Recipes
I took 1st place in the
2010 Hanley Farm Horsepower Flour Baking Contest
with this recipe
Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins
With Honey Lavender Butter
from the LAVENDER COOKBOOK, by Sharon Shipley
Makes 16 Muffins
Here are the ingredients I used
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree 1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted 2 large farm fresh eggs
1/4 cup Thompson Creek Apple Cider 1 3/4 Hanley Farm Horsepower Flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt | | 1 T. ground Applegate Valley Lavender Farm culinary lavender 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 cup butterscotch chips 2 T. finely chopped crystallized ginger 1/4 C chopped pecans, chopped |
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter muffin cups or place paper liners in them.
Prepare lavender butter, recipe below.
In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, brown sugar and butter.
Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Stir in the cider. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lavender, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves into a medium bowl. Gradually stir into pumpkin mixture until throughly mixed. Fold butterscotch chips & crystallized ginger until evenly distributed. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup almost to the top. Sprinkle with the pecans.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed & golden.
Serve warm with the lavender butter.
Three tips I used.
I buttered the muffin cups with melted butter.
Dusted the butterscotch chips and crystallized ginger in the flour, so they wouldn’t sink to the bottom of the muffins.
I left one muffin cup empty and placed water in it so it steamed & added moisture during baking.
My Note- This is a wonderful muffin recipe, but I think they are best served warm. So warm them a few seconds if they are cold so the Honey Lavender Butter can melt. YUMMY!
Honey Lavender Butter 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
1 Tablespoon honey or lavender honey
1 Tablespoon dried culinary lavender buds finely ground in a spice grinder.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, honey and lavender. Pulse until just mixed. Transfer to a butter keeper or a sheet of parchment paper and roll into a 1" wide log. Refrigerate until ready to use.
***After tasting the butter, I felt it needed more honey, so taste and adjust to your personal taste.
NOTE - Please be sure you are using an English Lavender for your culinary uses.
Any other variety will have camphor and will most likely be unpleasant to eat.
Lavender Sugar 1 Tablespoon Culinary Lavender
2 Cups of Sugar
You are flavoring the sugar with lavender buds, just as you would make vanilla sugar with a vanilla bean. Adjust the amount of buds added, to your taste preferences. I recommend making a stronger lavender sugar for baking. Next time why not make a lavender/vanilla sugar, yum. Use your lavender sugar anywhere you would use sugar and enjoy! Flavor you drink, muffins, brownies, fruit ...
There are two ways to make lavender sugar. Why don't you try them both and see which you prefer.
1. Stir your whole lavender buds into your sugar. Pour into an airtight container and let it sit for a week or more. When ready to use, strain out the buds and use. Then use your buds again to make more lavender sugar.
OR
2. Place your lavender buds in a spice/coffee grinder and blend to a fine meal. Add this to your sugar and use as is, no need to strain out the lavender.
Tip - If you are using your coffee grinder to grind your lavender, you can clean it by running white rice or oatmeal through it.
Lavender Syrup
2 cups of Sugar
1 cup of water
2 Tablespoons of culinary buds
Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and cool. Strain out the buds and bottle your syrup. For stronger flavor add more buds or leave buds in jar for three days then strain. Use it in lemonade, limeade, tea, champagne, margaritas, over ice cream, cake, fruit ...
Lavender Lemonade, Limeade, Tea or?
Make your favorite drink and add Lavender Syrup to taste or sweeten with Lavender Sugar.
You can find more recipes in the Discover Cooking With Lavender cookbook, by my friend Kathy Gehrt.
I have copies available if you would like one. Kathy has visited our farm the last two seasons and it is wonderful to connect with others in the Lavender World.
Kathy Gehrt Kathy & John Gehrt