I've been waiting
patiently for the lavender to burst into flower so that I can make
these biscuits. On my daily walk around the village I've eyed up the
bounteous supplies tumbling over the sides of garden walls. At last
the flowers have awakened and the air is scented with a potent
perfume. As far as I was aware we didn’t own a lavender plant so,
as I only required two tablespoonfuls of the flowers and leaves, I
was sorely tempted to head out at dead of night and pinch a few
springs from our neighbours’ garden!! Just as I was contemplating a
suitable disguise, Neil discovered that we had a very small lavender
plant in our back garden. Hooray! Just before I started the biscuits
on the Friday evening, I headed out into the garden to pick the
flowers. My first challenge was to find the plant. Our garden is
compact to say the least, but I still had to carry out a prolonged
search. Finally I stumbled across the tiniest lavender plant I have
ever seen. I doubted there was enough to fill a teaspoon but I picked
all that I could, rendering the poor plant completely bald!
Once back inside I
plucked the flowers and tiny leaves from the lavender stalks. I'd
collected more than I had thought, but I still had only half of the
total amount. I considered abandoning the recipe but decided that, as
I'd never eaten anything containing lavender before, it might be wise
to start off with a mild flavour. I carried on and weighed a generous
amount of butter into a mixing bowl. The flowers and leaves were next
to follow. Mary says to beat the two together as this will obtain the
maximum flavour from the lavender. It smelt rather as though a bottle
of perfume had been spilt nearby; the smell was intense and quite
overwhelming!
To sweeten the mixture
I poured in a relatively small quantity of caster sugar. I gave it a
final beating before stirring in the flour. Due to the large amount
of butter it didn't take long to bring the mixture together to form a
soft dough. It was smooth in next to no time; it performed
beautifully from start to finish. It was so nice not to be left with
sticky hands! I divided the dough in half and rolled it into two
sausage shapes. I grabbed the Demerara sugar and sprinkled a good
quantity on to a sheet of greaseproof paper. Now I could roll the
'sausage' of dough through the coarse sugar until it was evenly
coated. It was time to wrap the sugary dough in the paper and store
it in the fridge. I repeated the same process with the remaining
dough. While they firmed up in the cold fridge, I prepared a quick
evening meal. By the time we had scoffed our food, the two 'sausages'
had firmed up and were ready to be sliced. I must have rolled my
dough too long and thin as I made a few more than Mary suggests. Now
there's a first; normally I don't make enough! The sliced biscuits
made their way onto the greased baking trays and into the hot oven.
I'd been instructed to space the biscuits well apart on the trays but
I think I could have fitted more on as they didn't spread as much as
I had expected.
I was really worried
about burning the biscuits, so I stayed close by while they cooked. A
lovely scent wafted from the oven; they smelt delicious. Once cooked,
I carefully transported the biscuits over to a wire rack to cool. I
couldn't resist trying one while it was still warm. With my first
bite I really loved the buttery flavour and crumbly texture. With my
second bite I recoiled. It tasted as though I'd licked a bar of soap!
I must have had more than my fair share of lavender in that mouthful!
It is definitely an acquired taste. Neil thought the biscuits were a
little on the soapy side, but he kept going back for more. I wasn't
sure what to make of them. The biscuits themselves were delicious but
I just couldn't enjoy the lavender flavour! I took them on a trip to
London the following day where I met up with some truly lovely cakey
friends. We all agreed that it was a good job I didn't have a larger
lavender plant as any more would have been too much. The texture and
butteryness of the biscuits was enjoyed and they certainly went down
well with our morning cup of tea.
I feel sure that I will
make these biscuits again but will omit the lavender!! This is
another recipe that comes down to personal taste. I have heard rave
reviews from other bakers who really enjoy the fragrant flavour. You
won't know unless you try!
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