Dried Strawberry-Lemon Thyme Shortbreads

These little shortbread cookies are very easy to make and they result in a sophisticated, tasty dessert. I brought them to church for Easter morning, because our church has a cookie potluck after the service, during coffee hour. The cookies are nice and tender, just like you'd want a shortbread cookie to be, the strawberries add a tart little punch, and the lemon thyme lends a subtle floral note. They're also quite pretty to look at, and seem just perfect for spring! If you can't find dried strawberries, you can always make your own if you click through to the original recipe at Tartelette. I used a variety that was very crunchy and broke up easily as the pieces were mixed into the dough; if you use the moister, chewier kind, you'll want to chop them up first.

Dried Strawberry-Lemon Thyme Shortbreads (adapted from Tartelette, original recipe here)

1 cup dried strawberries
1 stick butter butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh chopped lemon thyme
pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon of milk

1. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour, thyme, dried strawberries, pinch of salt and the milk and beat until the ingredients are just starting to come together. Stop the mixer and finish mixing the dough with your hands on a work surface.
2. Roll the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (overnight is best).
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the cookies about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange them on a baking sheet and bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until just golden brown around the edges (don't overcook or the strawberries will burn).

I'm entering my photo from this post in this month's CLICK contest for food photography.  I'm also sending it off to the Cookie Party at the Secret Recipe Club.