Lavender. There are some flowers that simply ache to be infused into baked goods. Rose, Lavender, and Jasmine are some of my favorite floral scents. While it is very underutilized in comparison to vanilla or cinnamon in baking, lavender can stand on its own as a flavor power player in almost every dessert.
I gravitate to mostly natural scents, so there is always a bunch of dried lavender that perfumes my kitchen.
I love lavender so much that it made a happy, foreshadowing appearance during our wedding ceremony. I placed the delicate, purpled, dried buds in gold satchels for guests to toss for good wishes! And what good energy it was!
As a fragrance, lavender has long been used for its calming and relaxing properties. Placing a sprig of lavender near your bed will aid in a good night’s peaceful sleep. At work, I keep some in my desk for tough days.
Given its ever-present place in my life, it only made sense to come up with a dessert that pairs lavender with another one of my favorite creature comfort foods– Danish Butter Cookies. Who else but those clever Danes (who once owned the U.S. Virgin Islands until 1917) could come up with a dessert so simple, and ingeniously market it for the rest of the world to agree!
Growing up, I remember my mom would bring home a gold-lined, tin pan from the only department store on the island at that time– Woolworth. This pan of cookies was protected by an insanely thin strip of plastic tape that wrapped its way protectively around its parameter. I often thought that the thinness of this plastic was made purposefully to slow down eager kids like my sister and I, who were undeterred by its constant incomplete breaking. It was always somehow too thin to unravel, but always TOO sturdy to keep that lid defiantly fixed in place!
Once the epic-production of opening that container was completed, the blue and gold lid ceremoniously gave way to reveal the crunchiest, butteriest, delicate, little sugared cookies. Their various swirled, boxed, and circled shapes were all nestled in fluted paper-thin cups, and studded with large diamond edged sugar crystals. Instant kid food memory!
Lavender and Sugar Cookies are a match made in cookie heaven! I save these treats for events, places, and people I enjoy the most. If you get a plate of lavender cookies from me, then just know that you are held in very high regard!
These cookies are ridiculously easy to make. However, the ease of making it is over-rewarded with its oh-so-complex flavor. Mine are warmed up even more by speckled vanilla-beans in addition to the calming traces of lavender.
The recipe for this is still to come in a future post! But for now enjoy my “Ramblings” and imagine!
Where do you get the lavender from locally? I’d love to try making these some day. They look delectable! I have fond memories of those Danish cookies too. 🙂 I saw a Woolworth in a mall in Abu Dhabi; did not know they still existed! lol! Question: Isn’t the type of butter the quiddity of the butter cookie? What type of butter or brand do you think is best for the ultimate butter cookie?
Great Question, Yvette! I think European butters are BY FAR better than American butters. They have more fat and less water than most American Brands. I like the Danish Butters and the Irish Butters-Kerry Gold. SINFUL!! But GOOD!! An excellent second is Horizon Organic Butters. L-O-V-E!!
Where do you get the lavender from on island?
Unfortunately, lavender doesn’t grow on the island. I tried a few times and didn’t make it. However, I am determined to keep trying. I usually order the buds online or look for the extract! It is potent!