Mia Harper Fairgrieve / 2025-03-23
Springtime is full of flowers, picnics and sweet treats. These are pansy-topped cookies that I found on “The View from Great Island”.
Firstly you must prepare the pansies. After collecting them you have to:
-Remove the stems from fresh pansies.
-Press the flowers between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, using heavy books to weigh them down. Let them sit for at least 30 minute or up to several hours.
-Bake shortbread cookies and while they’re hot from the oven, gently place the pressed pansies on top, lightly patting them down so they adhere. The heat of the cookies will bond the delicate petals to the surface, so don’t press too hard.
-Sprinkle with granulated sugar if you like.
-Let the cookies cool completely to firm up. After they’ve cooled they can be stacked on a platter.
-Note: Brightly colored pansies seem to work best. I did use paler colors, because I had them in my garden, but I noticed that the more vibrant colors made the most impact on the cookies.
Next you have to make the cookies. The total time is 50 minutes, and it makes 24 cookies. The equipment you may need is a food processor and parchment paper/wax paper. The ingredients you need are:
-1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) at room temperature
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-2 cups all purpose flour
-1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
-Assorted fresh pansies, you’ll need about 30, give or take
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put the sugar and soft butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine completely.
2. Add the flour and extract, and pulse about 10 times, then run the machine briefly, just until the dough comes together into a lump or lumps.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring together into a smooth flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 2 hours.
4. While the dough is chilling, remove the stems from the pansies, and place them on a large sheet of waxed paper, or parchment paper. Place another sheet on top, and then weigh it down with a baking tray or other large flat surface, topped with several heavy books. Let the pansies press for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if you like.
5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F.
6. Roll out the dough to a 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out with a cookie cutter. I used both a 2 inch and a 2 1/2 inch cutter.
7. Bake the cookies in batches, 1 tray at a time. Bake the smaller cookies for 7-8 minutes, and the larger ones for 9-11 minutes, depending on thickness. Your cookies will not brown, they will be pale and soft when done.
8. Remove the tray from the oven and gently press the flat pansies onto the hot cookies, pressing slightly to adhere the flowers to the cookies. Don’t press too hard, the heat of the cookies will do the job. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack.
9. Note: the cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Enjoy these spring treats!