Vegan Maple Lavender Shortbread Cookies

GUYS. We are 5 DAYS from Christmas. I repeat: 5. Days.

To say I am excited would be the understatement of the century. I’m literally counting down the minutes until I get to see family and friends, bake a crap ton of cookies with my mom, and spend my first holiday ever with my boyfriend. PUMPED.

Okay now that I’ve exploded with holiday cheer, let’s move on to more pressing matters: these COOKIES. Let me express to you just how good they are – I’m rationing them so that I don’t run out before I go home for the holidays. Like instead of shoveling them all in my mouth at once, I’m actually savoring them bite by bite and THAT is saying a lot. And before you go thinking I’m all full of myself and stuff because I made a recipe that is full on inspiring me to possibly open up a bakery someday, I just want you to know that I legitimately set out to make these as an experiment and thought they might turn out terrible and crumbly and dry like lots of healthy desserts are…but! Thank cookies could not be more opposite of that.

I don’t even know how these have zero dairy in them…it’s kind of mind-blowing. And they 110% do NOT crumble. Isn’t that nuts?! That’s like my biggest pet peeve with some shortbread recipes. I think the best thing about these guys, aside from them being vegan friendly, is that they’re just the riiiiight amount of sweetness. Apparently there are people in this world that don’t love desserts and sugary things (WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM), but these are the perfect cookies for those people.

And I know these are super Christmas-y or seasonal or what have you, but I think that’s what makes them perfect for the holidays. I think we all tend to OD on the rich stuff, the peppermint and chocolate and pecan and all that, so to have something a bit lighter as an option is nice! I know lavender isn’t something people always have on hand, but this recipe coupled with my lavender almond milk latté should give you enough reason to stock up now?

Vegan Maple Lavender Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup coconut oil (cooled & hard – pop it in the freezer for a sec if you need to!)

1/3 cup natural powdered sugar (*check this list for vegan sugar brands!)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp Lavender Flowers *go for culinary grade!

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp non-milk – coconut, almond, soy, etc.

1. Preheat the oven 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (ideal, but if you don’t have any just use lots of coconut oil!).

2. In a large bowl combine the coconut oil, powdered sugar and sea salt with a fork until all the sugar is combined and light & fluffy (might take a minute or so depending on your arm!).

3. Add the lavender flowers, then the flour 1/3 cup at a time and use your hands or the fork to combine. Don’t use an electric mixer for this one!

4. Finally, add the non-dairy milk and the maple syrup one tablespoon at a time and be careful not to not overmix! The dough may seem dry but try not to add any extra liquid here as it will mess with the consistency of the cookies.

5. Lightly dust a cutting board or clean surface with flour. Form the dough into a ball and then roll it out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter, mason jar, or glass to form the cookies into shapes.

6. Place the cookies on the parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes. *Check on them at 10 minutes just in case! You’ll want to take them out when they’re juuuuust starting to brown on the edges. They overbake quickly!

7. Let cool completely before noshing – I promise they’ll taste better this way! Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

So that’s it for today my loves! Thanks for stopping by – I so appreciate every single one of you and I know I don’t say it enough.

Have a Happy Humpday!

xo Jordan