Gram's Dee-Lightful Lavender Cookies

"You can never have enough purple in the garden." - Grandma Anne

* All Lavender is edible but most of them don't taste that great. Grow English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) if you plan to bake with it. 

 

English Lavender (above) and French Lavender (below.)

I'm a bigger fan of French (Lavender stoechas, zone 8) but it cannot survive our winters.

However! French Lavender grows fast, by seed, in my sunny window.

Thinking about my Grams because today would have been her birthday.

She was the gal who inspired all the purple in my gardens. 

She was also the gal who 'molded' me. She didn't mince words and since I've always had a difficult time reading between the lines, hers was the advice I could understand. And, act on. 

Here's a fine example of that:

When I was a college kid, I tried very hard to be dark and brooding. I even went through the black and white photography phase. Mostly because I thought it made me look artistic and hopefully kind of cool.

When I showed Grams my artsy fartsy black and white photos, she yawned and told me they were not 'snapping her socks.' (i.e. boring) 

Then she proceeded to educate me on an inescapable truth:

Kate, she said, give it up.
You're never gonna be cool.
The real magic of taking pictures is to document the bright spots in a colorful life.

 

Do all Grandmas smell like lavender? I hope so. These pics are for you, Gram.

 

* You might as well double the batch right now because you know in your heart that you want to...

Gram's Dee-Lightful Lavender Cookies

• 1.25 cups butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers, crushed

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Mix in the flour and lavender flowers. Spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake about 15 minutes @ 350 degrees F.

Forced Tulips and French Lavender spend their days sunning themselves on my deck. 
Both warm their toes, indoors, at night.