Maureen Abood’s Lavender and Orange Blossom Cookies

These are delicious. But they didn’t turn out like the graybeh I grew up with, which had a softer, more melt-in-your-mouth texture. These were hard. Delicious, but hard. Will try with less flour next time. I used a mortar and pestle to grind the lavender but used only what came through a fine sieve, so much less than the two teaspoons (probably about half). It was the perfect amount.

Made with ghee to skip a step and mixed by hand as my small kitchen keeps appliances to a minimum. Good flavor, but a bit too sweet as others have said, and at 1 cup of flour, the dough had trouble staying together and wouldn’t take any more. The advice to add slowly is to be heeded.

I second Inez’s seriouseats suggestion for the clarified butter. And in regard to not getting it fluffy, room temp varies so erring on the colder side helped me. I put a bowl of ice under my mixer bowl (the kitchenaid that lifts) while using the whisk attachment and whipped on high for abt 15 min, 6 min was def not enough with my warm kitchen temp. Cookies came out beautifully but I may chill the dough next time to ensure less spread. Also added more flour to account for high humidity.

This is delicious and super easy and quick to make... I agree with the person below who says don't bake it till it is brown. This will definitely be something I will make regularly.

I have recently discovered that Costco sells ghee, which is the Indian name for clarified butter. Saves a step!

Make butter in a microwave- melt, discard foam, pour the top layer

This cookie is similar to an Armenian Shekarshee cookie, which my 92 year old (in-law) aunt makes to perfection. I found I had to use this method of boiling the butter to clarify it. I've clarified butter for years, but this was the only thing that I found worked for these cookies. http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/how-to-clarify-butter.html

Also, try superfine sugar and a tablespoon of Crisco and whisky for flavoring : ) She also browns the clarified butter.

The taste is really nice, but mine ended up flat! Does one use baking powder or not? Or did this happen because my dough wasn't dry enough? I used vanilla because I didn't have orange blossom water, so one tastes lavender and butter more than anything, which I really like. I'll try the citrus flavoring next time, but first I need to know what I can do better next time so they are soft and fluffy instead of flat and hard. Any help would be appreciated.

I found this a couple of years ago. Very helpful since I make a lot of baklava. This method will help with recipe too! http://www.epicurious.com/archive/blogs/editor/2014/11/the-easiest-way-t...

In her recipe, Maureen Abood suggests other flavorings that can be used instead of the lavender and orange blossom water:
a few drops of rosewater;
1/2 tsp anise extract or ground anise seed;
or a rose water / orange blossom water combo.

It is also an option to press one blanched almond or one pine nut onto the top of each cookie before baking.

Wow, so delicate and delicious. I sifted in the ground lavender blossoms with a tea strainer. Used four drops of orange oil in place of orange blossom water, resulted in a sweet-citrus note. Don't be afraid to err on the side of too-stiff dough. I think my diamonds spread into wide leaf-shapes because the dough was too soft, probably. Plenty sweet without the powdered sugar after baking.

I have lavender extract instead of dried lavender? How much should I use?

Add the flour slowly—I added what the recipe required and the dough became almost impossible to shape. I ended up adding in more butter, which helped, but also caused the cookies to lose their shape in the oven. Nevertheless, they tasted amazing!