I’m obsessed with lavender. Candles, body washes, flavored honey – you name it. So when I found out that you can actually cook with this pretty little bud, I went straight to Amazon to buy a package of food-grade lavender buds and set out to explore exactly what you can do with them.
Photo courtesy of bonnieplants.com
After hearing about a wonderful-sounding lavender latte at some mystical coffee shop during a weekend trip to Savannah but not being able to get my hands on one, I knew that I had to figure out a way to make my own. And thus, this lavender simple syrup was born.
Since then, I’ve been experimenting with lavender-infused drinks. And, while the lavender simple syrup is great for the adventurous coffee drinker, this kid-friendly lavender lemonade is by far the best pairing. So do yourself a favor, put a bag of lavender buds in your Amazon shopping cart, and sip on, my fellow flower children.
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
Lavender Simple Syrup
Ingredients
Instructions
Make a simple syrup by heating sugar and one cup of water over medium heat until the mixture is just starting to boil (I added purple food coloring at this point as well for ~aesthetic~ but that’s 100% up to you).
Add the dried or fresh lavender buds to a quart-sized Mason jar or similar seal-able container, and pour the hot syrup over the buds.
Let the lavender soak in the syrup for anywhere from a few hours to overnight, depending on how strong you want your syrup to be.
When ready, use a fine mesh strainer or some other method to separate the mushy lavender out of the syrup. I used a cup-sized filter that’s designed for loose leaf tea.
Lavender Lemonade
Ingredients
Instructions
Squeeze lemons until you have one cup of lemon juice. It took me 4 big lemons, but that can vary depending on size and the amount of juice you can get per lemon. Either way, you need a cup of lemon juice.
Add the lemon juice to a large pitcher and pour in the cold water while stirring to make sure it’s all incorporated.
Add your lavender syrup (more or less can be added based on your taste preferences) and stir well.
Garnish with lavender buds and lemon slices and enjoy!