Lavender Vanilla Sugar

I could post for days about Essential Oil of Lavender (Lavendula augustafolia). But frankly, other than the lavender mixed into my go-to Herbes de Provence spice blend, I rarely cook with Lavender. There are oodles of recipes online, but I'm admittedly a lazy cook and rarely venture too far into hours-long baking. I did mix up a batch of Lavender Sugar to add to my favorite peppermint tea — a treat for sure for one that avoids sugar in the ever-long quest to lose weight. I used half sugar and half Xylitol to cut the calories. For a more subtle flavor, cut the lavender and vanilla in half. And be sure to use Lavender you know is clean and free of pesticides. Organic preferred!

Lavender Vanilla Sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise and then into small pieces

1 Tbsp dried culinary Lavender buds (double the amount if fresh buds)

In a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, pulse 2 Tbsp of the sugar with the vanilla bean until very finely minced. Transfer to a bowl. In the grinder, pulse the lavender with 1 Tbsp of the remaining sugar until finely ground. Transfer to the bowl and stir in the remaining sugar. Transfer to a jar, cover tightly, and let stand for at least 5 days before using.

Two Stews also has a wonderful recipe I found when searching the blogs. I've used her gorgeous shot above, with thanks.