Blueberry Lavender Cookies Julius Meinl Cafe Chicago Recipes

BLUEBERRY LAVENDER COOKIES - JULIUS MEINL CAFE, CHICAGO

Steps:

• Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth.
• Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add vanilla; beat 1 minute.
• Stir in lavender blossoms. Beat dough until creamy, about 2 minutes.
• Gather dough into a ball. Divide dough into 4 portions; flatten each into disk. Wrap disks in plastic and refrigerate overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead, Keep chilled.).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Working with 1 disk at a time, roll dough out onto lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies.
• Transfer to prepared sheets, spacing 1-inch apart.
• Gather scraps and roll out on lightly floured surface; cut out more cookies. Repeat until all dough is used.
• Bake cookies until light golden, about 9 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet.
• Spread about 1 t. jam on flat side of 1 cookie; top with flat side of another cookie, forming sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and jam.
• Whisk powdered sugar, lavender syrup, and 1/2 t. water in medium bowl to blend, adding more water as needed by 1/2 teaspoonfuls to form spreadable icing.
• Spread thin layer of icing atop each sandwich cookie. Let stand until set, about 1 hour (Cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in single layer at room temperature.).

BLUEBERRY-LAVENDER SHRUB

Steps:

• Place blueberries and sugar into a medium bowl. Crush the berries, and then stir to combine.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Allow to macerate for up to two days.
• Meanwhile, place lavender into a nonreactive container, cover with cider vinegar, and refrigerate for up to two days.
• Position a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and pour blueberry mixture through to remove solids.
• Strain vinegar mixture over the same mesh strainer, into same bowl as blueberry syrup. Allow to combine.
• You may have some sugar clinging to the berry solids in the strainer. If so, set the strainer with the solids over another small bowl. Pour the syrup-and-vinegar mixture over the solids to wash the sugar into the bowl. Repeat as needed.
• Pour syrup-and-vinegar mixture into a sanitized mason jar. Cap it, shake it well to incorporate any undissolved sugar, and place in the refrigerator for a week before using.
• Discard the solids or save them for another use.