Violet Shortbread Cookies by Allen Neighborhood Center

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup room temperature butter 1/4 tsp vanilla 1 Tbs dried egg whites 2 Tbs water Veggie Box violets/violas

Instructions

Mix flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter and vanilla until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together. Gather up crumbs into a ball and kneed together until smooth. Roll out dough just scant of 1/4-1/2" thick. Cut with cookie cutter that is 2-2 1/2". Put cookies 2" apart on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until the bottom and sides are just starting to slightly brown and center of top is firm. Take out of oven and cool on baking sheet. Combine dried egg whites and water in small bowl. When cookies are cooled brush egg white mixture on one cookie at a time and top with violets. Use your fingers to press the violet down in the middle and smooth out all
petals so they are firmly stuck to the cookie. Put a thin layer of egg white mixture on top of the flower and smooth. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Return to parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 325F for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. With your finger smooth out any petals that have shriveled up. Set out on a cooling rack until the top of the cookie is completely dry.