June 2008 Archives

Lavender reminds me of old ladies. My grandmother's linens in the guest bedroom were decorated with delicate lavender flowers, to match the depression glass bowl of lavender potpourri in the bathroom.

It wasn't until much, much later that I realized those same lavender aromas could be used to perfume food as well, and not just the biffy. Who says you can't teach a new dog old tricks? This recipe is a perfect use for culinary lavender, resulting in elegant cookies that are timeless in their appeal.

• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 T. dried lavender, finely ground
• 1 c. cold butter
• powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Mix everything but the butter in a medium bowl. Cut the cold butter into chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or two knives in a scissors motion, work the butter in until it is evenly distributed and no large chunks remain.

Dump the mix into a medium baking pan. The exact size you choose depends on how thick you like your shortbread, or more practically, what you happen to have in your cupboard. After pressing the mix down with your fingers and smoothing it out, you ideally want a thickness between a quarter and half an inch.

Press the tines of a fork into the flattened shortbread to give it a pretty design. If the fork started pulling up the shortbread, rub flour onto the tines to remove any stickiness before continuing. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden. Score into square or diamond shapes while still warm, and then cool completely in the pan before removing them. Dust with sifted powdered sugar.

The first time I made this recipe, I made a double batch and had far too many shortbread cookies. To my surprise, they freeze really well and are delicious thawed or crisp and cold. I'd like to think grandma would approve.

The annual birthday cakes continue, this year with a three-dimensional stegosaurus. The earth underneath is marzipan, using whole instead of the traditional blanched almonds to give it texture. I spread it thin over the back of an industrial baking pan, tinted it with green food coloring, then dressed it with marzipan boulders and thai basil foliage.

The cake itself is made from a triple batch of devil's food cake, cooked in bread pans, shaped, then glued together with milk chocolate frosting and skewers. As in past years, the cake was a problem. This time the flavor was good, but the moist texture was unstable. One of the hindquarters kept collapsing.

The scales across the back come from a sea shell chocolate mold. I cut away the shell sides to get the classic stegosaurus wedged scales. Carved away sides became tail spikes. Finally, the eyes are from a candy necklace.

Total prep time: about five hours. Total time for crazed preschoolers to demolish it: less than five minutes.

Past cakes:
→ Year two: Pickup truck
→ Year three: Bob the Builder (and his reaction)
→ Year four: Spiderman