Honey-Lavender Biscotti

Since we have harvested our first jars of honey I have been trying to find recipes to include with lavender.  So on this damp and cold morning what a great excuse to turn on the oven.  Give them a try....they're yummy!

Honey-Lavender Biscotti

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon dried Culinary Lavender florets

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Lightly grease three baking sheets (lining the baking sheet with parchment paper prevents sticking and makes clean up much easier).

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs to a light lemon color. Stir in honey, vanilla extract, orange zest, and Culinary Lavender florets. Sprinkle dry ingredients over the egg mixture. Fold in until the dough just combines.

To shape the dough into a log, lightly sprinkle flour on the work surface, on top of the dough, and on your hands. Use just enough flour to form the logs and to prevent sticking; you don't want the logs to be covered with flour. Divide dough into six equal pieces. With your hands, pat and shape each piece into a loaf approximately 3 inches wide, 7 inches long, and 3/4-inch high. Place two rolls onto each prepared baking sheet with 3 to 4 inches of space between them.

Bake 25 minutes or until dough pops back up when lightly pressed with a finger. (After dough has baked 10 minutes, reverse cookie sheets from front to back and move from the top rack to the bottom one. Repeat this again after another 10 minutes). You can't judge the cooking by the color. The biscotti shouldn't change color during the second baking, so poke them to tell if they're done. They should feel dry and offer some resistance. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Reduce oven to 275 degrees F. Using a long serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Turn the slices over, onto their sides; return slices, on baking sheets, to oven. Bake another 15 minutes. NOTE: Do not crowd the biscotti slices on the baking sheet for their second baking as they need the hot air to circulate to enable them to crisp up evenly. Remember biscotti will continue to crisp up, as they cool, so do not be tempted to over bake. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks. Store biscotti in an airtight container. They will keep well for a few weeks.

Yields about 50 biscotti.

Peach - Lavender Cobbler

I was amazed by the number of guests at the lavender festival wanting to pick lavender for cooking.  I know cooking with herbs has become popular but I didn't realize how many were using lavender. 

Here are a few tips on cooking with lavender:

In cooking, use 1/3 the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. The key to cooking with lavender is to experiment; start out with a small amount of flowers, and add more as you go.

NOTE: Adding too much lavender to your recipe can be like eating perfume and will make your dish bitter. Because of the strong flavor of lavender, the secret is that a little goes a long way.

The lavender flowers add a beautiful color to salads. Lavender can also be substituted for rosemary in many bread recipes. The flowers can be put in sugar and sealed tightly for a couple of weeks then the sugar can be substituted for ordinary sugar for a cake, buns or custards. Grind the lavender in a herb or coffee grinder or mash it with mortar and pestle.

Flowers look beautiful and taste good too in a glass of champagne, with chocolate cake, or as a garnish for sorbets or ice creams. Lavender lends itself to savory dishes also, from hearty stews to wine-reduced sauces. Diminutive blooms add a mysterious scent to custards, flans or sorbets.
NOTE: Do not eat flowers from florists, nurseries, or garden centers. In many cases these flowers have been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops.

Harvesting Fresh Lavender - Harvest flowers as you would fruit, selecting those that look most perfectly ready, with the fullest color, and passing over any that seem wilted or less ripe. The fresher the flower, the more flavorful its taste, so pick your flowers as close as possible to food preparation time. Stem flowers may be put in a glass of water in a cool place until you are ready to use them. All blooms should be thoroughly rinsed. Immerse them in water to remove any insects or soil. Then lay the flowers gently on paper or cloth towels and dab dry, or gently spin dry in a salad spinner. If necessary, layer blooms carefully between moist paper towels in the refrigerator until meal time.

Here is one of our favorites. 

Peach - Lavender Cobbler

Serves 8
Ingredients
Filling
4 1/2 pounds peaches—peeled, pitted and diced (10 cups)
2 1/2 tablespoons instant tapioca
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Topping
1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms
Ingredient Info: Dried Lavender blossoms are also call culinary lavender buds. They are not the florets or stems.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions
1.: Preheat the oven to 400°. In a bowl, mix the peaches, tapioca, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Transfer the filling to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

2.: Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, grind the lavender to a powder. In a bowl, combine the lavender, flour, oats, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the 1/2 cup of cream and the buttermilk; stir until the dough is just moistened.

3.Using two spoons, form 3-tablespoon mounds of the topping and arrange them evenly over the peaches. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the cobbler for 50 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.