Using a stand or hand mixer, beat butter for about one minute until it is smooth and creamy. Add in flour, sugar, salt, and extract if using. Beat until smooth and just combined, but not for too long (over-beating can make it tough). Ideally, your dough is crumbly but sticks together when pinched.

If you're in a warm room, it's likely the dough is getting pretty soft. This can be hard to work with, so I recommend popping it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes, until it's easier to roll out.

There are two ways to create your cookies. For the first way, lightly flour a surface and place your ball of cookie dough down. Dust with more flour and roll out into a large rectangle with a thickness of about ½ inch (1.3 cm). Using a circular cookie cutter, punch out cookie shapes, re-rolling the scraps as necessary until you've used them all. The amount of cookies you make will depend on the size of the cutter, but I recommend something 1-2 inches in diameter (3-5 cm). For the second way, roll your cookie dough into a circular log with a diameter of 1-2 inches (3-5 cm). Place this log in the freezer for about 10 minutes, until it's nice and cool. Remove from the freezer and slice into ½ inch (1.3 cm)-wide coins.

Once you have all the circles in place, add them to a lined cookie sheet and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Carefully press each edible flower into each cookie in whatever design you like. If your flow is pretty big, I recommend picking off a few petals so it lies flat on the cookie surface.

Bake shortbread for 12-14 minutes, until lightly golden. They will bake a bit more as they cool on the surface of the cookie sheet. After 5 minutes, remove from sheet to fully cool on a wire rack. Store in a sealed container for up to four days (keep in mind that the cookies will soften a bit as they sit).