Lavender Pepper Cookies

I was a bit skeptical about my ability to experience lavender as anything but a fragrance. I've been putting off using it for a while, but tonight was the night to give it a shot.

The lavender taste in these is strong enough to stand out, but not so much so that it was offensive. The pepper leaves a lingering spice that is an interesting and new experience for me in a cookie. I probably wouldn't make these too often, but they'd be a nice change of pace from your average chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie.

To achieve the lavender taste, I made some lavender sugar. The smell was overwhelmingly perfumey to the point where I was more or less choking in a purple haze, minus the purple.

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Lavender Sugar

3/4 c sugar
1 3/4 tbsp dried lavender
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Using food processor, grind up ingredients. I can't exactly tell you when it's done. I probably didn't do it for more than 30 total seconds on pulse.

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The actual cookie recipe Fannie Farmer's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe.  I've used it in a variety of ways in the past because it's a pretty good base cookie to toy with.

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Lavender Pepper Cookies

1/2 c butter
lavender sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
1 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp ground pepper

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in lavender sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Add milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and mix into butter mixture. In small bowl, mix together sugar and pepper. Spoon batter onto buttered cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar/pepper mixture and flatten slightly with fingers.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes. Makes 22 2.5 inch cookies.

A note: These cookies flatten right out, so make sure you don't place them too close together. Also, they don't necessarily come out perfectly round.