Dried Lavender
Use lavender as you would rosemary in any meat, casserole, soup, or bread recipe. Chop flower buds for a finer texture.
Rub a mixture of finely chopped lavender, garlic, salt and pepper on any meat or poultry before roasting or grilling.
Herbal Cream Cheese
Mix softened cream cheese with chopped shallots or chives, salt and pepper, then add Herbs Provence or culinary lavender. Mix well. Let stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
Lavender Tea Bread
3/4 cup milk 2 1/4 teaspoons dried culinary lavender flowers, divided
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar 2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest or 1 tsp lemon oil
Glaze
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the milk with 2 tsp of the lavender and let steep until cool. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the baking powder, flour and salt. In a separate bowl cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the lemon zest or oil. Add the flour mixture alternately with the lavender and milk. Mix just until blended.
Spoon the batter into a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Allow pan to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and place it on a wire rack set over a sheet of waxed paper.
Put the lemon juice in a bowl and add the confectioners' sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the hot bread and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 tsp of dried lavender.
Lavender Lemon Bars
1 cup flour 1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon culinary lavender
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, margarine and powdered sugar together. Pour in ungreased square 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 pan building up 1/2 inch edges. Bake for 20 minutes.
Beat remaining ingredients until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Pour over hot crust. Bake until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center (about 25 minutes).
Cool and cut into squares.
Lavender Sugar
Combine 2 cups sugar with 1 cup culinary lavender buds. After one week, strain out the lavender. Use in recipes as a substitute for regular sugar.
Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/4 cups butter or margarine 1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup lavender sugar 2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups vanilla
2 cups flour 3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Do not grease the cookie sheets.
Cream butter with sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa, and add to the butter-egg mixture. Whip well about 1 minute.
Add nuts and chocolate chips. Mix well, spoon plum-sized falls of dough onto the cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.
Bake 12-15 minutes until the cookies look puffy with cracks on top. Do not over bake.
Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack until firm. They keep well stored in an airtight container in a cool place.
Lavender Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour 1 tablespoon finely chopped culinary lavender
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in flour and chopped lavender and form a soft ball. Cover and chill.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Roll out dough and cut into any shape you desire. Bake 9 minutes. Sprinkle with lavender sugar.
Lavender Grilled Salmon
4 tablespoons honey 6 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine 1 tablespoon culinary lavender, crushed with mortar and pestle
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 pounds of salmon filet
Place all ingredients, except the salmon, in a saucepan over moderate heat, stirring with a wire whisk at all times until ingredients are reduced by one third, to create a sauce. When sauce has cooled slightly, brush on salmon filet.
Grill or bank salmon until flaky, approximately 10 minutes, basing with sauce. Set some aside to pour on salmon before serving.
Herbs Provence may be substituted for the lavender for an equally flavorful and enjoyable salmon dish.
Lavender Pound Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour cream
2 cups sugar 1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
Drizzle
1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 5/8 inch loaf pans.
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium size bowl. Pulse 1/2 cup of the sugar with the lavender in a food processor until lavender is well ground.
In a large bowl, beat butter, lavender flavored sugar, remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and vanilla, until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and milk. On low speed, alternately beat in flour mixture with sour cream mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour. Divide batter into two pans.
Bake for 55 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans and let cool completely.
To make the drizzle, microwave water and lavender for 30 seconds on high power. Let steep 5 minutes. Strain out lavender flowers and discard.
Once cake is cool, whisk together 4 teaspoons of the lavender water and the confectioners' sugar. Drizzle over both loaves. Slice and serve.
Frolicking Deer Lavender Lemonade
1 whole lemon 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon culinary lavender water and ice
Quarter the whole lemon and place in blender. Add 2 cups of water. Blend until lemon is ground up completely.
Strain into another container. Place juice back into blender, add lavender, sugar, and water to fill blender 2/3 full. Fill balance with ice. Blend. Serve and enjoy.
Chocolate Dipped Lavender Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 tablespoon culinary lavender 8 ounce semisweet chocolate pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add sugar, beat until combined. Beat in egg until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir int he remaining flour and the lavender.
Drop dough by teaspoons 2 inches apart in the parchment paper-line cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack.
In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt chocolate, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate. Place the dipped cookies on parchment paper until the chocolate is firm. Makes 48 cookies.
Lavender Shortbread Cookies
3 cups all purpose flour 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk 1 tablespoon culinary lavender buds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend well. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and beat until blended, then add lavender buds. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic and chill at least two hours.
Roll out each dough disk between sheets of waxed paper to 14 x 11 inch rectangle, occasionally lifting waxed paper to smooth out wrinkles. Refrigerate dough on baking sheets still between sheets of waxed paper, until cold and firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
Place 1 piece of dough on work surface and peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Press same sheet back onto dough and turn dough over. Peel off other piece of waxed paper. Using cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Shape excess dough back into disk and return to refrigerator to chill. Continue process until all dough is used up. Use metal spatula to lift cookies from waxed paper to cookie sheet. Space slightly apart as cookies will not spread too much. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time until pale and golden, about 8 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.
