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.