Rose & Lavender Shortbread

I haven't baked in ages while we were without a kitchen, so I decided that it was time to make something in our new oven. I perused my cookery books and wondered what it would be. It would have to be one of my regular, favourite cakes or biscuits. I considered a fruit loaf, a sponge, some madeleines, muffins or buns ... hmmm, maybe some cookies or flapjacks? In the end the choice turned out to be obvious, governed as always by the season. Rose or lavender shortbread. As you know, I love flowery things, and this extends to cooking with flowers too. The lavender is well and truly out now, and many of the roses have finished flowering. I would need to get my skates on, as my traditional annual bake was in danger of timing out. 

I duly snipped myself a bunch of lavender ready for cooking with and drying, and stripped off the tiny flowers from a handful of stems.

Despite most of them being over, a few roses are still flowering well.

I picked some Mortimer Sackler blooms, a delicately-scented rose.

And also some flowers from William Shakespeare, which is has a lovely strong fragrance.

I washed the petals and took off the part where they join the stem,

then gathered together the ingredients, 

and chopped the rose petals.

I creamed the butter and sugar and then divided it into two, adding the chopped petals to one half.

I then added half of the flour to this along with two teaspoonfuls of rose water, and mixed it into a dough.

Then I did the same with the lavender flowers, adding them to the other half of the creamed butter and sugar, followed by the rest of the flour.

I now had two equal quantities of dough, one rose and one lavender. I rolled it into little balls and flattened them on a greased baking tray, marking them with the back of a fork. I used to add a sprinkle of caster sugar to the tops of the biscuits, but I think they're already quite sweet enough so don't bother now.

Here they are after baking, rose on the left and lavender on the right. I can't make my mind up about which I like the best. They're both delicious.

I made them a few days ago, and already they've gone, scoffed by my family. Think I might have to make some more!

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If you're interested in making them, here's my recipe which I adapted from this one. I usually make a double quantity.

Rose or Lavender Shortbread

Ingredients:

100g caster sugar

200g butter

300g plain flour

2 tsps rose water

large handful of rose petals

(for lavender shortbread omit the rose water and petals and use instead 2 large tbsps of lavender flowers)

Method:

1) Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, then mix in the rose water. 

2) Wash the petals, removing the bitter white base, and chop into small pieces. Mix these into the creamed butter and sugar.

3) Add the flour and mix together to form a dough.

4) Chill for 30 mins in the fridge.

5) Either roll out to 1/2 cm thick and cut into shapes, or roll into walnut-sized balls and flatten.

6) Place on a greased baking tray and sprinkle with a little caster sugar (optional).

7) Bake at GM 4/180 C for about 20 mins until firm to the touch, but still pale in colour.

8) Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy them with a cup of tea!

Things I Make With Lavender

Lavender is endlessly versatile: it is used to scent things, has antiseptic qualities, aids relaxation and can be eaten too. For centuries people have valued it in all kinds of ways, and I too try to celebrate its different uses. I love to think that I'm keeping some traditions alive in my own little way in my home.

Elizabethans used lavender water to sweeten washing and put bundles in bedding and under pillows to repel bugs and lice. It was also used to disguise bad smells and ward off disease. Thankfully we no longer need to use it to ward off plagues and such-like, but I still put lavender bags in with our folded bedding to make it smell sweet, and also in my drawers and wardrobe. 

In his Herball of 1597 Culpeper suggests you make a drink of lavender, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves 'which doth helpe the panting and passion of the heart, prevaileth against giddinesse, turning or swimming of the brain'. I find that description of an agitated heart and brain so vivid, and like to think that lavender played a part in helping to relax such anxiety in Elizabethans. It has long been associated with relaxation and calmness, and I always put a couple of drops of lavender oil on my pillow when I change the sheets.

Here's my lavender after it's been dried. I've managed to accumulate several bags of it over the last few years, and it does keep its scent well, if kept in a sealed container. The perfume is absolutely intoxicating, and I love to run them through my fingers to enjoy it. The lovely smell stays with me long after I've handled it.

Lavender has been with me throughout my life, ever-present from childhood and always associated with my mum. Here is a sweet little plastic pomander which mum gave me when I was a small child. As you can see, it's a 70s design, a kind of Chinese lantern. I still fill it with lavender and hang it with my clothes.

She still grows lavender now, picking and drying it, and making it into lavender bags. She always edges them with lace and embroiders them with pretty scenes and flowers. She made me this one a few years ago, and embroidered a pansy onto it. She also made me one for my wedding, heart-shaped and embroidered with our names and the date. It hangs in my wardrobe, delicately scenting my clothes.

A couple of years ago I decided to make some lavender bottles after seeing them for sale. They are fairly easy but a bit fiddly to make, and must be made while the stems are still fresh, so that they bend without breaking (I followed instructions from a magazine, but there are lots of tutorials on the internet). I really like choosing lavender-coloured ribbons to make them with: purples, blues, lilacs and greens.

I also make lavender bags, like my mum. This one is crocheted from Lucy's pattern at Attic 24 (you can find it here), and it hangs on our dining room door. I used woollen yarn which I bought a few years ago in a yarn shop in Edinburgh, and some which was spun locally. I love the soft colours of the wool, and its texture and warmth.

This is a simple little bag made from calico, lace and a piece of lavender-embroidered ribbon. I love lavender's association with fresh laundry and cotton sheets. The name comes from the Latin lavare

which means 'to wash', and I think its associations with freshness and cleanliness means that it goes brilliantly with these materials.

I often make simple hearts from pieces of cotton fabric and old pearly buttons. I like to use offcuts of fabric like this one which is an old Laura Ashley design, and I used to enjoy selling them on my craft stalls.

You can also use lavender in cooking, and for centuries it has been eaten in savoury dishes. The dried buds can be ground up with coarse sea salt to make a seasoning for things like roast potatoes. Nowadays, though, it tends to be eaten in sweet dishes and pairs well with chocolate. It can be added to caster sugar to make baked goods  - here's some I made last year.

I also make lavender cake every summer from this recipe, and this year is no exception. It's a very moist cake and has that unmistakeable flavour. It can be an acquired taste, however. Someone I gave it to once remarked that they thought it would taste like soap and were relieved that it didn't!

Lavender shortbread is very good too, and this year I made it from this recipe. It was definitely the best batch ever, and I was really pleased with it. The flavour is quite delicate, and the biscuits are pretty with their topping of sprinkled caster sugar (although they're not great for the waistline!).

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,

Lavender's green.

When I am king, dilly dilly,

You will be queen.