Last summer my mother and I braved the tiny, windy roads of Southern France, frequently getting lost, but enjoying mountainside towns, local artisans, and colorful farmers markets.  At one point, we pulled our car off the side of the road to visit a farmer’s lavender stand, which turned out to be his old farm house.  He had buckets of dried lavender and fresh lavender soaps.  As I conversed with him in French, I discovered that he and his father had been farming their whole lives.  We spoke of the traditional ways of extracting oils and how the countryside turns bright purple in the summer during lavender harvest.  He gave us a huge bag of bright red and juicy cherries to munch on the drive home.

Enjoy this buttery cookies or as the French would say les biscuits!

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 T coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 5 T butter, softened
• 1 T maple syrup or raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 T dried lavender
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• Raw honey, optional for brushing

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small mixing bowl toss together flours, baking soda, and chopped rosemary.
• Using the back of a wooden spoon (or mortar and pestle) gently crush the lavender to release the oils.  Add this to the dry mixture.
• In a separate bowl, whip butter and maple syrup/honey.  Use a fork, pastry cutter or your hands to fold in flour and mix until the dough comes together.
• Shape dough into a log shape and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Unwrap dough and slice into 1/2 inch round cookies.
• Bake for 10 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes to harden before transferring to a cooling rack.
• While the cookies are still warm, brush with raw honey if desiring something slightly sweeter.  Enjoy with coffee or tea or your favorite ice cream.