I am hoping to have a good crop of lavender this year, as I’ve planted half a dozen bushes. This is the most gorgeous scent of all, in my opinion – fragrant, feminine but slightly astringent as well – no blushing rose or sensuous frangipani, but a clean, honorable aroma. I still love the smell of lavender polish, that my grandmother used to use on her heavy mahogany furniture.
But lavender can also be used in cooking, and the basis of many lavender recipes is lavender sugar. It’s made the same way as vanilla sugar. Just fill a jar with caster sugar, push lavender springs down into the sugar and cap tightly. After a few days, the sugar will have soaked up the lovely aromatic oils. You can add the sugar to cakes, cookies or egg custard recipes, but one of the nicest things you can make is lavender shortbread.
LAVENDER SHORTBREAD
You will need 3/4 cup butter; ΒΌ cup lavender sugar; 2 cups self raising flour.
Cream the butter and sugar together, and work in the flour. Form pieces of the mixture into balls and place side by side on a greased cookie sheet, or press the mixture into a greased plate and mark into triangles with a knife. Dredge some lavender sugar over the cookies and bake for 15-20 minutes in a moderate oven, until the edges are just tinged with color.
Lavender shortbread makes a special gift packed in a tissue lined box,with a bouquet of lavender tied with velvet ribbon, or it can be sold at bazaars and fund raisers.
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