OK, I admit I am a baking show addict, but I learn so much. I saw a show where the contestant used culinary lavender and lemons in her recipe. WOW, a new ingredient for me to experiment with and try to master. Lavender is tricky too much, and it will taste like soap, and too little, you miss it altogether. There are some dos and don'ts with lavender, like picking the best variety for baking.
I found a website on Bon Appetit that gives some helpful tips about baking with lavender. The first time I was thinking about using lavender in a cookie, I purchased the wrong kind after reading more about lavender. The culinary lavender is the type you want to look for before purchasing online.
To cut through some of the lavender's strong undertones, I used 2 whole lemons for the zest. Of course, nothing adds sweetness to a cookie more so than honey. Everyone has a favorite honey, so use what you like for this recipe. The good thing about lavender is you can adjust the amount for your taste. The 1 tablespoon is a middle-of-the-road amount. You can use it more or less if you are familiar with the taste of lavender. Please let me know how you like the taste!
Lemon with Lavender and Honey Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
- ½ cup room temperature Butter unsalted 1 stick
- 1-½ cups Sugar white 297 g
- ½ teaspoon Honey
- 3 tablespoon Lemon juice
- Lemon zest 2 Lemons
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Culinary lavender
- 8 oz Mascarpone
- 2-½ cups All-purpose flour 300 g
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Sprinkle on top Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Zest 2 lemons into a bowl. In another bowl or a juicer that has a container, juice the 2 lemons. Set these aside. Weigh or measure the sugar into a small bowl and set that aside. Weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl, running a whisk through to blend. For the lavender, you can either chop them into smaller pieces, leave them as they are, or use a mortar and pestle to grind them into smaller pieces. The choice is up to you. I used the mortar and pestle to make some of the lavender grains smaller.
- Add the sugar and butter to your mixer bowl, and blend on medium speed for at least 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and blend till incorporated. Crack one of the eggs into a small bowl to make sure there is no eggshell and add it to the mixer bowl. Incorporate into the cookie dough before repeating the process with the second egg. Scrape down the sides and across the bottom and add the lavender and the Mascarpone blending till it is a smooth dough, about a minute or two.
- Take the bowl off the stand and fold in about half of the flour mixture. Incorporate the first half of the flour, then add the other half. You want the gentle touch of the hand folding in the flour then the force of the beater mixing the flour through the wet cookie dough. Once all the flour is mixed thoroughly, loosely cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for 2 hours. When working with Mascarpone, I find the cookie batter smoother when I fold the flour into the wet mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. I use a medium cookie scoop to add 12 mounds to a sheet pan. I bake one pan at a time for 11-13 minutes; mine was perfect at 12 minutes. After pulling the cookie pan from the oven, I leave the cookie on the pan for about 1 minute before moving them to a cooling rack. After they have cooled, I added powdered sugar on top to finish them. This recipe makes 2-½ dozen cookies. Enjoy!
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