Lavender Love

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I have a quick and easy recipe for you that's sure to make your sweetie smile. Why get all hectic this holiday when you can enjoy the relaxing scent of lavender and baked goodness wafting through the house? Chocolate and roses are both very nice but homemade to me comes from the heart. Valentine's Day has a special meaning to me because it is the day my darling husband proposed (this year marks 4 years!)Nothing can quite top that Valentine's Day surprise, but I will be making these cookies for him to show my love - and I think I will make them into heart shapes just to be extra sweet. If Valentine's Day fell in the summer here, I would be topping these with Rose Water Glaze (see below). I have several wonderful rose bushes at my house that would be perfect for the recipe, but they are still looking like sort of dry sticks right now with no rose buds in sight. Store bought roses rarely smell, have you noticed? All bloom, no nose..tsk tsk. I will post the recipe anyway because it is pretty easy and perhaps our followers down under would appreciate it right now. By the way, 2012 is the Year of the Rose, according to the National Herb Society. 

 Lavender Cookies 

  

Ingredients: 

2 eggs 1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup margarine 

1 tsp dried lavender flowers (1 Tbsp fresh)

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 1/2 cups flour 

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first four ingredients until creamed. Add baking powder and salt and mix until blended. Add in the flour gradually and mix until smooth. Drop by teaspoons onto non-greased cookie sheet, or refrigerate for 1 hour, roll out on a lightly floured surface and use a cookie cutter to create desired shapes (try not to handle too much!) Cook 8-10 minutes, trading shelves and turning trays half way through baking. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Ice when cool if desired or leave plain, both ways are great. Serving suggestion: Place on a pretty paper doily on a nice plate or cutting board with a flower and a love note...a recipe for true lovers! 

Rose Glaze: 

1 pint distilled water 1

 oz fresh rose petals (unsprayed!) 

1 cup confectioners sugar 

 First we make the rose water by bringing the water and rose petals to a boil in a stainless steel or ceramic pan. Turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Strain through coffee filter or cheese cloth into a clean jar - Rose Water will keep for 1-2 weeks refrigerated. Place the confectioners sugar in a small bowl and add the cool Rose Water until you get a spreadable consistency.