These simple chamomile cookies offer the sweet and soothing flavor of chamomile flowers in the form of tender, buttery cookies. They're the perfect treat for your afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
When it comes to plants that can take over your garden, everyone warns you about mint. But no one ever mentions chamomile. I planted a small bunch of flowers in my garden once or twice. Now, they pop up just about anywhere and everywhere each summer. This year, it's even growing from a crack in the driveway pavement.
These small, attractive flowers have tiny white petals and vibrant yellow centers. They tend to drop their seeds and regrow as an annual from year to year. They certainly add some interest no matter where they appear, and I don't mind too much, as chamomile flowers are much easier to remove and manage than mint.
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Like mint, chamomile makes a great tea. But that's not the only use for the edible flowers. Their sweet apple flavor makes a good addition to cocktails, cakes, honey ice cream, and, yes, cookies.
These are essentially easy sugar cookies topped with fresh chamomile flowers. You press the flowers into the cookies right after taking them out of the oven when they're still soft. The residual heat softens the flowers and sets them in place as the cookies cool.
For more garden inspired treats, try my Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake, Blackberry Thyme Scones, and Rhubarb Crumble Breakfast Cake.
🌼Ingredients
These cookies only take a handful of ingredients.
You'll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- All purpose flour
- Fresh chamomile flowers
- An egg yolk
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Coarse sugar
See the recipe card below for quanities.
📋Substitutions & Variations
- If you don't have chamomile flowers in your garden and can only get dried chamomile, that's ok! You can find dried chamomile in the bulk section of health food stores or co-ops. Though you can also open up chamomile tea bags and use the tea leaves. Add 2 tablespoons dried and crushed chamomile flowers to the cookie batter and skip adding the flowers to the cookies after baking. Although your cookies won't look the same, they will taste similar.
- No powdered sugar? Just run an equal amount of granulated sugar in your food processor until you have a white powder - aka powdered sugar.
- Try replacing the vanilla with lemon zest for a slight change in flavor that would also complement the chamomile.
🍪Instructions
Blend butter and sugar in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Then add flour, vanilla, salt, and egg yolk and continue to mix until a dough is formed.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter. Cut it into rounds using a cookie cutter or glass. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Put them in bags or wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Remove and press the flowers into the cookies, sprinkle with sugar and let cool completely.
Note: Are you wondering why I wouldn't have you add the flowers before baking rather than after? When I tried doing so, I found that the flowers turned an unappealing color. I think the heat was just too much. Instead, pressing the flowers into the hot cookies right out of the oven provided enough heat to wilt them and have them adhere to the cookies.
⭐Top Tip
Don't skip chilling the dough! This is important for several reasons. Primarily, in this case, it helps the butter firm back up so that the cookies don't spread out too much when baking. It also makes the dough easier to roll and cut. This is a soft cookie dough and if it gets too warm, it will stick to your surface and be difficult to roll out.
🥄Equipment
- A mixer, either a stand or hand mixer will work.
- A rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough.
- A cookie cutter (or even a water glass) to cut out the cookies. I used a 2 ½ inch wide glass.
⏲️Storage
- Store these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- You can also freeze the cookies after baking and store in a freezer bag. Just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before enjoying
💭FAQ
Chamomile has a subtle and pleasant sweet apple flavor. Its taste is not overpoweringly floral. If you've ever had chamomile tea, you'll quickly recognize the taste in these cookies.
Chamomile pairs well with citrus flavors, especially lemon, and other edible flowers, like lavender. It adds a nice flavor to foods that don't have much flavor of their own (like these simple cookies) and can be used to flavor drinks, honey, rice, and desserts.
As an edible plant and flower, chamomile has a long history of medicinal use, chief among them being as a sedative. However, I have no knowledge or experience in medicinals, so please do your research from a reliable source if you'd like to know more.
Pairing
These cookies with chamomile would go great with these recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Chamomile Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: about two dozen cookies 1x
Description
These simple chamomile cookies offer the sweet and soothing flavor of chamomile flowers in the form of tender buttery cookies. They're the perfect treat to go with your afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- about ¼ cup fresh chamomile flowers, stems removed
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar until combined. Set the mixer to low and add the egg yolk, flour, salt, and vanilla. Mix just until the dough has combined and it holds together. If the dough is too sticky, add a couple of more tablespoons of flour until it holds.
- Divide the dough into two pieces. Shape each into a round. Place in bag or wrap in plastic and put them in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes or up to a couple of days if you want to prep in advance.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Roll out the dough and cut into 2 inch rounds. Place the cookies on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving about an inch in between each cookie. If you can't fit them all, bake any remaining in another batch.
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and immediately press a few chamomile flowers into the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with the sparkling sugar, if using. Let cool completely before serving.
Notes
Short on time? Put the cookie dough in the freezer for 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes in the fridge.
Only have dried chamomile? Add 2 tablespoons crushed and dried chamomile flowers to the cookie dough and skip the flowers on top.
Looking for the coarse sugar I use to top these cookies? It's from King Arthur Flour.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Resting Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
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