Adding herbal components to recipes is one of the simplest ways to unwind and enjoy a tasty snack. One of the best floral herbs for relaxation is lavender, a soothing option you can use in various recipes, like these Lemon Lavender Cookies! This healthy recipe is made with wholesome ingredients that will nourish the body and support relaxation. We paired lemon and lavender together for a delicious batch of cookies made with Lifeway Kefir for a tender texture and crumb. Give these a try next time you want a fragrant and calming cookie!
Cultured Dairy: The Nutrition Benefits You Actually Need to Know
With increasing research linking the correlation between probiotics, gut health, and immunity, it’s no secret that the integrity of our gut is vital to our health. Although additional factors such as stress, antibiotic usage, and individual health conditions can contribute to the condition of our gut, a focus on healthy food choices is one of the easiest ways to support the microbiome.
Several studies have shown a strong association between the gut-brain-microbiota. Probiotics introduced to the gut have been found to support immunity, improve allergies, and improve digestion.
Studies have shown that reduced diversity of healthy gut bacteria during early years is associated with an increase in food allergies during school-age years. In addition, kefir made from whole-fat milk helps absorb key nutrients such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamin K is important because it helps your bones absorb calcium. It’s important to know that kefir contains a unique trio: vitamin D, K, and calcium – all three crucial elements to support bone health. Lifeway Farmer Cheese is also a great source of all these nutrients, just in a different format for all the cheese lovers out there.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats, blended to a flour consistency
- 1/3 cup almond flour (not almond meal) or brown rice flour
- 2 tsp. culinary grade lavender buds
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar, organic brown sugar, or date sugar
- 2 tbsp. flax meal (ground flax seeds)
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- juice from 4 lemons, peels saved and set aside
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups Lowfat Blueberry Kefir
- water if needed (see directions)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a large baking pan/cookie sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, all the dry ingredients, and mix well to combine.
- n a small mixing bowl, add your wet ingredients and stir well to incorporate or blend with a hand mixer. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix again very thoroughly, ideally with a hand mixer. The mixture should resemble cookie dough, however, if you need to add more water to get it to that consistency, do so. Depending on the flours you choose, this can vary in amounts.
- Let the mixture set in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up more, and then scoop the mixture out with a cookie scoop onto the prepared baking pan. Make sure the cookies are no larger than 2 inches in total diameter so they cook evenly.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, then set aside on the counter to cook for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!
