Human Flower Project

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Gina’s ‘On-the Fly’  Lavender Cookies

Our friend in Singapore, Gina Choong comes through with a floral cookie recipe in time for the holidays. (Pardon our rough conversions.) Thank you, Gina!

Lavender Cookies

Photo: Kitchen Capers

By Gina Choong

Ingredients

180g all purpose flour (@3/4 c.)

1/2 tsp baking powder

125ml corn oil (@ 1/2/ c.)

125g fine sugar (@ 1/2 c.)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp dried lavender flowers

Method

1. Add the oil, sugar, egg together to mix.

2. Add sifted flour, flowers and stir till well mixed.

3. Use a cookie scoop or spoon to form balls and place on cookie tray.

4. Bake in preheated oven of 180C (350F) for 10 mins.

5. Remove to cool completely on wire rack before storing in air tight containers.

This was actually a Chinese recipe originally, using another flower, called osmanthus. But I figure that osmanthus may not be readily available in the West so I tried it with lavender instead.  It’s a fairly simple recipe and can be modified using other types of herbs, spices or flowers. I have tried using even chopped kaffir lime leaves with a bit of spice.

Lavender field

Blanco County, Texas

Photo: Julie Ardery



Fresh flowers are better, but in Singapore there are no fresh lavenders. We get them dried, as these flowers are often sold as tea leaves. If you use fresh lavender, you need to make sure it has no pesticides sprayed into it, and it has to be clean from any bugs or ants. Use just a pinch of the lavender; if you rub it with both hands, it will bring out the fragrance. As they say, too much of a good thing is bad. Don’t put too many flowers into the cookie. It makes it smell like a soap: too fragrant. The flavor of lavender does take a bit of getting used to, especially if you have used lavender-laced products like soap and deodorant.

I think these cookies go great with a weak tea with a bit of sugar, no milk. Try them with Earl Grey; it’s very nice. I’ve enjoyed them with friends when they come over for a leisure talk and tea. It was fragrant and somehow it gives them a sense of home, of love and comfort—a soothing feeling.

I have always believed that if you are passionate about doing something, you make the best out of it. Most of my recipes are created on-the-fly, taking from a familiar recipe and changing the ingredients along the way. Some will say that it never seems to work when you substitute one for another. But I have more successes than failures, because I find great pleasure in cooking. The thing that keeps me going is the look of contented faces.

Note: You may find many more of Gina’s recipes at Kitchen Capers.