I know, I know. Lavender in food is strange and mildly frightening. One thing that science has taught me to do is to be unafraid of failure in experiments. Most of the time, things don't really work out in science. You try all of the obvious solutions, only to find that the most left-field answer, one you couldn't even possibly fathom on your own is the solution that actually works. Welcome to the world of high throughput screening. That's another story, for another time.
On to lavender, and all things weird
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I didn't know lavender is used in cooking and baking, but evidently, it's actually well accepted, particularly in the foo-foo gourmet world. Lavender-lemon tea cakes, lavender spiced leg of lamb, lavender iced tea, lavender sugar, lavender pizza dough...and the list goes on.
Here's a recipe I found on a lavender supplier's website, Purple Haze, that I thought sounded interesting. If you don't have lavender on hand, these honey bunches would still be delicious!
Lavender Honey Bunches:
Ingredients:
3 cups oats (I just used rolled oats, but you could use quick oats too)
2 cups sweeten flaked coconut
1 c all purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp dried culinary lavender
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine oats, coconut and flour in a large bowl, mixing thoroughly.
3. In a sauce pan, heat butter, sugar, honey and lavender, stirring ge ntly and frequently. Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately pour into the dry ingredients. Combine thoroughly.
4. Now, you have one of two options. I baked these as "cookies", plopped them on a cookie sheet and allowed them to flatten out (and boy, do they flatten out!). The second option is to add about a spoonful to a regular sized muffin tin to get the "bunches" effect. You may also be able to make cute mini-bunches by using a mini muffin tin, but you'd have to check them frequently, as I'm not sure of the proper cooking time. For either of the first two options, pop them in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.
5. Allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes on the pan before you try to move them.
Lavender Honey Bunches:
Ingredients:
3 cups oats (I just used rolled oats, but you could use quick oats too)
2 cups sweeten flaked coconut
1 c all purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp dried culinary lavender
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine oats, coconut and flour in a large bowl, mixing thoroughly.
3. In a sauce pan, heat butter, sugar, honey and lavender, stirring ge ntly and frequently. Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately pour into the dry ingredients. Combine thoroughly.
4. Now, you have one of two options. I baked these as "cookies", plopped them on a cookie sheet and allowed them to flatten out (and boy, do they flatten out!). The second option is to add about a spoonful to a regular sized muffin tin to get the "bunches" effect. You may also be able to make cute mini-bunches by using a mini muffin tin, but you'd have to check them frequently, as I'm not sure of the proper cooking time. For either of the first two options, pop them in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.
5. Allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes on the pan before you try to move them.
Enjoy!
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