Lavender Flowers make a beautiful addition to simple Meringue Cookies. These small Lavender Meringues add an intriguing taste of summer sweetness to an afternoon break with tea or lemonade.
Lavender Profusion
One thing that is growing well in my garden this summer is lavender. Last year I collected several lavender plants recommended for culinary use and planted them near the herb garden. This year they have sprung into small bushes filled with blossoms in purple, pink and white. They are pretty and fragrant. They also attract industrious honeybees like a playground attracts children. Between the bunnies, the bees and an amazing variety of birds, I have an extremely active garden.
With all of that culinary lavender in bloom, I am actively looking for new ways to use it. I will use some to craft Lavender Wands. They are pretty and fragrant but I am eager to learn more about the flavor of lavender too. I recently made some gorgeous Lavender Lemonade that highlighted the rich color of the lavender blossoms. I also used some of my lavender in a chicken marinade where it added a touch of bold flavor.
This week the abundance of lavender in my garden coincided with my purchase of a new rotary egg beater. Together they encouraged me to pursue another recipe that features lavender’s lush color and delicately scaled blossoms in a pretty dessert. Left with an egg white after making Sablé Cookies, I thought what a beautiful addition lavender flowers would make to the meringue I could whip up with my new egg beater.
Lavender Meringues – A Delicate Balance
In desserts, however, the boldness of lavender can be challenging. I have found it difficult to adjust the amount of dried lavender needed to get a pleasing hint of color and spice without drowning the flavor of the whole thing in floral tones. The balance is a delicate one and each variety of lavender seems to vary significantly in impact making the amount of dried lavender needed something that changes on a case by case basis. As a result, lavender is hard to write into a recipe.
This time, however, instead of crushing dried lavender to use in my dessert, I had fresh lavender to flavor my Lavender Meringue Cookies. This time I plucked the fresh lavender blossoms (the corolla), separating them from the stem and calyx, and stirred only that part into the batter. The lavender petals offer color and a more subtle flavor note than the calyx. That allowed me the freedom to be more casual about the measurement and more confidant about the result.
The outcome is a pretty, fresh and subtly flavored meringue that enfolds almonds and white chocolate in a delicate embrace. These small lavender laced cookies add a delightful and intriguing taste of summer sweetness to an afternoon break with tea or lemonade.
Lavender Meringues with White Chocolate and Almonds
Course: Cookies, DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy30
cookies15
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minutesThese small lavender laced cookies add a delightful taste of summer sweetness to an afternoon break with tea or lemonade.
Ingredients
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
1 heaping Tablespoon fresh lavender blossoms (petals only)
1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 – 1/2 cup white chocolate morsels
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Beat together egg whites, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually beating until peaks are stiff. Fold in the lavender blossom petals, toasted almonds and white chocolate morsels.
- Drop the meringue by teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper. (I do this using two ordinary teaspoons, one to scoop up the desired amount and the back of the other to push the batter onto the parchment.)
- Bake at 300F for about 20 – 25 minutes or until set and beginning to brown very slightly.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool.
I grow several varieties of lavender. Hidcote is the culinary variety I hear recommended most often. It imparts a beautiful color to an infusion, as in Lavender Lemonade. I also have a light pink variety, Melissa, and another I've lost the tag to but may be Royal Velvet. I used a mixture of several varieties in making these cookies.
Lavender is easy to grow in this part of the country and when you gather your own you can be sure what it is grown in and that it is chemical free. This year it is probably my favorite plant in the garden!
These look delicious! I just made lavender ice cream (I blogged about it July 7). Could you share your variety of culinary lavender with me? I'd love to grow some next year so I don't have to use the expensive dried variety. Thanks!
how lovely, lisa! excellent use for your new toy…er, tool. 🙂
lavander…how exciting these sounds. I made meringues once back in high school and it was so much fun.
My lavender is also fantastic this year. This sounds like a great way to use some of it!
Ooh I think I'll defiantly have to try making this! I haven't had much luck making meringue in the past but I keep at it^^!