Maple Dunkers

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in maple syrup, vanilla and egg yolk until combined well.

Sift together salt and flour over mixture and fold in thoroughly. Chill dough for about 15 minutes, then roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, but watch closely for browning. Allow to cool on racks.

Mix 2 tbsp maple syrup with as much powdered sugar as it takes to make a nice, thick glaze.

Drizzle over cookies and allow to set up before storing. Enjoy for up to a week in a covered container, or freeze for later use.

Enjoy!

Lavender Lemon Sunshine Shortbreads

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup confectioners sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 lemons, zested (save to juice for icing)
1 tbsp dried lavender (or 1 ½ tbsp. of a fresh herb)
2 large egg yolks (pastured or grass-fed will give you the great sunny color)
2 cups unbleached flour
1 ½ c confectioners sugar
Juice from the lemons (about ¼ cup)
Dried lavender, more zest

Directions:

Beat butter in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add the sugars, salt, zest and lavender, beat until smooth. Add egg yolks and beat until blended. Add the flour all at once and mix until incorporated ONLY. Dough should look crumbly like wet sand.

Scrape into a ball and shape into a long role (if cutting into thin wafers) or a flattened disk (if rolling out for cut-outs). Wrap in waxed paper and chill for an hour at least.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove dough from fridge and soften slightly, then either slice into ¼-inch wafers, or roll flat for cut-outs. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1-inch apart. Slide sheet into a freezer for 10 minutes. Then bake in oven for 13-15 minutes until set but not browned. WATCH carefully. Allow to cool slightly on sheet.

Mix ingredients for glaze, blend with a small whisk and let sit while you remove cookies to rack to cool completely. Mix glaze again to remove sugar lumps, drizzle over cookies and tip cookies to cover completely. While glaze is wet, sprinkle with lavender flowers and zest another lemon over the top. When glaze sets up, flowers will stick.

Makes about 2-3 dozen depending on size of roll or cutter.