Retta Cooked It!

I love the scent of lavender, but lavender cookies?  The scent of lavender is a sure sign that spring is in the air. And, it evokes a lot of things to a lot of people but a treat or snack is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. To me, the scent of lavender evokes the sense of a scrubbed clean home full of fresh flowers, sunshine and light breezes streaming through open windows.

Lavender is an herbaceous woody shrub and is part of the mint family (lavender and mint tea, right?) that has been used as a culinary herb in cooking for a millennia.  Although it is a more familiar ingredient in soaps, candles, body washes and Pinesol, it also resides deliciously in ice creams, teas and cocktails, dressings, cakes and, of course cookies. One of my favorite online hangouts, What’s Cooking America has a very good post on culinary lavender, well worth the read and it also has a number of recipes that use lavender. I’ll be trying their lavender sorbet soon!

But, Does it Taste As Good As It Smells?

Would I want to eat lavender cookies? Well, yeah. Yeah, you bet I would. I wanted to try them, at least.  And of course I did. Are they good? They absolutely are!  Being a professional cookie eater (yes, I am credentialed) lavender is not what I immediately associate with a cookie. But, this cookie hits the familiar note of fresh lavender without being overbearing like granny’s eau de parfum or feeling like you’re smashing flowers into your mouth by the fist full.  

These cookies are soft and cake-like with a subtle taste and fragrance of lavender. Because the taste of lavender is so subtle, they can be enjoyed on their own or paired with a cup of lavender tea and it won’t feel like it’s too much. They aren’t super sweet and cloying, most of the sweetness comes from the glaze.

I Put That Sh*t in Everything

My recent obsession with lavender and lavender syrup reminded me of a Frank’s Hot Sauce commercial with an old lay declaring “I put that sh*t on everything!”. I’m kind of feeling lavender right now and have been mixing lavender syrup into everything I can think of.  I love it in my yogurt. It’s refreshing without being so strong that it takes you down like a sumo wrestler. I first had the lavender yogurt when a coworker brought a case of it into the office under the pretense of being generous when she was only just cleaning out her fridge. 

I fell in love with the yogurt and ate the whole case in a week.  Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find lavender yogurt ANYWHERE.  I’m sure Whole Foods carries it, just nowhere I’m looking for it.  So, now I mix my own.

Lavender syrup or extract can be used in this recipe. The intensity of the syrup is different than the extract. I didn’t use the extract in this cookie so, I can’t recommend a ratio. But, I do not recommend using lavender essential oil at all. Lavender syrup is so easy to make. And, its easily found online. If you decide to experiment with lavender in any dish, also keep in mind to always use culinary lavender and a little goes a long way. It can easily overpower a dish if you are too heavy-handed with it.  

When it’s made well, panna cotta is rich, silky, creamy, jiggles like Jello, and holds its shape when it’s unmolded. As fancy as some people imagine it, panna cotta is versatile, easy to make and so forgiving that it is almost impossible to ruin.  Unless you’re lactose intolerant, there are no downsides to this dessert.

Panna cotta in Italian literally means ‘cooked cream’. It can be served with the traditional topping of caramel or virtually any topping. Unlike a flan or Creme Brulee, gelatin is used instead of eggs, so it’s not a custard as it is sometimes mistaken to be. 

The original version panna cotta involved boiling cream with fish bones to extract the collagen to provide structure to the dessert. Hopefully, they fished out the bones before serving.

Panna Cotta’s Italian Roots

Although no one seems to be 100% certain, panna cotta appears to have come from the region of Piedmont in Italy. This is where it earned the prestigious seal of approval as a traditional Italian regional food.  But it doesn’t seem to show up in Italian cookbooks until around the 1960’s. Whenever it made its debut in cookbooks, like any recipe that  stands the test of time, it’s got many mothers. Ask anyone of Italian heritage if they have a panna cotta recipe. They probably do, they’ll tell you that it was passed down from their grandmother who got it from their grandmother.

So why wouldn’t panna cotta have a bajillion variations? People are inventive especially when it comes to food. We get creative. Tasting the basic vanilla panna cotta, you’d think that would be enough since it is already kind of perfect. But if you go online, you’ll find panna cotta recipes by the ton. There are recipes that call for skim or 2% milk, (Yeah, no.), goat’s milk, yogurt, almond milk and on and on. We do spend more than 32,000 hours eating and drinking in an average lifetime, might as well make it interesting!

This Could Be The Best Panna Cotta You’ll Ever Have

I stand by the classic recipe, not the for real “original” fishbones recipe. This one is so good though, the first time I made it and drizzled a blueberry sauce. My husband loved it and would eat it if had I drizzled beef gravy over it. Nope. No gravy, because limits right? But, I guess that’s validation of how good it really is. If I’m honest, and I like to think that I am, until I eat all of the other panna cottas with mixed berry sauce, I cannot truly say this is “the best panna cotta recipe in the world”. I haven’t eaten all of the others (not yet). But, I can guarantee that this is the best that I’ve had. You will thoroughly enjoy this recipe too, and feel you have eaten the best panna cotta in the world. If you find a better one, let me know.

This dessert is open to experimentation

You can whip this up in no time, but let it set up at least 6 hours, or better yet, just be patient and let it set overnight. Panna cotta can be made a day ahead, too. Just seal it it and refrigerate. Keep in mind though, the longer it sets the firmer it gets. The basic panna cotta includes vanilla extract, or I prefer vanilla bean paste.  Essentially this dessert is a blank canvas that you can incorporate any flavor you like.  This panna cotta with mixed berry sauce is adopted from Laura in the Kitchen’s blog. Her panna cotta is beautiful.

If you are watching your calories, you could try using 2% or skim milk to replace some of the cream. Just be aware that it may alter the texture of your panna cotta. Personally, I wouldn’t prepare panna cotta without half & half and heavy cream because in my estimation it needs the fat along with the gelatin to set properly but, I’ve read that people have had success with milk with a low fat content. I do not have any ratios to replace the cream for this recipe. I say experiment and do you because after all, the dish you love the most is the one that is made the way you like it.

You can serve panna cotta in a pretty glass topped with a sauce of your choice or coulis (fancy word for sauce) or molded in a ramekin or silicone mold, and turned out onto a pretty plate and garnished with fresh fruit, chocolate shavings, a sprig of mint or whatever you like. Pair it with a Vodka Berry Smash for a real after-dinner treat.