To use fresh herbs or
not? That has been the question on my mind as I’ve been looking at my spice
rack, trying to decide about all the recipes I’ve found that call for the “real
thing”. I was inspired by this recipe to grow some lavender, but when I found dried
lavender that was suitable for cooking, I decided to make these cookies and not
wait for the fresh stuff this time around. Obviously, this wasn't in my spice rack already, too bad all the bottles are already filled with other things!
http://lavendernest.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-swap.html
I adapted the recipe only slightly, once by accident, and
once on purpose. I put mint on the grocery list, and then forgot the list,
thereby forgetting to buy the mint at the store. This is my new favorite
shortbread recipe, and it was delicious without the mint, so you decide how
you’d like to make them. I used 1 ¼ cups of whole wheat flour, and added 2
teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice to prevent the dough from being too
dry with the whole wheat flour. The end result was great, but the extra lemon
flavor may have masked the lavender…although I did a poor job of “finely
chopping” the lavender (tried using a knife, switched to a mortar & pestle,
then used scissors). Also, an on-line source recommended using 1/3 the amount
of dried lavender when substituting for fresh, so I used just under 1
tablespoon, which may not have been enough. I will definitely make this recipe
again, so I’ll experiment with fresh lavender and the time after that with
using more dried lavender.
This is a great recipe to prepare over two days, since the
dough needs to chill for at least one hour. If you chill it overnight like I
did, it will take time to be pliable enough to roll out after you remove it from the refrigerator. If the dough becomes
too warm after rolling out a couple of times, you may need to put the “scraps”
back into the refrigerator (wrapped up and pressed to 1 inch thick).
These cookies were a hit at an office pot-luck lunch! Looking forward to making them again...
Have you ever cooked with lavender?
These cookies were a hit at an office pot-luck lunch! Looking forward to making them again...
Too funny...I did the same exact thing. Went to the store the other day to get all the ingredients and forgot mint. I was quite torn as to what to do, but did go back and pick some up. They are a hit in my office too! Glad you liked the recipe :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea of combining some interesting ingredients for a wonderful flavor, Nicole! Your crafts are an inspiration, too :).
ReplyDelete