It should come as no surprise that we are big fans of Kenneth Branagh's 2015 live action version of Cinderella. We have the golden carriage and a bow inspired by her wedding dress as the picture on our home page, for crying out loud!
On our recent, spontaneous Walt Disney World trip, we watched Cinderella on the plane ride south, and we both re-fell in love. So, we're sharing some recipes with you, based on the Lavender Blue folk song featured in the film.
Lavender can be a little tricky to find. Back in my undergrad days, I worked in a chocolate store that had a honey lavender caramel that I absolutely loved. That little candy was my gateway into the wonder world of lavender, and I kept my eye for some lavender for a while (admittedly not looking in any specialty spice stores). I actually found dried lavender in Target. You may also have luck at a "fancy" grocery store like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.
Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons dried lavender
Directions:
1. Rub lavender between clean fingers, not too hard, just to release the oils.
2. Cream butter, honey, sugar, and lavender together with a hand mixer. (Rub the empty butter wrapper on the measuring spoon before adding the honey. The oils from the butter will help the honey come off the spoon).
3. Add flour and pinch of salt and mix until a sticky dough is formed.
4. Roll into logs in parchment paper, freeze at least 30 minutes or refrigerate for at least two hours.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 325 degree oven.
Optional: You can dress up your cookies with extra sugar (I sprinkled a little cane sugar over my cookies before baking), a drizzle of honey immediately after coming out of the oven, or a few extra lavender buds on top.
These cookies are not overly sweet, they're more savory, thanks to the lavender. They are perfect for a tea party, or brunch. If you want to bump up the sweetness, add an extra tablespoon of honey, and reduce the lavender.
Lavender steeping in simple syrup
These lavender champagne cocktails are the perfect combination of elegance and whimsy. Something about bubbles make anything seem more fun. But lavender is such a unique flavor that it will impress anyone. Try it for Easter celebrations, Mother's Day brunch or bridal showers (since it's wedding season!).
The idea of a lavender cocktail might turn you off as being too difficlut, but it really is very simple to make.
Lavender Champagne Cocktail
Ingredients:
Lavender simple syrup
Champagne or sparkling wine (I chose this Pinot Grigio because the label described it as having citrus notes, and lavender goes very well with citrus)
Directions:
Lavender Simple Syrup
1. Bring equal parts sugar and water (I used .5 cup each) to a simmer to dissolve the sugar.
2. Stir in one tablespoon dried lavender, turn off the heat.
3. Let cool completely. Strain out the lavender. The longer you let the lavender steep, the stronger the flavor will be. I let mine steep for about 2 hours.
4. Store in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to a month before serving.
Cocktail
1. Spoon 1.5 teaspoons of lavender syrup into a champagne flute.
2. Top with champagne or sparkling wine.
Note: I garnished the flutes by rimming them with lavender buds. The garnishes looked cute, but didn't work out practically. We ended up wiping off the dried lavender before drinking the cocktail. Instead, I recommend that you use a fresh lavender spring, or rimming your glasses with lavender colored sugar.
My lavender treats were a big hit with my family. I had to slap cookies out of their hands until I could take pictures. Granted, I have to do that every time I make desserts for the blog. But I was surprised that they loved the lavender cocktails. So you don't need to be worried about picky eaters because the more (ahem, boring) pallets around here loved the lavender flavor.
Are you a fan of lavender? Do you have any other lavender recipes to share with us?
If you know someone who loves lavender as much as we do, be sure to share these recipes with them!
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