Seattle Fog Snowball Cookies
Mexican wedding cookies. Italian wedding cookies. Snowballs. Russian tea cakes. No matter what you call them, we're essentially talking about the same cookie formula: a buttery, shortbread-like dough, sometimes with nuts, sometimes not, baked to fluffy golden perfection and showered in powdered sugar. I was really inspired by the flavors of a London fog and wanted to put a Seattle twist on it so naturally I added coffee and infused the dough with lavender buds. It's fairly subtle and not too overpowering but I think the hint of floral plays really well with the roasty espresso flavor. What kinds of holiday cookies to you like to make?
Seattle Fog Snowball Cookies
makes about 24 cookies
1 c butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 c powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1/2 t Himalayan pink salt
2 c all purpose flour
3 t dried lavender buds, divided (culinary grade)
1 t instant espresso powder
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a bowl whisk together the salt and flour and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Whisk in the vanilla and espresso powder. In a mortar and pestle, grind the lavender into a course powder. Reserve 1 teaspoon for later and add the rest to the butter and sugar mixture and mix to combine. Add in the flour mixture and stir to combine until dough forms. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown. Meanwhile, add about a cup of powdered sugar to a bowl and add the reserved teaspoon of lavender. While still warm, toss the cookies in the powdered sugar until coated. Sprinkle cookies with additional powdered sugar once cool if you'd like.
