My middle son is a baker-bot. He loves to help in the kitchen and going with me to cooking classes. His sweet smile usually ends up scoring him some extra treats when we go to farmers markets and bake sales. Cue the "He’s so cute, here's a little treat" as they hand a 5 year old an extra eclair! He has recently become so interested in plants, foraging and growing things in our garden. These recipes are simple botanical recipes that you can make with your baker-bot at home.
Lavender Earl Grey Cookies
These lavender Earl Grey cookies are chewy, buttery sugar cookies infused with the floral flavors of both Earl Grey tea and dried lavender petals, and it doesn’t taste like soap.
Ingredients - for the Lavender Earl Grey Cookies:
- 2 ¼ cups (9.5 ounces or 270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbs finely ground Earl Grey tea (from 3 tea bags or 4 tsps loose leaf tea)
- ½ tsp culinary-grade lavender, finely ground
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups (8.80 ounces or 250 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
For garnish:
Preparation:
For the Lavender Earl Grey Cookies - Prep your oven and pans. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350EF. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, Earl Grey tea, lavender, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Reduce the mixer to low and add the egg. Add the vanilla and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, and beat on low for an additional 30 seconds. Use a 3-tbs cookie dough scoop to portion the cookie dough into balls. Place the cookies at least 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans. Sprinkle the tops of the dough balls with the remaining 2 Tbss of sugar for garnish before baking. Bake one pan at a time for 12 minutes, or until the edges have set but the centers are still gooey. The cookies will look puffed when you pull them out of the oven, but will fall and crack into the perfect cookies as they cool. Cool the cookies on the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies have set and feel firm to the touch.
Serve and store. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Magic Color Changing Violet Lemonade
The pigment that makes violets purple is actually pH sensitive, so this is not just a fun flowery lemonade to make but also a neat science experiment for kids. You do have to make two solutions to experience the magic, but it’s worth it.
Ingredients:
- violet tea: 2 cups violet flowers (just the flower, ensure that they are unsprayed) and 2 1/2 cups boiling water
- simple syrup: 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar
- lemon mixture: 6 cups water and 1 1/2 cups lemon juice
- violet ice cubes (optional): prettiest violet flowers and water
Preparation:
First make the violet tea - gather enough flowers to measure 2 cups of violets. This is a great job for kids - make sure to include just the flowers not the stem or leaves. (Nothing horrible happens if a few stems get in, they just don’t have the color.) Pack your violets into a quart mason jar and pour over the boiling water. Poke them down to make sure they get submerged and then cover and store in the fridge for 24 hours for best results, but steeping them for a few hours is also ok.
You can make the optional violet ice cubes at the same time- just pick out a handful of the nicest blooms and freeze them in a ice cube tray overnight for a beautiful decoration.
Next make the simple syrup - put the water and sugar in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted and fully dissolved.
Make the two mixtures: strain the violets out of the violet tea - squeeze them to get all of the color out. They should be a deep purple-blue. In the first pitcher, combine the strained violet tea and the simple syrup, as sweet as you like. Refrigerate.
In a second pitcher mix the lemon juice and 6 cups of water. (Again you can increase the lemon juice to taste) Refrigerate. Enjoy your lemonade:
When you are ready to drink your lemonade put some ice cubes in a glass and add 1/2 cup of the blue violet mixture. Next add 1 cup of the lemon mixture. If you are doing this with kids let them add the lemon for maximum amazement! It will turn from a deep purple to a pink color like magic.
German (Dutch Oven) Pancake
This is an easy pancake that looks impressive but is easy enough for a weekday. It puffs up then falls and has wonderful buttery crispy edges and can be topped with whipped cream, syrup or just powdered sugar.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 4 tbss butter
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Add 2 tbss butter and the blueberries in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and place in the oven as it heats. Remove once the butter melts; 3 to 5 minutes. As the butter is melting, in a bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt; whisk until very smooth with no dry flour remaining. Remove the skillet from the oven and brush the melted butter to grease the sides of the skillet. Quickly but carefully pour the batter into the center of the hot skillet. Give it a quick stir to distribute the blueberries if necessary. Return the skillet to the oven and bake until browned and nicely puffed; 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
