Lavender Shortbread

If we had a signature biscuit, this would be it. We have been tinkering with this recipe for years, and think it is ready to share – finally!

Ingredients (with measurements in American and UK styles!)

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup (8oz) softened butter

2 cups (280g) plain flour

2 Tblspn (30g) dried lavender flowers (if you prefer, grind them with a mortar and pestle)

1 Tblspn (15g) finely-chopped fresh rosemary

1 Tspn (15g) ground cinnamon

Caster sugar for sprinkling (consider keeping some flavoured with lavender)

Directions

Butter a 13” by 9” (or rough equivalent) baking tin.

Cream icing sugar with butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Spread evenly in the tin, and prick the surface with a fork. Sprinkle with caster sugar.

Bake at 180 for around 20 minutes (until browned to your satisfaction).

Slice into pieces while still warm, but leave to cool in the tin.

(This will keep perfectly well for several days if you use a reasonably tight container. You can also freeze it for later!)

Spiced Gingerbread Cake Bars

What should we call these? Cookies? Cake? Brownie-style winter-spiced morsels of fun for the tongue? We’ve been baking them to give out in the shop lately, and nobody seems bothered by the terminology…

Keeps well, wrapped tight in a sealed tin. Freezes well, too. Takes perhaps 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter, melted

  • ¾ cup sugar

  • ¼ cup brown sugar (dark brown is best)

  • ½ tspn vanilla

  • 1/3 cup dark molasses

  • 1 egg

  • 2 tspns baking soda

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1 Tblspn cinnamon

  • ½ tspn ground ginger

  • ¼ tspn ground cloves

  • ¼ tspn nutmeg

  • ½ tspn salt

  • 1 cup (or as much as you like) of raisins or currents (we like to soak them in bourbon on whisky)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9x13-inch pan (grease it, or line with non-stick lining of your choice)

  2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and molasses

  3. Add egg and stir until completely incorporated

  4. Add baking soda, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Mix until combined.

  5. Add raisins or currents and stir well

  6. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan

  7. Bake at 350 for around 15 to 20 minutes. Test for doneness with toothpick or by pressing down lightly – the dough should be soft but resistant; it will firm up as it cools.

  8. Let cool a bit before slicing.

Notes

Tastes heavenly with a glass of warm spiced apple juice (a glug of vodka in the juice is optional, but does nothing to reduce the pleasure of the moment).