Rose shortbread cookies are so easy to throw together that you need just 1 bowl; 6, regular ingredients; and no special equipment. The dough is a 10-minute job. Plus, these are eggless rose cookies, perfect if you’re looking for festive cookie ideas.
These shortbread cookies with rose water are an adaptation of one of my most popular recipes: eggless rose pistachio cookies. Very reminiscent of festive flavors, the rose water and cardamom make the tender cookies sing. So, if you’ve been looking for Diwali cookie recipes, these rose biscuits should definitely be in your repertoire.
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What Are Shortbread Cookies?
Shortbread cookies are traditional Scottish biscuits made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. It’s this 1:2:3 proportion that makes a shortbread, a shortbread, and lends that characteristic melt-in-the-mouth feel. Though these aren't the ratios I strictly followed for this recipe!
These cookies are generally a staple during the holiday season and are known for their crumbly interior and slightly crisp exterior. Compared to normal cookies, shortbread is softer, more buttery, more tender, and doesn’t use any leavening agent like baking powder.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
No better match for your tea
Subtle, interesting flavors and just 6 ingredients
Elegant, incredibly delicious, and, most importantly, great for gifting in jars or boxes
Simple, rewarding, and doable even on a busy day
Store well for 2 to 3 weeks and perfect for holidays
How To Make Rose Shortbread Cookies
After almost two decades of baking, what I’ve come to love most is cooking simply. Give me a recipe with a handful of ingredients that are right there in my pantry, and I’m a goner.
That’s why I couldn't resist the delicate, buttery charm of these rose-flavored cookies. The recipe is easy and simple and makes shortbread cookies exactly how they should be.
Step 1: Cream together softened, room-temperature butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Since these are rosewater cookies, whisk in a hefty dose of it, followed by flour, cardamom powder, and dried rose petals.
Step 3: Use a spatula or your hands to make a silky soft and pliable dough (it comes together quickly).
Step 4: Halve the dough and then roll each half into a log, mine were about ten-inch long and more squarish than round. But the shape really doesn’t matter. What it does is that it’s the quicker and simpler way of making these cookies compared to using a cookie cutter.
Step 5: Slide the logs onto your baking sheet and stash them in the fridge for 30 minutes. By the way, you can freeze the dough of these rose cookies for up to 3 weeks, as long as you double-wrap them.
Step 6: With a sharp knife, slice off cookies about an eighth-of-an-inch thick and place them spaced apart on the tray.
Final step: Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. And when the countdown is about to end, watch your rose shortbread cookies closely. I’ve had batches a little too toasty for my taste before because I left them unattended at the last moment.
Top Tips
- The key to these shortbread cookies with icing sugar is the temperature of the butter. It can’t be melted. It can’t be frozen. It can’t be cold. It has to be room temperature and just about soft. That’s the secret to achieving a wonderful, flaky texture.
- Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of rosewater in the shortbread dough.
- If your dough feels dry or keeps falling apart, add a tablespoon or two of room-temperature cream (or milk) to it.
- Want buttery, crumbly rose shortbread? Refrigerate the dough before baking.
- If this is one of your make-ahead holiday cookie ideas and you’ve frozen the shortbread cookie dough, don’t thaw it. Please give it a couple of minutes on the countertop, so it’s not rock hard, slice and then bake for a little longer than 14 minutes.
- Bake the sliced rose cookies immediately, or plop them back in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
- Add a minute or two extra oven time, if you like a slightly crisper and browner shortbread cookie.
Recipe Variations
Rose: Dried rose petals are easily available in supermarkets and online. For the rose water, ensure you get food-grade and good quality. The better the quality, the subtler the taste of the aromatic. Remember, you want rose-flavored cookies, not drowning in rose cookies.
Add-ons: Saffron would be a fantastic addition to these rose shortbread cookies. But if you’re looking to up the texture quotient and give the cookies a nutty dimension, add thinly sliced almonds into the dough.
📖 Recipe
Eggless Rose Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Butter softened I used salted butter. You can use unsalted butter too.
- 1 cup Icing sugar
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Rosewater
- 1 tsp Cardamom powder
- 2-3 tbsp Dried rose petals
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the rosewater, and beat again for a minute.
- Add all-purpose flour, cardamom powder, and dried rose petals.
- Bring everything together into a dough using a spatula or your hands.
- You may need to add a tablespoon or two of milk if the dough is dry-ish.
- Your dough should be soft and pliable.
- Divide the dough into half. Roll each half into a 10" log. I made square-ish logs.
- Place the logs carefully on a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. *
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C.
- Cut each log into slices, about 1/8" in thickness.
- Place the slices on the prepared trays. Make sure there is a little gap between them as they will spread a bit during baking.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until light golden in color. Bake for extra 1-2 minutes if you want crispier cookies.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They will firm up as they cool.
- Store the cooled cookies in an air-tight jar. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can also wrap the logs well in plastic wrap or butter paper and refrigerate them for 2-3 days or freeze for 2-3 weeks.
Almohadasinhueso says
Hi Natasha! Please post a recipe for Hyderabad's famous Karachi biscuits, the ones with tutti frutti! I only found this recipe in your page that is similar in shape and texture but would love a recipe for the original Karachi biscuits. I know they have tutti frutti and custard pwd but I dont know how to adjust them into this recipe as the other ingredients are the same! Thank youu!
Natasha Minocha says
Thank you so much for your suggestion. I will try to post this soon.
Hillary says
Wonderful results! I used bottled rose water, crushed rose petals and crushed green cardamom seeds. Next time, I’m going to add toasted crushed pistachios. Thank you for the eggless, straight forward, tasty shortbread recipe. Def on repeat!
Natasha Minocha says
Oh thank you Hillary! I'm so thrilled these worked out well for you. Pistachios would be a wonderful addition to these cookies. You really made my day! xx