by Rachel Thatcher.

By turning to ingredients grown by farmer Phoebe Poole at Weatherlow Farm, Chef Emily Whipple has been successful in creating unique, edible works of art. Goes to show that your next successful creation may be in your own backyard!

Make the cookies yourself:

Collect 15 to 20 stems of your favorite edible fresh flowers or herbs; double that amount if reduced to using dry specimens. You’ll also need a rolling pin, a 3-inch round fluted cookie cutter, and plenty of parchment.

  • 8 ounces salted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • Seasonal edible flowers and herbs
  • 1/2 cup sanding sugar

In a large mixing bowl with a whisk or in a stand mixed, beat the butter and sugar together well. Add egg yolk and baking powder; mix until fully incorporated. Slowly stir in the flour. Mix just until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Lay one sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and scrape dough on top. With your hand, .press down on the dough to make it flat enough to lay another piece of parchment on top.

Roll the dough flat between the two pieces of parchment paper until you have an even slab, about ¼ inch in thickness. Place in fridge for about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 315 degrees F.

Remove dough slab from fridge, pull off the top sheet of parchment, and place your petals and herbs on the dough in small circles that will fit inside the circumference of your cookie cutter, leaving enough space in between designs to work the cutter.

Lay a new piece of parchment paper on top of your flowers and gently roll them into the dough with the rolling pin.

Remove the paper, cut out the cookies with the cutter, and lay them on a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silicone sheet. (Reuse the excess dough using the same rolling method.) Put the sheet pan full of cookies back into the fridge for another 10 minutes to cool the flowers and keep their colors bright after baking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should not get to golden brown, but just shy of that stage. Remove from oven, sprinkle with sanding sugar, then let cool completely.

Makes about 15 cookies.