COOKIES:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla or lemon extract

ICING:

• 1 ¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp rose water (see this page)
• 1 tsp white corn syrup
• Dried edible flowers for garnish (see sidebar)
• Dried culinary lavender for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For the cookies, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar just until combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Beat in the egg until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract until well combined.
4. With the mixer running on low speed, add about half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating just until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture, beating just until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a flat rectangle. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Bring the dough out of the fridge to stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
7. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, then roll it out to ¼-inch thickness. Using a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter, cut out cookies, rerolling the scraps once. (Rerolling the scraps more than once makes the cookies tough.)
8. Place the cookies, 1 ½ inches apart, on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate the sheet of cookies again for about 10 minutes.
9. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F.
10. Bake the cookies until light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool completely. (The undecorated cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or frozen, with parchment paper between the layers, for up to 2 months.)
11. For the icing, whisk together the icing sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the water, rose water and corn syrup until the icing is smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a little more water, ½ teaspoonful at a time until the icing is spreadable. If it’s too runny, add a little icing sugar, 1 teaspoonful at a time until the icing is spreadable.
12. Using a small offset spatula or a clean pastry brush, spread or brush a little icing onto each cookie. While the icing is still wet, garnish each cookie with the dried edible flowers and lavender (if using). Place the cookies on a wire rack to dry completely, at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.