Friday, October 15, 2010

Sequim Lavender Lemon Snickerdoodles

Ok I am finally going to share my secret cookie recipe....I love these cookies, a light lavender flavor with delicious lemon... made with my own lavender from my summer garden. I have been experimenting with which variety makes the best sugar. So far my favorite is "Munstead" Lavender but pretty much any variety will do. In my experiments Spanish Lavender does NOT do well.






See* note for making lavender sugar. Also if you want a more pronounced lavender flavor use 1 cup lavender sugar and 1/2 cup regular...or less 1/2 cup lavender and 1 cup regular ...whatever suits your taste but BE CAREFUL , remember lavender, like any other herb, can become overpowering to the point of inedible quite quickly. If you want a more lemony flavor add up to 1 tsp extra lemon extract with the butter and sugar mixture....again be careful when making adjustments!




3/4 cup Butter
3/4 cup white Sugar
3/4 cup lavender sugar*
2 eggs


2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup homemade lemon pudding mix (or 1-3.4 oz package)
1/4 t salt



Lavender Sugar to roll *


Preheat oven to 350*F (205*C).



Combine flour, baking soda, pudding and cream of tartar in a medium bowl; set aside.










With electric mixer, cream butter with the sugars, beating until creamy. Add eggs, beat well.










Stir in flour mixture, mixing well. Place in the fridge for about an hour.









Shape dough into 1-inch balls . Roll in lavender sugar. Place 2-inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets and flatten slightly.



Bake for 5 minutes turn sheet 1/4 turn bake 4 minutes more or until lightly browned.






  
Let cool on pan for about 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool.






* To make lavender sugar place 1/4 cup dried culinary lavender in the bottom of a wide mouth jar, add in 3
cups sugar and close tightly, allow to sit for 2-3 weeks shaking the jar every few days. The longer you let it sit the more flavorful it will be. When it is done you can sift out the lavender buds, use the sugar and reuse the buds to make more, replacing them every 3rd time or so. Alternately you can bind the lavender in muslin cloth to make a sachet. Place it with the sugar, this way you dont have to strain it out. I do it directly because some recipes I use I prefer to leave the buds in the sugar.

You can also purchase lavender sugar in many specialty stores or online.

IF you don't want to wait you can place 3/4 cup regular sugar in a small bowl food processor and process it with 3 tsp dried lavender buds for 60 seconds or so. The flavor is not a pronounced so dont strain out the buds. It works well enough. Do the same for the rolling sugar with 1 tsp and 1/4 cup

NOTE: Do not eat flowers from florists, nurseries or garden centers. These flowers have usually been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops. Make sure they come from certified organic producers or grow them yourself.

English Lavender- (l. angustifolia ) is favored for its mild taste and citrusy flavor; used in both meat, drink and dessert recipes

Munstead Lavender – (l. angustifolia ) slightly stronger lavender flavor than English Lavender; used in meat, drink and dessert recipes

Jean Davis Lavender – (l. angustifolia ) has a mild, slightly fruity flavor; used in fish dishes, drinks and desserts

Melissa Lavender – (l. angustifolia ) has a slight peppery flavor; used in savory recipes

Provence Lavender – (x. intermedia ) a favorite of chefs due to its mild scent and flavor; used in meat and dessert recipes

No comments:

Post a Comment