Rose Geranium Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg, milk and rose water.
• Sift dry ingredients and add them together with the chopped leaves to the creamed mixture, stirring until well mixed.
• Drop by teaspoons onto ligtly greased cookie sheet and press a single rose geranium leaf deep into each cookie.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Let cool on cookie rack.
• Makes@ 3 dozen cookies.

Steps:

• Infuse the butter for the cake: Rub 6 rose geranium leaves to release the oils. Wrap the leaves around the butter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Infuse the sugar for the frosting: Rub 4 rose geranium leaves, then combine with 1 1/2 cups sugar in an airtight container and let stand at room temperature overnight.
• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Rub the remaining 10 to 12 leaves and arrange in the pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, 3/4 cup water and the vanilla. Unwrap the butter and remove the leaves. Beat the butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the egg whites, two at a time. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Pour the batter into the pan; bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; invert the cake onto a rack and remove the leaves.
• Make the frosting: Remove the leaves from the sugar. Put the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and 1/3 cup cold water in a large heatproof bowl and beat with a mixer, 1 minute. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the food coloring and beat until spreadable, about 2 minutes. Spread the frosting over the cake.

Steps:

• Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and process for 20 seconds.
• Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream until light and fluffy.
• Combine the flour, salt and hazelnuts and add, a half cup at a time, to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix until the flour is just incorporated.
• Add the vanilla and chopped rose geranium and mix for two to three minutes. The dough will be slightly stiff.
• Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly butter two cookie sheets.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into one-inch balls.
• Place the balls a half-inch apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets for five minutes.
• Gently press the reserved rose geranium leaves into the biscuits.
• Transfer the biscuits to a cake rack and cool for 10 minutes. Store in a tightly covered container.

Steps:

• Rose Geranium Flavored Sugar: Gently wash 24 small rose-scented geranium leaves (or lemon-, mint-, apple-, or nutmeg-scented leaves) or 1 cup rose petals in water. Drain; place on paper towels and let stand, uncovered, to dry completely. In a clean 1-quart glass jar or bottle, layer the geranium leaves or rose petals with 1 cup sugar or extra-fine granulated sugar. Cover the jar or bottle tightly with a lid. Let stand at room temperature for at least 24 hours or up to 1 week to absorb oils from geranium leaves or rose petals.
• Generously butter and lightly flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Arrange geranium flowers or other edible flower petals in a single layer on bottom of prepared pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, lemon peel, and salt; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a very large mixing bowl, beat eggs, egg yolks, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for about 6 minutes or until very thick and pale yellow, scraping bowl frequently.
• Gently fold one-third of the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Gradually pour one-third of the melted butter over batter, gently folding to combine. Repeat with the remaining butter.
• Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan over the flowers. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean and the top is a light golden brown.
• Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen side of cake from pan by running a knife around edge of cake. Invert cake onto a large serving platter and cool completely.
• To serve, lightly sprinkle top of cake with Rose Geranium Flavored Sugar. Garnish with bouquet of fresh geranium flowers, if you like. Serve with whipped cream, if you like.