Lilac Sugar Cookies

The uncomplicated and delicious sugar cookie gets a fresh, new flavour profile, and an upgrade in this Lilac Sugar Cookies recipe. A classic sugar cookie base is baked with lilac infused sugar, lilac syrup, and lilac petals. Topped with a simple glaze and sprinkled with more lilac flowers, these cookies are a great early summer treat!

It’s lilac season, so it’s time to make the most of them, because, let’s face it – the season is super short! Sure, you can pile them into vases and set them in every room in your home, but did you know you can also bake with them? Lilacs are great baked into desserts like these Lilac Sugar Cookies!

I have shared a sugar cookie recipe once or twice before. It is one of those cookies that lends itself to many holidays and special occasions. When you think about it, the sugar cookie base is not specific to one occasion or instance at all. You have probably seen them in grocery stores, sitting close to the checkout lines. They are whimsical and brightly coloured so that they catch your eye.

More importantly, they’re most often set on a lower shelf so that they catch the eye of children. Did you know that marketers will often strategically place items at the same height as the little seated area of your grocery buggy? Yes, they want your kids to not only see it, but reach for it as well! Store-bought sugar cookies are fine, but I prefer to make my own. That way, I know they’re fresh!

I made these same cookies for Canada Day, but used only red and white frosting. They were also a great treat for Easter, especially with drizzled candy melts! But, I’ve tried versions of icing and sprinkles. How about a topping? How about completely changing the taste of the cookie base too? Lilac Sugar Cookies practically invented themselves!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

You will need Lilac Infused Sugar and Lilac Syrup to make this recipe. You can make the cookies with regular sugar and you can even substitute the syrup with extract, but the result won’t be quite right. They will still taste delicious, but they won’t have the strong, aromatic lilac scent and flavour intended by the recipe as written. The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Salt – In baking it helps to enhance and balance sweetness. 
• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Lilac Sugar – Making your own lilac sugar is easy to do. I have the instructions right here. It does take five days to make lilac sugar, so you can use regular granulated sugar if you must. The cake will still be delicious, but will not be as flavourful nor as scented as it should be. 
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Lilac Syrup – Lilac syrup is very easy to make at home. Click here for the instructions. It only takes a few minutes to make and a few hours to steep and cool. If you don’t have any lilac syrup, you can vanilla extract. The lilac flavour and scent will be less than it should be, but the scone will still be delicious!
• Lilacs

For the Glaze:

• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!
• Lilac Syrup 
• Purple Food Colouring

HOW TO MAKE LILAC SUGAR COOKIES

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and light yellow in colour. (About 4-5 minutes.) Add the eggs one at a time and beat into the butter and sugar mixture. Finally, beat in the lilac syrup.

Next, sift in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat into the wet mixture until just combined. Add in the lilac petals and stir into the cookie dough to incorporate. Portion the cookie dough into heaping tablespoons. Roll into a ball and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Press down on each ball until ball is flattened to just over 1/4 inch thick. (I used the bottom of a drinking glass.)

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Once completely cooled, stir the lilac syrup and food colouring into the confectioner’s sugar until a thin, smooth frosting is formed.

Lay the cookies face up onto a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath to catch any dripping frosting. Drizzle the frosting over the cookies working in a zigzag pattern. Immediately top the cookies with extra lilac petals before the frosting hardens. Once hardened and dry, pack the cookies into a cookie jar or tin.

HOW TO GATHER LILACS

Use pruning sheers to snip clumps of lilacs from your tree. Fill your kitchen sink with cold water and dunk the lilac branches, one at a time. Gently shake the branch under the water and then lift it straight out. Do this several times. Transfer the branch and/or clump to a salad spinner and spin out the excess water. The lilacs may still be a bit damp, but they won’t be impossible to work with. Don’t be tempted to overwash and over-spin in the salad spinner. Lilacs are delicate, so treat them as such.

Here are the suggestions that I have followed. These are suggestions that I have read over the past few years from others who have prepared lilacs to eat. First, only use lilac petals from a tree that you know 100% has not been sprayed or treated with chemicals. Secondly, pick petals from trees that are not close to busy streets or highways. Those petals will be dirty with gas and diesel residue.

Please use pruning shears. Don’t break the branches with your hands or saw at them with a knife. This will damage the tree and you will want the tree to stay healthy for years to come. Oh, it’s also best to harvest the lilacs in the morning before it gets too hot. The petals have more moisture content in the morning.

SEPARATING THE PETALS FROM THE STEMS

So, I know that lilacs look gorgeous spilling out of large vases. And, every year, I have at least two large vases filled with them. But, they are great for baking too! Once you have cut and washed your lilacs, now comes to the tedious part. Removing the petals from the stems is certainly not hard work, but it’s tedious! This is how I do it.

With all of my washed lilac bunches in a large bowl, and a smaller bowl for collecting petals close by, I find a nice shady spot on our back deck. Next, I fetch a cold drink and get ready to harvest. Working with one bunch of lilacs at a time, hold the top of the petal and pull. The purplish-pink petal should be released from the stem. The idea is to leave behind all traces of green. If you get a few bits of green, it won’t do any harm. But, too much will throw off the taste of your recipe.

This process is long and labourious. To make this recipe, you will need one cup of lilac petals, plus another handful for decoration and garnish. That doesn’t seem like much, but it takes some time. You should learn from my mistakes too, because the first time I did this, I did not sit in the shade. I ended up getting a sunburn! When all is said and done, these Lilac Sugar Cookies are beautifully fragrant and gently sweet.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!