Lavender Cookies

I have always thought of lavender as an old lady smell, and not something that I would ever be interested in. Funny how you turn 30 and all that changes! Ha. I grew lavender in my herb garden this year for fun, and didn't really expect to "use" it for cooking or scenting anything but I kept coming across recipes that used lavender and it got my attention. My lavender didn't have a lot of purple flowers on it so I got some freshly grown lavender from my mother in law instead for making these cookies. She has an impressive herb garden, and flower garden. This lavender has been dried and it comes easily off the stem for using to flavor these cookies.

Lavender Cookies

recipe from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

Ingredients:

1-2 teaspoons finely chopped dried lavender flowers

1/2 cups (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

Crumble the lavender between your fingers into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then beat in the flour.

Drop the dough by the teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until they're lightly browned at the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then transfer them to a rack to cool.

Makes 4 dozen cookies
These have a very light floral taste, very much like a sugar cookie with a little "umph." Don't be scared of cooking with lavender, it isn't as old ladyish as you might think. Even my husband liked these :)