Saturday, December 20, 2014

#HolidayRecipe of Lavender Cookies and Tea Plus a Free Peek into A Romance for Christmas by @KayelleAllen

This is one of my favorite drinks any time of year. I make it during the holidays to help me relax. The scent is soothing, and so are the qualities of the tea. It's also wonderful in the summer when it's hot outside. The cookies are so easy to make you'll want them often. You can ice them, or sprinkle with sugar. I hope you enjoy this delicious combination.

Lavender Sugar Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen cookies
1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender flowers, ground
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
In a medium bowl, cream together ground lavender flowers, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Add flour and salt; mix until combined (dough should be soft but not sticky.) Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until dough is firm.
On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough approximately 1/4-inch thick with a rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes with your favorite cookie cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Optional serving suggestion:
Roll dough into balls, place on cookie sheet two inches (2") apart and flatten with the bottom of a glass.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on wire cooling racks.

Lavender Tea

This delicate tea is just the thing for enjoying all by yourself. It's soothing, and has a wonderful fragrance. The polyphenols in lavender can help reduce "bad" bacteria in your digestive system, and aid you in relaxing.
Yield: 4 cups tea (1 quart)
2 cups boiling water
1 cup lavender flowers
2 cups cold water
1 cup sugar
Use a glass pitcher to preserve the natural flavor of the lavender.
Place the lavender in a glass pitcher. Add sugar to the boiling water and remove from heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Pour sweetened water over lavender, cover and allow to steep 10 minutes.
Preserving water, strain it, discard lavender, and return water to the pitcher. Add cold water and stir. Serve over ice.
TIP: Allow the discarded lavender to dry on a cloth near a window. This can add a wonderful fragrance to your kitchen. As it warms in the sun, it will release its lovely scent.
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Download this recipe and post as a PDF http://kayelleallen.com/media/cookiesandtea-kayelleallen.pdf
Recipe by Kayelle Allen, author of A Romance for Christmas

 photo romcmas200_zpsaa2ba60f.jpg



A cop at the door on Christmas Eve brings an unexpected gift.
A sweet holiday romance showcasing love, loss, and the spirit of giving.
It's Christmas Eve, and the end of a year in which everything Dara loves has been lost. Everything but her little girl and a fierce determination to survive. When a cop brings Christmas to her door, he brings another gift she never expected to get.
Take a free peek inside the book: http://is.gd/rom4cmaspeek
Find Your Copy:

Amazon http://amzn.to/1wpW8qE
Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1wpYfL2
Kobo http://bit.ly/1wpYndJ
iBooks http://bit.ly/1oZ8CGB
CreateSpace http://bit.ly/romforcmas


Happy Holiday everyone,

Anita

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for hosting me today, Anita! Happy to be here. :) Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete