Lavender Vanilla Tea Cakes

These sweet, fragrant cakes pair well with tea. The delicate lavender flavor lends the recipe a springy taste.

Lavender is considered to alleviate tension and promote inner peace. To those who use plants for their spiritual properties, it is considered a clarifying herb as well as one that promotes awareness of the self and the world around. The vanilla balances out the flavor with a light sweetness.

*Note: Soak the lavender buds in milk overnight to infuse the taste.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2-3 tbsp dried lavender buds

Soak the lavender buds in milk overnight to infuse the flavor. Strain them out before adding the milk to the mix. 

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners. 

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat the egg whites in one at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract. 

Combine flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture in thirds.

Stir in the lavender-infused milk until the batter is smooth. Distribute batter to muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cake springs back to the touch or an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly. 

Yield 36 cakes. 

Lemon Tea

A family classic to warm your heart. This simple tea, which I have discovered is not something a lot of people make, is perfect to enjoy after dinner, in the morning, or basically any time of the day. I am fairly sure lemon tea a commonly Polish drink. My mother always used to make it for us when we were sick, or if the weather was particularly harsh. Now, I like to have it every day, and visits to my dad always include a large pot of this sweet, zippy tea.


Ingredients:

• One black tea bag. 
• I use Barry's Irish Breakfast for a stronger tea or Twining's English Breakfast for a weaker tea. 
• Half of a lemon
• 5-7 teaspoons of sugar, depending on how sweet you want the tea to be
• Enough hot water to fill a teapot

Bring water to a boil in a teakettle. 

While waiting, place a teabag in a teapot. Add juice from half a lemon and the sugar. Pour hot water into teapot. 

Stir until sugar is dissolved completely. Let steep for at least five minutes until the tea is a warm, honey-golden color. 

Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

P.S. I know this doesn't seem like much of a recipe, but hey! I messed up the one I was planning on posting today. This is the easy way out.

Rosemary Lemon Cookies

The combination of rosemary and lemon in these cookies offers a sweet, delicate taste. These make a perfect gift and go well with lemon tea. 

The fragrant herb rosemary was traditionally used for its medicinal properties such as improving memory, soothing sore muscles, and boosting the immune system. Widely considered a purifying herb in the spiritual community, it is often used for remembrance. The lemon balances the earth mint taste of the rosemary. Sometimes acknowledged as a longevity fruit, lemon boots immunity and purifies just as rosemary does. So hey, if the spiritual properties of herbs is something you're into, this recipe sweetly provides purity and immunity in double doses.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced 

• 2/3 cup butter (1 1/3 stick), softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400°. 

Combine flour, baking powder, salt. Sift evenly. Mix in rosemary and lemon zest. 

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg, mix more, then add lemon juice.

In fourths, add the dry mix to the wet, stirring together with each addition.

On  a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut out desired shapes. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. 

Yield: about 36 cookies