To me there is nothing more beautiful than a fragrant rose. These sweet little rose shortbread cookies are an ode to old fashioned romance and love.
The rose speaks of love silently in a language known only to the heart —Rumi
My career in baking started when I was growing up in Finnish family. If you have ever had Scandinavian baked goods, you already know that they are some of the best in the world, made with real food ingredients like butter and cream and fragrant spices like cardamom. And usually not overly sweet. I grew up eating soft, delicious cardamom buns from my grandmother’s kitchen. My mother made traditional gingerbread cookies and blueberry pie. There is nothing like it!
Baking is more of a science than other things that I do in the kitchen. While most soups, stews, and other main course meals are quite forgiving with proportions and ingredients, baking has a set formula of wet to dry ingredients that is required to produce the right results. It has taken me a while to learn to bake with gluten and grain free flours as my dietary habits have changed.
And now, just like when I was growing up, my Little One gets to experience the art of family baking. I would love for her to have warm memories of our time together in the kitchen. We actually had a blast working on this recipe together.
These little rose shortbread cookies remind me of the simplicity of the baked goods that I grew up with. Slightly crispy with a hint of rose, they evoke a bit of romance and are the perfect cookie for this time of year. I am making them for my family for Valentine’s Day. I love how pretty they are with the crushed rose petals. Buttery sweetness!
The amount of cookies you get depends on the size of the cookie cutter that you use. I just adore heart shape cookie cutters, but feel free to use any shape that inspires you. Be sure to check out the tips I included at the end if the recipe if you want to skip the cookie cutters and use the easy method.
Wishing you much love and happiness. Hope you enjoy!
xo,
Katja
Rose Shortbread Cookies (grain free)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick), room temperature
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp rose water (like this)
- 1/4 tsp unrefined salt
- 2 cups almond flour (I use this brand)
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder (like this)
- 1 tbsp crushed edible rose petals, chopped fine (like this)
Instructions
- In food processor, combine butter, honey/maple syrup, rose water, and salt and process until creamy smooth.
- Add almond flour one cup at a time and pulse into wet mixture. Add arrowroot powder and pulse again until dough is well combined but not yet forming a ball of dough. Then sprinkle in chopped rose petals and pulse until dough is fully incorporated. Do not over-process as this destroys the flower petals.
- Remove dough from processor bowl and form into a ball. Place dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and shape into a round, flat patty. Cover with additional piece of parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Once dough is firm, preheat oven to 325’F.
- Remove dough from fridge and very lightly dust top with arrowroot powder. Leaving dough in between 2 pieces of parchment paper, carefully roll out until about 1/4 inch thick all around. Using a cookie cutter, stamp out cookies and place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Collect and roll our dough scraps until all dough is used. Place dough back into fridge if it gets too soft.
- Before baking, place cookie tray into fridge for 15 minutes to chill. Then bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden. Watch carefully as these cookies will brown very quickly towards the end.
- Remove from oven. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
- Store leftovers in an airtight jar for a couple of days. Refrigeration extends shelf life. Recipe yield varies depending on size of cookie cutter used. I got 12 larger cookies and 10 smaller cookies.
Notes
– This dough can be done by hand or with a hand blender as well.
– Placing cut cookies into fridge before baking helps cookies hold their shape while baking.
– Instead of using a cookies cutter, this dough can be rolled into an 8 inch long log, rolled into parchment paper, and chilled. Once firm, simple slice dough into 1/4 inch rounds. Be sure to chill again for 15 minutes before baking.
– I use unsalted, grass fed butter for this recipe. If using ghee or coconut oil, reduce fat to 1/3 cup.
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These look delicious, and the photos are beautiful! Can’t wait to try these.
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy them!
Oh I want to make these for my girls! How special!!!
My girls LOVE them!
These are so pretty and perfect for Valentines Day!
Thank you! Yes, I am planning on making them for Vday. Maybe dipped in chocolate???
These look absolutely stunning! I’m useless at baking cookies but this recipe looks super simple – and it has one of my favourite ingredients – rose water! LOVE <3
They are so easy to make. I’m totally self-taught so I don’t do anything fancy. I hope you get to try them.
Hi Katja, I absolutely love shortbread cookies, I would love to give these a go. And your pictures are amazing! Wow! Great work :)!
These look gorgeous!!! I would love to make a large batch to give to friends and family on Valentine’s Day.
They make a sweet gift. I love giving homemade goodies to friends!
I think my love of baking comes from baking with my mom when I was little too, such a wonderful tradition, and these looks so beautiful!
I hope that my kids remember it too. It is so special to me!
These look so pretty.. gorgeous and lovely photos too, I can’t wait to try them.
Hope you enjoy them! 🙂
These are so gorgeous! I love using rose water in treats, it’s such a special ingredient. These are so perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Thanks, Emily! I love love love treats with roses!
I’ve never baked with rosewater before. What a good idea!
Roses have always been so romantic to me. I love it!
Ohh how creative!! love this idea. And love that I have all you blogger friends to make baked goods because I’m so horrible at it, haha!
HA! We all have our gifts. I love baking.
These are so pretty! I don’t know if I’ve ever had rose water in a dessert before but I am definitely intrigued and now need to try it! I love discovering new flavors. Makes the world an exciting place for sure!
Rose water is so good. It pairs well with chocolate too!
How delicate and delicious! These are stunning.
Thank you! They were so fun to make!
These are so cute! I would have never thought to put rose in a cookie, but it sounds delicious!
The rose flavor is mild and goes perfectly with the shortbread.
These are so beautiful! I usually don’t like flowery tastes in my food but I bet I would enjoy these buttery cookies.
The rose taste is so nice and light. It goes perfectly with the crispy cookies.
These are so pretty and lovely!
Thank you, Carrie!
These are perfect to give to my Valentine!
Yes! I’m making them for my kids again this year!
I love these cookies! So pretty and I am so in the mood for some grain-free desserts after Whole30 🙂
Thanks, Amy! Hope you enjoy!
These cookies are exactly what I want it everyday after dinner ! So delicious !!!
Yes, exactly! Sweet but not too sweet!