Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread

Cookie, Desserts, Lemon Love / Thursday, September 24th, 2009

lemon-shortbread-main

I found this recipe for Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread in “Real Simple” about six years ago. Each cookie is so buttery and crumbly, just the thing when you’re craving a little something to go along with a warm cup of tea the size of South America.

I love the subtle lemon and chamomile flavors, but you could easily adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes, maybe with orange zest and a teaspoon of orange zinger. Chai. Pear white tea. The process is wonderfully lazy: Mix the dough in one bowl, press it into a pan and bake.

Lovely enough for a bridal tea or baby shower, easy enough to make your own private stash when the mood strikes. Just don’t wait six years to pass it on.

Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread

Adapted from Real Simple(March 2003)

Yield: 18 cookies

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Grated zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon loose chamomile tea
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
  2. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, loose tea and flour until smooth. Press into pan.
  3. Bake 30 minutes or just until the shortbread begins to turn golden. Cut into 9 squares, then cut each square into 2 triangles.
  4. Cool completely on a wire rack. Remove cookies from pan.

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32 thoughts on “Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread”

  1. Ooh, this looks like a great recipe! I'm all for mass-produce-able people-pleasers! Thanks for sharing, your photos are great.

    Rosie of BooksAndBakes

  4. Love this! I played around with chamomile earlier this year and made an infused simple syrup that I poached strawberries in. I bet this cookie would be delightful with that!

  13. Yummy! This is pretty similar to an Almond Shortbread recipe I just posted–one bowl, press in pan, bake, and eat a ridiculous amount way too quickly. Love your ideas for other flavor combos, I may have to try a few. But first I have to go run a few miles. Sigh.

  16. Martha Stewart's Cookie book has a similar shortbread recipe using orange zest and earl grey tea. I was lazy and just cut open a few tea bags – the tea was fine enough to be unnoticeable in the texture and they were great! I could actually taste the bergamot.

  17. I am so glad you're back! I hope you feel better… the taco soup is on my menu for next week. Missed you, but I knew you were doing the wedding cakes ( are you going to share pictures!)

  18. I write a music blog for my audience research class. I’m new to blogging and I want them to be good! So any advice you guys could give me would be great

  20. […] is a recipe from Rebecca’s fabulous Ezra Pound Cake blog – she posted about Real Simple’s Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread (with exceptional pictures […]

  21. Seriously, the dangerous scares me. Shortbread and me can become way too close. Love the sound of this one and the chamomile should help with any over-eating tummy aches, right?

  22. I just tried a slight-variant on it yesterday (I changed the tea) – it was fine, good for 'dangerously easy', but I think I'll try it again with Corey's suggestion – snipping open teabags might give a more 'even' flavour. Love the recipe though, and I'm looking forward to giving it another shot!

    Rosie of BooksAndBakes

  30. […] I love the sound of lemon-chamomile shortbread – recipe from Ezra Pound […]

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