Lavender Lemon Thumbprint Cookies and a Return to Normalcy...ish

 I'm back...ish!

You know...in those years when I was blogging constantly, I used to come across other people's zombie blogs out there on the internet and wonder how they could just abandon something they had poured themselves into.

Then, you know...life happened.  And suddenly I understood.

First school, then the pandemic, then school again.  It's been an interesting few years to say the least.

That being said, this blog...it represents so many moments in my life.  It has continued to serve as my own personal recipe book over the years, regardless of what time or desire I have had to add to it.

It means a lot to me.  It has also been quite a while since I've felt the drive to contribute to it again.

I know that my last post was a little...pessimistic.  It also represents a very real, very weird moment in time.  That being said- it *kills* me to revisit this blog looking for a recipe only to see that heaviness sitting right at the top!

So, with no further ado, may I introduce to you- Lavender Lemon Thumbprint Cookies!

My daughter has been asking me to make Lavender Honey Ice Cream again a lot lately- and to be honest, I've gotten as far as buying the ingredients and freezing the bowl for the ice cream machine.

I'll get on making the ice cream soon...really.  I will.  Eek.

Anyway, I've had honey and lavender on the brain, so when I set out to develop a recipe for thumbprint cookies using lemon curd, those flavors were right at the forefront of my mind.

OMG.  I know, I know.  Superlatives and nonsense.  Every recipe can't be an "OMG" recipe.

But for real, folks- these things are really, really yummy.

My son loves them.  My daughter loves them.  My husband loves them.  I'm...trying to avoid eating all of them.  It's a losing battle.  ;-)

Culinary lavender is an incredibly under-appreciated ingredient.  It adds such a floral, earthy note to recipes!  I worked it in to the cookie dough, filled the indents with lemon curd (prepared...I wasn't feeling the need to make this recipe entirely from scratch...), and then drizzled those babies with a little honey before baking.

*sidenote- I own some classy little shot glasses that I never, ever use because I'm too old for such things as a general rule, but the bottom of those dainty little glasses worked PERFECTLY to make indentations in the cookies!!*

To be honest, I wasn't sure how that honey would do alongside both lavender and lemon curd, but there was no reason to fret- it adds a *lovely* finish!

These tender little things are delicious, pretty, and super easy to make too!  Enjoy.  :-)

P.S. Get vaccinated.  Lets end this nonsense.

Lavender Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Click to see the recipe on Allrecipes.com

1 C butter, softened

1/3 C brown sugar, packed

1/3 C white sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tsp culinary-grade lavender

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/4 C all-purpose flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 C lemon curd

2 Tbsp honey

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in egg yolks, lavender, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix to combine.

3. Roll dough into 1" balls and place 2" apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Using your thumb (or another utensil, like the bottom of a shot glass), make indentations in the center of each cookie. Fill each indentation with enough lemon curd to completely fill the indentations. Transfer baking sheets to the refrigerator and allow to chill for 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove baking sheets from refrigerator and lightly drizzle each cookie with honey. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until beginning to turn golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to cooling rack.