Here is a favorite application for LNW’s Marionberry Lavender Seedless Preserves. This recipe requires a staged baking procedure during which the preserves are placed in a well formed on top of each incompletely baked cookie. For this reason, it is recommended that you work with only one baking sheet at a time.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated lavender sugar (see tips below)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups sifted unbleached white AP flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 ounces lavender-flavored jam or preserves
- Optional: 1/2 cup finely ground almonds
Instructions
To make the cookie dough: Sift together the flour and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and lavender sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla and continue beating until well-combined. Add the combined dry ingredients in portions, including the almonds if desired. Mix until well blended. Cover the dough and refrigerate at least an hour.
To shape and bake the cookies: Once the dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Form the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place 2-3 inches apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Using your thumb, press an indentation about 1/2 inch wide into the top of each ball.
Bake about 10 minutes, and remove from oven. The cookies will not be fully baked at this point. Immediately re-form the indentations using the rounded end of a wooden spoon’s handle. Working quickly, fill each indentation with about 1/4 – 1/3 teaspoon of your selected lavender-flavored jam or preserves.
Return the tray to the oven and bake another 5 minutes, watching for a very light golden color at the bottom edge of each cookie. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack for complete cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container in a cool place.
LAVENDER TIPS: These cookies feature a delicate lavender flavor in the dough, augmented by a light hint of lavender in the preserves. Lavender sugar can be obtained from one of several LNW members who specialize in culinary applications of NW-grown lavender. It can also be prepared fairly quickly: choose distinctly fragrant lavender buds from an L. angustifolia cultivar. The bud color does not matter. Depending on the relative potency of your buds, place 1/2 to 1 1/2 tablespoon of the buds into a food processor with 1 cup of granulated sugar. Pulse and process until the bud casings are broken into tiny slivers (which can take a few minutes). Then pass the scented sugar through a fine sieve to remove any larger remnants of the buds. Store in a tightly sealed glass or metal container in a cool, dark location. As always, the quantity of lavender buds used will depend on the starting potency of the available buds, and your personal taste. Don’t hesitate to sample your sugar for flavor before sieving. You can certainly add more buds or more sugar to achieve a desired intensity of flavor, but do keep in mind that the amount of lavender sugar used in this cookie recipe will be “diluted” about 8-fold by the other ingredients.
Contributed by
Chris Mulder & Michael Lemmers
Barn Owl Nursery & RavenCroft
Edited & formatted by
Michael Lemmers
RavenCroft
