Geetha's Kitchen

Lavender Cookies The idea for these cookies was prompted by a lovely gift of culinary lavender. Buttery Lavender Cookies are wonderfully fragrant and are very quick as well as easy to make. I made them while preparing the rest of the dinner. They are fabulous as desserts or tea time treats! Be warned - they grow on you :D. Culinary Lavender You may use fresh lavender if you grow them; make sure they are not sprayed with pesticides or by pets. About 2 dozen cookies Ingredients: 1 stick Unsalted Butter (1/4 lb) 1/2 cup Sugar 1 Tbsp Cornstarch 2 Tbsp Water 1 tsp dried Culinary Lavender + a little extra for decoration 1/4 tsp Sea Salt 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1 cup + 2 Tbsp Unbleached Flour Method: Allow the butter to come to room temperature. Line a cookie sheet with baking parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 tsp lavender in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cream butter and the sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy - an electric beater makes short...

Scones are perfect for tea time; they are also wonderful for breakfast or anytime at all! As they are easy to prepare and bake quickly, they make a wonderful after-school snack too. I adapted this recipe from Sunset's International Vegetarian Cook Book. Using half whole grain flour as well as including almond meal and one of my favorite baking ingredients - oats :-} - increases their nutritive value. Since they already have enough fat, I serve these lovely pastries without additional butter but with an assortment of jams or preserves. They are also wonderful just by themselves with a cup of coffee or tea, especially Masala Chai . Orange Raisin Scones For vegan option, use solid margarine and any non-dairy milk. Other dried fruits such as blueberries, currants, cranberries, or other berries or a mixture may be used instead of the raisins. Lemon rind and juice may be used for lemony scones; if using lemon juice you may wish to increase the sugar to 1/2 cup. 16 scones Ingredient...

Jam Bar With Persimmon Preserves Jam Bars are quick and easy to make especially if you use a food processor. Although you can use any jam, a bit tart one such as raspberry tastes best. If you do use very sweet jams, then I would reduce the sugar a little so that there will be a nice contrast between the crust and the filling - very sweet filling + very sweet crust = cloyingly sweet bar. You can vary the citrus zests - orange, lemon, tangerine, etc. - depending on the jams you use. I used the homemade Persimmon-Apple Preserves (the only one I had) and added orange zest which complimented the persimmon preserves quite well. On another occasion I used lemon zest with the persimmon-apples preserves and again it turned out to be a perfectly delectable dessert! For a super-rich dessert, I am planning to serve it next time with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. So go forth and try it any way you like :D. 24 bars Ingredients: 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 3/4 cups (1 1/2 s...