Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars

These cookie bars taste like springtime! These Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars have a delicious delicate lavender with tart lemon flavor and sweet honey lemon frosting.

Updated March 2021 with process photos, more detailed notes and steps, etc. Updated April 2021 with more detailed ingredient notes, recipe faq and expert tips. Updated June 2022 with clearer details and information.

These are not your normal cookie bars! These are just as sweet but with hints of floral deliciousness and lemony goodness. Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars are topped with a lemon honey frosting and a drizzle of honey. Lavender can be incredibly overpowering. Almost perfumy tasting if you add too much. My secret to using this difficult ingredient? Infuse the butter with lavender.

The Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars are an ode to my first trip to Colorado. When looking for things to do I stumbled across the cutest Lavender farm on Instagram. We went to Sage Creations Organic Farm in Palisade where we picked the most delicious cherries and saw the prettiest lavender fields. There I picked up Culinary Lavender and thus began my quest to create perfectly balanced lavender baked goods.

Why You'll Love this recipe

• Delicious for the spring!
• Delicate floral flavor, well balanced with the lemon and honey
• Perfect ratio of shortbread to frosting
• Lovely dessert for picnics, tea parties, etc.

Ingredients

Cookie Base Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted Butter: we use melted butter in the crust.
• Lavender: use dried lavender intended for culinary use aka culinary bulbs or culinary lavender.
• Lemons: We use fresh lemons to be juiced and zested for a delicious refreshing lemon flavor.
• Granulated Sugar: Aside from giving your bars a touch of sweetness so they’re not too tart, the sugar will add moisture so the bars won’t crack when you bake them!
• Egg: An egg adds structure to our cookie base. Make sure its brought to room temperature.
• All-purpose flour : I always use all-purpose flour. Just make sure to measure the flour correctly.
• Salt: I prefer to use kosher or fine sea salt in my recipes.

Lemon Honey Frosting Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted butter so we can control the amount of salt in our frosting. Make sure to bring it room temperature.
• Lemon: Fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest is best for the most flavorful frosting.
• Honey: I recommend getting a good quantity honey! You can use normal or wildflower or even clover honey.
• Heavy Cream: You may substitute whole milk instead. The cream helps this buttercream frosting become silky smooth. The frosting will be dry before you add the liquid.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, add butter and lavender.
3. Set over medium heat on the smallest burner for delicate flavor OR largest burner for more prominent lavender flavor. When all the butter is melted let it steep if on the small burner or slightly bubble on the large burner for 5 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl with a fine-mesh strainer. Let sit for 5 minutes.
5. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and butter.
6. Then add in the egg and combine.

7. Finally add in lemon juice, zest, baking powder, salt, and all-purpose flour. Mix until just combined.
8. Pour dough into the prepared baking pan. Then, flatten out until even with off-set spatula or hands.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the sides will be a light golden brown and the top will be blonde. Let cool to room temperature.

10. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip butter.
11. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar along with heavy cream. Whip until combined.
12. Add another cup of powdered sugar along with lemon juice and zest. Whip until combined.

13. Add in last cup of powdered sugar and honey. Whip until combined. Remove bowl from stand mixer, and use spatula to mix any leftover
14. Fill frosting in a disposable frosting bag with tip of your choice. I used an Ateco 126.
15. Frost as you desire. Drizzle more honey if you desire. Then, cut into 12 pieces.

Expert Tips

• Use Room Temperature Ingredients! Make sure that the the egg in the cookie bar base and butter for the frosting are brought to room temperature. Cold butter for frosting can result in a chunky frosting or the frosting will not come together. Forgot to soften your butter? Check on this video on how to quickly soften butter.
• Measure Flour Correctly! Don't just scoop flour out from the bag. It will usually weight much more than what you need. I have a small digital scale, I like to use when I measure flour. But you can also try using the spoon and level method to more accurately measure flour. Learn how to measure your flour properly here!

Recipe FAQ

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