Lavender Tea Cookie Recipe

Lavender (Lavendula angustofolia) is a fragrant herb that has been used for centuries.  The plant is native to France, and the Mediterranean, but is now grown world wide. Many gardeners grow it for it’s fragrant flower buds, and to attract bees to their garden. Lavender is grown commercially, and the majority of it’s use goes to into making the essential oil. The essential oil is used in making perfumes. It is also used in many aromatherapy products such as massage lotions, creams and oils. It takes approximately 450 pounds of lavender flower to make one pound of the essential oil. This purple flowering plant makes a wonderful culinary herb. It adds a hint of floral taste to many recipes. It is included in some recipes for Herbs de Provence. Our Lavender Tea Cookie recipe is a favorite summer treat, and goes well with our Lavender Lemonade recipe. Many fond summer memories have been made over this combination here on the farm. These cookie’s are easy to make and are delicious frosted with lavender frosting, and garnished with a few flower buds. You can also enjoy them plain.  They are made using lavender herbal sugar, butter, vanilla, buttermilk, flour and salt.

Cook Time Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 10 min Ready in: 30 min Yields: 2 dozen , small cookies

How To Make Lavender Herbal Sugar Making an herbal sugar is quick and easy. You’ll need one cup sugar to 2 Tbsp of herb. This recipe can be adapted to meet your sugar needs for any recipe.

• Place the lavender into the sugar inside of a piece of cheese cloth.
• Let stand for 24 -48 hours.

Discard lavender, and use sugar for recipe. Note: You could make a tea with the lavender.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp lavender, dried buds-used to make lavender sugar
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla, pure extract
• 2 Tbsp buttermilk, regular milk can be substituted for the buttermilk
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• dash salt
• Lavender Frosting, optional (see recipe below)

Instructions

• Make the lavender herbal sugar 24 hours before cookies are made.
• In a medium bowl, cream lavender herb sugar, butter, and vanilla.
• Add flour, sugar and salt. Mix well until dough is soft and all ingredients are mixed.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Spoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten cookie into a 1/4 inch thick circle. NOTE: To use the dough with cookie cutters, refrigerate dough for one hour. Then on a lightly floured surface, roll out dough, and cut into shapes. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on wire racks. Frost if desired. You can also use a few flower buds as a garnish.

Lavender Frosting A delicious butter cream frosting that you can use for these cookies, or other cookies. It is delicious on dark chocolate muffins or cookies.

• 1 cup confectioners or powdered lavender herb sugar
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 stick of butter

In a small plastic bag, combine powered sugar and lavender. (See recipe above for making Lavender Herbal Sugar) Let stand at least 1 day before using. When ready to use, sift the mixture into a medium-size bowl; discarding lavender flowers. This creates lavender herb sugar.

• Cream the butter and sugar.
• Add the milk.
• Mix in the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing well each time.
• Additional powdered sugar or milk may need to be added (enough milk to make frosting easy to spread).
• Spread on cooled lavender cookies