I’ve never cooked with lavender before, but it’s a flavor that I’ve always wanted to play with.  I was quite surprised though when I first opened the little package of the dried lavender blooms.  Instead of a floral, rosewater smell, I was greeted with a spicy, rosemary/anise like treat.  The smell became even stronger after grinding the lavender in the mortar and pestle; which completely changed how I expected the scones to turn out.  For this reason, I decided to throw some lemon zest in the mix to add some lighter citrus notes and sweeten the overall flavor.  Now that I’ve had an opportunity to give lavender a go, I’m excited to explore other recipes utilizing this surprising flavor!

• Zest of one lemon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon culinary lavender, finely ground
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For Topping:

• 1 egg white
• Vanilla Sugar or Sugar in the Raw

Place lavender in a mortar and pestle ( a clean coffee grinder is another great and easy way to grind any spice!)

Grind until a fine powder is formed.

Preheat oven to350 degrees F.  line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine sugar, lemon zest, and lavender.

Pulse a few times to combine.

Confession:  this is one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen!  I have half a mind to just make a batch of lemon lavender sugar to have on hand for sprinkling over other baked good, putting on my morning oatmeal, or sprinkling on fresh fruit…maybe even using in pancakes!

Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the sugar mixture, pulse a few times.  Add chilled butter in 1/2 teaspoon slices to the food processor.

Pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and pulse until just combined.

Turn dough onto a well-floured surface. Use hands to shape dough into a cohesive ball.

Divide the dough into three equal portions.  Using well floured hands, shape each ball into a small round of about 1 inch thickness.  Using a floured, serrated knife, cut each circle into eight triangle shaped pieces.

Arrange scones onto baking sheet, about two inches apart.  Brush tops of scones with egg white, and sprinkle with Vanilla Sugar or Sugar in the Raw.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until pale golden, rotating pan once halfway through the baking time.

Allow to cool on cookie sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Perfect with coffee for a quick breakfast, or as a lightly sweet treat in the evening.  These are also a nice addition to a dessert buffet.