Lavender Recipes to Kick your Holiday Stress

Feeling a little testy? Whether you’re bitter and twisted, bogged down with holiday stress, or just feeling a little ‘Bah Humbug”, you need to some lavender to get you unbent. Lavender is a natural way to soothe and calm frazzled nerves and we have the easiest, tastiest recipes to help you calm down. Linalyl esters, which gives lavender its distinctive scent, helps to lower blood pressure and heart rate which reduces stress and helps you to sleep too.

Lovely Lavender Lemonade

• 24 ice cubes
• 1/4 cup dried lavender
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup white sugar
• Juice from 7 lemons
• 5 cups cold water

Method:

Make a kickass lavender tea by placing the dried lavender and boiling water into a bowl. Allow to steep for 10 minutes and then strain the lavender out and discard. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Pour the lavender tea into a jug or pitcher and add the ice cubes, cold water and lemon juice. Taste and adjust lemon juice and sugar. Pour yourself a well-deserved serving of calm in a glass and chill out.

*Lavender Lemonade picture courtesy of Eat Yourself Skinny.

Lavender cupcakes of joy

• 1/2 cup  butter (room temperature)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp. lavender (dried)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup milk
• Frosting

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a muffin tin with cup cake holders. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until white. Add honey, sugar and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and lavender. Add one egg at a time to your butter and sugar mixture, beating well after each egg. Slowly add the dry ingredients, beating well until all the ingredients are combined.  If you laugh int he face of salmonella, then you can taste that delicious cupcake dough (you know, for quality control). Pour into cupcake holders and bake for 10-12 minutes. Frost like a boss when completely cool.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet. Cream butter and sugar together until white. Add egg and mix well for a minute or two. Bung in the lavender flowers and the flour and mix well. Test that cookie dough by licking the spoon before you proceed. Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Lavender cookie picture from Delicious Food 4 U.

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