Lemon Lavender Cookies

I only have one small English lavender plant in my garden, but it's enough for me to bake a few batches of these cookies every year. You can buy culinary lavender already dry, but I dry my own (see drying hints below). If you're harvesting your own edible garden, you may want to check what type of lavender you have. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) tends to be hardier and is better for culinary purposes because it is milder and less soapy tasting. More about lavender can be found here. Lavender pairs well with lemon and these cookies are delicious, especially glazed!

Cookie ingredients:
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups icing/powdered sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon (about 1 tbsp)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp dried lavender flowers (see hint below)

Glaze ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
​lavender flowers for decorating (optional)

Method:

1. Use a stand mixer with paddle attachment to combine softened butter and sugar, creaming about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Add vanilla and egg and mix until incorporated.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, lemon zest and lavender and stir until combined. Add to the butter mixture and mix until the dough comes together into a ball. Don't over mix.
3. Press the dough into a dic and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 2-12 hours.
4. Remove dough from fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4- inch thickness and cut into circles, re-rolling scraps as needed.
6. Place cookies on a cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart and freeze for about 15 minutes. (This keeps the cookies from spreading too much when baking.)
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes (depends on the size of your cookie) until the edges are set and the bottoms are golden.
8. Cool for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
9. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice to make the glaze.
10. Dip each cooled cookie into the glaze and place back on a cooling rack until the glaze hardens. I added a few fresh flowers for decoration.
11. DEVOUR! 

NOTE: These will get soft when stored and are best eaten fresh, but still delicious either way.

How to dry fresh lavender:

I love having a bundle of lavender hanging up to dry. It smells lovely and looks so pretty. You can simply tie the stalks together with string and hang them up for a few weeks until dry. Hanging them in a dark room will preserve the colour better.

If I'm in a rush to have dry blossoms to use in baking, I've dried them in my microwave. Place the stalks on a piece of paper towel and microwave on high for 1 minute. Continue microwaving in 20 second bursts until the flowers are dry and easily fall off the stem. It took me 1 minute plus 4 x 20 seconds to dry mine.