logs into rounds, marking gently with a fork. Sprinkle with the extra sugar and bake for 8-10 mins on a lined baking tray.
- Dust with icing sugar (if using) whilst warm.
- Allow to cool on tray before moving them onto cooling rack
If you are interested in Lemon Verbena the herb, it’s essential oils and benefits, then visit my Instagram page https://www.Instagram.com/lilaccottageshop