I don’t think I’ve ever created a recipe that delighted all of my senses as much as these cookies. I used dried rosebuds in the cookie dough, but you can also use dried rose petals. Whether you purchase dried rose petals or make them yourself, they’re pleasantly fragrant with a subtle flavor. To find dried rose petals, click here. To find dried rosebuds, click here. I pinched the calyx and stem off of the rosebuds to avoid large crunchy bits in the cookies, then I crushed the roses with a mortar and pestle. You’ll hear the satisfying crunch of the delicate, dried rose petals. You can also place them in a plastic bag and roll over them gently with a rolling pin.
The finished cookies have a rustic, almost shabby chic look with their cracks, rose-speckled dough and beautifully imperfect dried roses. And of course, you’ll want to sample a warm cookie. The cookies will taste tender and slightly sweet with a hint of rose. I like a more subtle rose flavor in my baked goods. But if you prefer a stronger rose flavor, feel free to add a small amount of rose water to your dough. Start with 1/4 teaspoon, because a little goes a long way.
If you’re like me, you’ll taste a spoonful of the raspberry ganache because you can and should. For the raspberry ganache, please use a good quality white chocolate! In some recipes, it’s fine to use white chocolate chips or candy melts if you prefer, but NOT this one. In my humble, yet educated opinion, you should never use chocolate chips to make ganache. I studied chocolate in culinary school with a master chocolatier. I never use chocolate chips for ganache because they contain stabilizers that keep them from melting completely, which prevents you from having the smoothest ganache possible. They also contain less cocoa butter and tend to have a waxy mouth feel.
For this recipe, when it comes to butter, you should also be a little bit picky for successful baking. Low quality butter tends to contain more water and your cookies may spread too much. So make sure to use good butter. Your butter should be room temperature, but not warm. If the butter is shiny, it’s too warm. Don’t try to speed up the softening of butter with your microwave. That’s not a hack, in spite of what you may hear on the internet. Microwaves heat unevenly and will potentially melt your butter. The best way to speed up the softening of your butter is to simply cut it into cubes. By the time you get the rest of your ingredients ready, the butter should be soft enough to use. My last, but most important success tip, is to weigh your ingredients.
You’ll find this recipe and more delightful bakes, in my cookbook “Enchanted Baking.” Click here for more info.
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Raspberry Rose Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons (2g) crushed dried rose petals
- 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ¼ cups (284g) all purpose flour, sifted
Filling
- ⅓ cup (59ml) raspberry purée, strained
- ¼ cup (59ml) heavy cream
- 3 ounces (or 85g) white chocolate, finely chopped Do not use white chocolate chips
- 30 dried rosebuds for decoration optional
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Add the rose petals and beat on low speed until combined.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until well combined.
- On low speed, mix in the flour in two additions. Beat just until combined.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls, about 1/2 ounce (14g) each. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven. Press indentations into each cookie with a 1-inch diameter pastry tamper or with the flat top of a 1-inch diameter bottle cap.
- Return the cookies to the oven and continue baking until the edges are light golden brown, about 5-6 more minutes.
- If the indentations in your cookies lose definition, press again with the tamper or bottle cap while the cookies are still hot on the baking sheet.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Filling
- In a small saucepan, bring the pureéd raspberries to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the purée is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Transfer the raspberry reduction to a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the white chocolate in a medium heat safe bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer, just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Stir in the raspberry reduction and heat just to a simmer again. Do not boil.
- Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate, making sure all of the white chocolate is submerged. Let it sit for 3 minutes, then stir with a spatula until smooth. Let the ganache cool until slightly thickened. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into the indentation of each cookie. The ganache will continue to firm up as it sits.
- When the ganache in the cookies has firmed up, decorate with dried rosebud or rose petals, if desired.
