Cooking with Lavender!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love lavender!  I grow it every year, and as a lazy gardener—never treat it with chemicals, so I can use the blooms.  If I do not have enough lavender flowers, I head to my local Penzey’s Spices Store and purchase a jar.   This is an adventure—as the jars of lavender are kept behind the counter!  I always feel like I’m trying to purchase drugs when I walk in and ask for the “stuff behind the counter!”  No one has ever been able to tell me why it is kept back there!    

I am lucky enough to work in an Extension Office.  We have master gardeners who do so many things at our office.  There is a group of ladies who come in on Wednesday that keep our beds in order around the office.  For the past few years they have been gardening around our parking lot with tomatoes, peppers, etc…  It is a way to show urban gardening at its best!  This year they decided to take what I have been teaching to heart—and planted a couple of edible flower barrels!  These Wednesday Ladies (that’s what I call them!) do such a great job!  They are just like all of us—very passionate about what they do—so they do it well! 

I offer a class on cooking with herbs every year with our horticulture specialist.  Each time it is offered it I use new recipes.  This jewel of a recipe was one I found back in 2011.  It is not a heart healthy recipe.  You can cut down on the calories from sugar by using Splenda Blend and not dipping them in chocolate.  I rarely dip them, and they taste heavenly plain!  They are best right out of the oven when the lavender is very fragrant!

Chocolate Dipped Lavender Cookies

By Pinky Kookie on June 28, 2010

Serves: 20-24, Yield: 20.0 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar (you can use Splenda Blend)
• 1 eggs, beat slightly
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 tablespoon lavender flowers, snipped
• 1 (8 ounce) package semisweet chocolate pieces

 Directions

Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet or butter and flour well.  Beat butter well with a mixer. Add sugar and beat till combined.  Beat in eggs and as much flour as you can get combined with the mixer, then stir in the rest including lavender flowers.  Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet. Space about 2″ apart.  Bake at 350ºF. for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool.  In a saucepan melt chocolate stirring constantly (or melt in the microwave oven on high until well melted.) Remove from heat.  Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate and set aside to cool for about 1 hour.