Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, add the butter. Please ensure that the butter is softened, not all the way at room temperature. Softened butter will hold a fingerprint, but still feel cool to the touch. Add the powdered sugar, honey, vanilla extract and salt to the butter, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well-combined and creamy. Add the flour and beat until combined.

Flour a work surface and add the dough on top. Flour the rolling pin, and begin to roll out the dough to ¼” thickness. You want an even, uniform thickness so they cook at the same time.

Using a tiny 2″ biscuit cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Re-roll the scraps to get a total of 12 cookies. Place cookies onto the prepared baking tray, leaving an inch or so between them.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are starting to turn golden. Don’t under-bake—the golden edges are the best part. Remove from oven. Let the cookies cool completely.

Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form, and then add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat again. Top each cookie with a dollop of whipped cream, a few slices of strawberry, and a sprinkling of lemon zest.