Lavender Cookies: Perfume for the Taste Buds

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I like the kitchen best when I’m alone. The soothing silence is perfect for a late-night cookie baking session.

When the house is quiet and the phone isn’t ringing, I can take as long as I want to measure, stir, and clean up.

It’s comforting, this opportunity to organize, express my creativity, and make something delicious and satisfying from a combination of individual ingredients. And it’s relaxing, since I can just go at my own pace and enjoy the process.

The way I feel about cooking and baking is similar to what some people feel about knitting. Or running. Or maybe, I don’t know, bird-watching.

Cooking is repetitive – gathering ingredients, combining them, shaping and molding, putting your creation in the oven or the fridge, and waiting.

It’s also reliable. A cookie recipe will most likely provide tasty treats that are ready to eat when you’re done. At least if the recipe is any good, that is.

And yet, it’s also surprising, almost magical, that such a wonderful finished product can come about as the result of just a little bit of invested time and energy.

I’d imagine that’s kind of what a bird-watcher could say, too: that he likes sitting, and waiting, and sitting and waiting some more. These predictable actions become familiar and comforting, often with spectacular outcomes.

Sometimes, when life feels complicated, overwhelming, and maybe a little bit too fast, it’s nice to be able to return to something familiar and reliable. Even if it’s simple, routine, or just plain regular, it can still be a relief to come home to.

On Friday night, after I ran to the store to pick up a few ingredients, I set them out near my KitchenAid stand mixer and turned on the season finale of my favorite show within view of the counter space.

I had picked fresh lavender a few days earlier, tying it with a piece of yarn and hanging the bundle to dry on a nail on the closet door.

Have you ever dried your own fresh herbs, or grown your own lavender? (If you want to give it a try, you can learn more on our sister site, Gardener’s Path).

I gently pulled the flowers from their stems and measured them out. These would be the crowning glory of my latest recipe.

In terms of texture and flavor, this is a subtler version of my rosemary butter cookie, obviously made without rosemary, and also without the sugared edges. It’s softer, with a milder flavor, and a slightly chewier texture.

In my opinion, a fragrant edible flower is the perfect addition to this type of recipe. I mean, isn’t lavender almost always the first ingredient in those stress-relieving lotions and sprays? Isn’t it the most wonderful thing to take a whiff of?

These happy, light little delicacies are easy to make, flavorful, and if I do say so myself, way more interesting than your typical snack fare.

You really should try them, whether or not you have a flowering bush in your backyard, and whether or not you are the type to enjoy an evening spent alone in the kitchen.

I’m just saying: two baked tray-fulls on my counter and three sweet cookies in my belly later, the world seemed like a much better place.

Lavender Cookies

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• Author: Shanna Mallon
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 30 cookies 1x

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Description

Looking for a fragrant twist on your treats? These lavender cookies are slightly sweet, oh-so-buttery, and bursting with floral notes.

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Ingredients

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• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons dried lavender
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a stand mixer, cream together shortening, butter, and sugar on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, and beat to combine thoroughly after each addition.
3. With the mixer still on, add vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine.
4. In a separate large bowl, stir together flour, lavender, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry mixture a little at a time to the wet mixture. Beat until the batter is thoroughly just combined. Do not overmix..
5. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto two greased baking sheets, or sheet pans lined with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
6. Bake until the tops are lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on the trays before transferring to wire racks. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Cookies
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Dessert

Keywords: lavender, cookie

Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Preheat the Oven and Combine the Wet Ingredients

First, measure out all of your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Grease two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or butter, or line them with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, cream the shortening, unsalted butter, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until well-blended and fluffy. Be careful not to over mix, or the butter will begin to separate.

Add the eggs one at a time, and continue to beat until they’re thoroughly mixed in. With the mixer still on, add in the vanilla extract and almond extract.

Step 2 – Mix Together the Dry Ingredients

In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, lavender, baking powder, and salt.

Step 3 – Add the Dry Ingredients to the Wet Ingredients

A little at a time, add the dry mixture into the wet with the mixer on low speed. Beat until the dough is just combined.

Step 4 – Portion and Bake

Using a 1-tablespoon measure, drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto your prepared baking sheets. You can spray the tablespoon with nonstick cooking spray so the dough doesn’t stick to it and comes out in more rounded spoonfuls.

Bake until the tops are lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on the pans before transferring to wire racks.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They will harden a bit after a few days at room temperature. To soften them up, put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds before serving.

About Shanna Mallon

Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.

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