Honey and Lavender Please!

I’ve always been weary of using floral; more so rose than lavender, in foods. Why? Well, because, to me, the uses of rose in deserts taste more like the potpourri in my grandparents’ bathroom than a dessert. Not really something I want to ingest, but I do brave the waters and experiment. Yes, I braved the road of florals and I’m really happy I did.

Now I have recipes that have lavender or rose in them, I’ll either substitute other ingredients or when I do go by the recipe I have to reduce the amount of rose or lavender because it is always overwhelming.

The  first recipe…

Honey and Lavender Ice Cream… it was delicious! I used the recipe from David Lebovitz. His recipes are all so amazing! (If you haven’t checked his stuff out it is a must!) I’ve made this recipe many times before and it is always a hit. The only thing I did differently was to not put more dried lavender at the finish; I’m not a fan of the texture of the dried lavender at the end. (I’ve done it both ways and still a hit with or without the additional dried lavender). The lavender is very subtle and you still have the flavor of the honey. It tastes like a light and refreshing ice cream. This ice cream does remind me of the ice creams I would eat in France. There were always a variety of flavors that were more interesting than just vanilla, chocolate and mint chocolate chip (not bashing those flavors, I just loved the variety I had). Some flavors that I remember most are Nutella, cassis, and Basil strawberry. 

Group shot of all the ice cream cones (Anncey, France 2011)

Flavor L to R: Lemon, Browned Butter, Nutella (Anncey, France 2011)

Another recipe I have is a Honey and Lavender Shortbread cookie. I made these to send my niece for her first birthday. This recipe originally didn’t have honey in it… I decided to bring it into the mix to add another layer of flavor (the honey I like to use is an orange blossom honey. I was able to find some locally, which I prefer to use as much local produce and products as possible). Lets just say that the first few batches of cookies didn’t make the cut… but I finally got the recipe right. They were a hit with my niece and my sister and brother-in-law.

For Honey Lavender cookies: Reduced the powder sugar to half a cup and added 1 tablespoons (TBS) of honey

The ingredients 

So what I did for this recipe is creamed the room temp butter with the powder sugar and honey then added 3 TBS of dried lavender. This was when the kitchen smelled amazing with all the butter, sugar and lavender. Once all ingredients are incorporated, I dropped a tablespoon and half sized cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and baked them till they were golden brown. When they are baking your kitchen will be flooded with the smell of lavender and butter cookie goodness. The cookie itself had subtle lavender taste and the honey flavor also shared the spotlight. It is the perfect little cookie to have with tea or as a little snack that you don’t feel so guilty about eating.

The dough when it comes together

The finished product... too bad scent-o-vision hasn't been invented