Lavender Lemon Cookie Sandwiches

My sacred book of lists and scribbles (also known as my journal)

A new year means a couple of new goals (not resolutions). Here’s a few from the list, that I plucked from my journal:

• have at least 250 “highlight of the day’s” written by the years end
• send out more postcards
• draw more often
• get a photo of mine put into a gallery show
• have a weekly reason to update my blog
• do a cartwheel in a different country
• try recipes with ingredients I’ve never used
• learn two new trades
• find an excuse to wear fake eyelashes, weekly
• order something on a menu with ingredients that I can’t pronounce
• learn to write with my left hand
• learn a magic trick thats more impressive than “I’ve got your nose”
• teach my dog a new trick

This morning, sick as a serial killer, I made cookie sandwiches. I used lavender as an ingredient, for the first time ever.

This just knocked three things off of my list of goals!

my lemon lavender cookie sandwiches!

My friend Bea, had a grand plan to create something called Make Monday. I loved it! It got me excited to look at her blog every Monday. Even though she hasn’t updated since May, I still go back hoping that she’ll pick it up again. Until then, I’m taking this idea from her.

So, every Monday, plan on me making something. Perhaps a craft, a meal, or if I can’t get it together, you may end up seeing a video of me making my bed.

Heres my recipe and a photo tutorial on how to make lemon lavender cookie sandwiches. (note: you’ll see I just started playing around with my new Wacom tablet, and went a little crazy)

The cookies:

• ¾ cup  granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. grated zest
• 2 Tbsp. juice from two lemons
• 2 Tbsp. dried lavender
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• 12 Tbsp. softened unsalted butter
• 1 lg. egg yolk
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract

The Creme:

• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• ¾ cup of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla (you could probably replace this with some lemon zest, and it would be just as tasty)

My first challenge was looking at this lavender strait in the bud and say “how do i turn you from a flower to a food?”

That was about the time I looked at the sugar (and my coffee grinder) for some help.

I poured 2 tablespoons of lavender and a little less than half of the sugar into my coffee grinder and grounded it to a pulp.

Not only did I learn how easy it is to pulverize lavender, but I ALSO now know how to make powdered sugar!

I ground 2 lemons against a cheese grader, for my 2 tablespoons of lemon zest

then blend it with the rest of the sugar, until it becomes moist and lumpy.

then mix in lavender sugar

then add 12 tablespoons of room temp butter

mix it until well blended.

then add in ½ tsp. vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and an egg yolk and mix it all together until well blended.

in a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Then mix this mixture into the other bowl, in several segments. Mix until a cookie dough is created.

flour a surface

gently kneed the dough onto the surface until it becomes
thick enough to roll into a log

then roll up the log of cookie dough in a sheet of parchment paper

twist the ends, and put it in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, so the dough can harden. Before you take them out, you’ll want to preheat your oven to 375.

slice up the cold dough about nay thick (probably could have cut mine a bit thinner, but I like my cookies soft)

then place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I took to cookies that I sliced and paired them up by putting one upside down. This way, when you put the cream in them, you can hide the undersides on the inside of the cookie….did that even make sense?? Oh well.

they should be in the oven until they’re golden brown around the edges(about 15 minutes), and the tray should be turned half way through their baking (about 7 minutes)

this is how they should look when their done baking!

Let them cool on a wire rack. While they’re cooling, you can make the butter creme filling by beating together

• room temp butter
• powdered sugar
• vanilla

until it looks light and fluffy.

Like this.

Then placing it into something that will let you transfer it into the center of the cookie (so that it spreads evenly). I used this parchment paper method. But putting it into a ziplock bag, and cutting a corner of the bag, works too.

the following, is my favorite part of the whole process:

step one.

step two.

step done!

I can’t really taste them, but I had a friend try them out for her expert advice. She said they were a good meal cookie, but that by NOT adding the creme, they would make a good tea cookie, as well.

 

 

 

Tags: 2011 goals, baking, goals, lavender, lavender cookie recipe, lavender lemon cookie, lavender lemon cookie recipe, lemon, list, make monday, photo tutorial, recipe