1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon dried lavender
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in lavender and lemon zest. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended. Divide into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten to about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets.Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or just until cookies begin to brown at the edges. Cool for a few minutes on baking sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For a fun little touch, I filled two lavender shortbread cookies with homemade honey lavender ice cream. This recipe is very decadent. The cookies are flaky and the ice cream tastes like creme brulee. For me this ice cream is very FRENCH! My daughter and I went to a gourmet ice cream stand on the corner of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris called Esmerelda. Don't you love the name borrowed from Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is there that they serve up the most unusual ice cream flavors including basil, lavender, tiramisu, etc.
