The Two L's: Lavender + Lemon

My no fail, need to impress cookie of choice for spring and summer is a simple lavender sugar cookie sandwich with lemon frosting. This is hands down the easiest cookie to make, but people think it's fancy. It's a great way to let your friends and co-workers know your taste buds are fancy.

First, grab the ingredients for your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Don't have a favorite? This recipe from Joy of Baking is a great choice.

Second, pick up some dried culinary lavender. You can find this at grocery stores like Whole Foods and other specialty stores. Whole Foods sells it in bulk in the aisle where they sell loose leaf tea and other medicinal herbs. It's incredibly cheap...I usually buy extra to have it on hand when I want it, but you only need about a tablespoon for this recipe.

Measure out the granulated sugar you need for the cookies, combine it with about 1 Tablespoon of lavender, and blend it in a food processor for a few pulses. You can skip this step, but I find that blending it both infuses the flavor and makes the lavender smaller and more appealing to eat.

Make your cookies as usual. Rolling out the dough, you can see the great specs of lavender...yum!


Cut out into your desired shape. I used a 2-inch circle cutter with scalloped edges.


While baking the cookies, whip up your frosting (see recipe, below). I also added some yellow food coloring since it's a lemon frosting.


Once your cookies have cooled, frost half of the cookies with a generous amount of frosting and...


...top each frosted cookie with an unfrosted cookie to create sandwiches.


Voila! An easy twist on a classic that will get people talking about your baking skills. The lavender and lemon flavors compliment each other well and make a nice addition to any summer party.

Fast Lemon Frosting
Betty Crocker

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
1-2 T milk
yellow food coloring (optional)

Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed. Add in lemon extract and 1 T of milk.

Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.