The Lavender Cooking Chronicles
Shortbread Endeavor
The other day I walked out to my lavender field. We had a spell of unseasonably warm weather, so most of my 300+ culinary lavender plants are going to be ready for harvest about two weeks early. What's interesting about this fact is that I have a bunch of last year's crop still hanging about the house. Hmm...
I have been on a mission to develop tasty lavender food recipes for years. Lavender in food can go two directions: a palate joy inducing euphoric experience or a reminiscent of grandma sticking a bar of soap in your mouth for creative language usage horror. One of those options is more enjoyable than the other.
With thoughts of saponified potassium hydroxide in mind, I developed a strategy for making something yummy that also contained lavender, a lavender lemon shortbread cookie.
There are multiple ways to infuse lavender flavor into food, but for the shortbread experiment I used my spice grinder and ground the lavender finely. I then put a couple of the tablespoons of sugar from the total required sugar in my recipe in with the lavender and ground it all together. I then creamed the lavender sugar with the butter and proceeded to make cookie legend.
Seriously my friends, I am not exaggerating. The resulting shortbread cookies were beyond not disgusting. Crisp buttery shortbread infused with a hint of lemon and lavender. My family won't quit eating them, and they might have exhibited something akin to despair when I packed up half of them and gave them to my neighbor to try. She also exuded enthusiasm regarding the excellence of the cookies' taste. Empirically speaking, positive waves are emanating from yours truly.
So, to recap, if you happen to find yourself with some culinary lavender, a topic which I will write about more in future posts, do yourself a favor and grind it in with some sugar and make a baked good of some sort. You won't be disappointed. Just remember, with lavender a little goes a long way, so start small when it comes to the amount you use, for like a Skywalker, the force is strong in lavender.
I am sure they were delicous but you know this girl, is allergic to lavender. It gives me a rash on the skin and migraine on the brain. Not sure what eating it would do. But I love shortbread. Lemon shortbread sound super delicious. Do you use cornstarch in your recipe? That way is super delicous frozen. Yum. But you gotta use real butter:)
Oh no! No lavender for you!
You know, I put cornstarch in a lot of my other cookie recipes, especially chocolate chip, but I never have plunked it into shortbread, nor have I eaten it frozen. Dang Pryde! You have given me things to try, I love it:)
And are there people who don't use real butter in shortbread? LOL! I probably use too much real butter in just about everything!
Hmm. I should probably apologize for my rampant love of butter to those who are allergic to or don't eat dairy. That Earth Balance butter sticks stuff is pretty good, I have used it in dishes I've made for one of my pals who has an allergy to dairy...
Now I am going to go make myself a large mocha with cocoa butter (another butter I love!), cause it's raining and it sounds good, hope that you are having a lovely day my friend!
It has been raining here too. I actually put butter in my coffee and hot chocolate. May, I have a problem:)
I would try one and hope it doesn't do the soap bar in the mouth thing lol.
Ha ha! I'm impressed by your willingness, and for that I will not give you one of the special ones that I make for people who are sorta salty, LOL LOL! The Irish Spring Initiative-Lavender Scent, could be a thing!
And I am just kidding...sorta...Hope you are having a smashing day OGP!
Dooby dooby Doowop to Lavender Nighsnax, KatTerrific. What is UP with your bad self? Been awhile. Summer is cranking up in usual fashion. As you are all too well versed within, that I do know. Those cookies look divine. And I know cookies. Sitting here right now, having a chocolate chip or two, surrounded by some dough. ("Yes, that's called a cookie, DD" -BK). Just picked HH up at the aeropuerto, and don't really feel like hitting the sack yet. You have to sit out in the country and wait with the sheeps, cows and trees in the dark, till the planes come in. It's fun. Except when people stop and ask if you need help. Nice of them, and I appreciate it, but disturbs the reverie within my flock.
I am undubiabblee impressed with your creativity in the cookie realm. Never cease to amaze from this end. And I can certainly relate, folks get a bit, um, stressed, when you give half the batch away. Amazing how the old spirit of giving heads out the kitchen window, when sweet and flowery snacks are involved in the mix. Literally and figuratively.
Well, I hope this finds you doing well, and things are going along swimmingly in the panhandle. Keep on smiling, and your dewey decimal system in good, straight order. Cheers, from le' Man of le' Pan
I could use some education here: are only certain kinds of lavender suitable for cooking?