Beltane Lemony Lavender Goodness Receipt

This past weekend I decide to make a Lemon Lavender cookie recipe that I have been wanting to experiment with ever since I first saw it. I don't recall exactly where it was that I saw it, but I think it has it's genesis in a cookie called Lavender and Lemon Snowflakes from Crafts'nThings posted sometime in October. Seeing that recipe again a few weeks ago got me to thinking about making them. Here's the link to the Snowflake Cookies. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34971253_ITM

The cookies in the recipe cited above appear to be quite the fat and cholesterol bombs. Also, they are rather more labour intensive than I was up for over the weekend. I love, though, the idea of a lavender/lemon flavoured cookie. So, I preceded to fiddle around with a basic cookie recipe. I have had success with this basic cookie in the past as I didn't have to make too many adjustments for altitude and such (we live at nearly 7000 feet here). I made the first iteration of the recipe following the basic recipe. Although, I did tweak it as I went. For instance, I added the juice of the lemon and the vanilla extract to the basic recipe. I used only 1 teaspoon of lavender flowers in this batch, but in my opinion it needed more, which is why the recipe below calls for a tablespoon full. These are very lemony with the zest and juice, the lavender makes a nice counterpoint to the tartness. Here is what I came up with. The recipe that got me thinking about these cookies in the first place contains 2/3 cup more sugar, 2 eggs and 2 3/4 cups more flour than this basic shortbread type dough.

Leslie's Lemony Lavender Roll Cookies

Oven @ 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Food Grade Lavender Flowers (available at Whole Foods, for certain) or amount to your personal taste
Zest from One Large Lemon (grate zest on small side of box grater, make sure you scrap the inside of grater to get all zest when done grating the lemon)
Juice of One Lemon
1 Teaspoon of Real Vanilla Extract
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1 Cup All Purpose Flour + 1-3 tablespoons (if at altitude)
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

In Small Bowl - Sift Together Flour and Salt
In Large Bowl - Cream Butter til Soft
Mix in Sugar, Lavender and Lemon Zest
Cream all together while adding lemon juice and vanilla extract
Add Flour Mixture until a Soft Dough forms.

Turn dough out onto Wax Paper or Parchment Paper, Wrap and Refrigerate for 20 Minutes.

Remove from frig and roll dough into a 2 inch diameter log, wrap and return to frig for another 45 minutes.

After at least 45 minutes, remove from frig, slice into 1/4 inch thick disks and bake on a lightly grease baking pan for 12-15 minutes.

Try not to let them get too brown.

Cool slightly on the baking tray and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

These will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

I think that I shall add this recipe to my Beltane recipes that also include receipts for various oatcakes and oatbreads.

If you are unaware of what Beltane is, here's a link to the Wiki definition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane. Beltane is a Celtic Spring Celebration and is a festival of flowers, fertility of the earth and the kine. Jumping the fire and Maypole Dancing are just some of the features of this ancient celebration.