Dandelion Flower Cookies

We had a few extra dandelion flowers left over after making our dandelion syrup, and so we decided to try our hand at some floral cookie making. I picked a random recipe online - no one seems to be crediting it, so I don't know where it came from originally.

Dandelion Flower Cookies

1/2 cup oil

1/2 honey (or dandelion syrup)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup dry oatmeal

1/2 cup dandelion florets (that's just the yellow part of the flower)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (most recipes say 375 degrees, but I found this to be a little high). Cream together the oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the flour, oatmeal, and florets. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

I suppose, I would be remiss, not to give the usual warning about dandelion harvesting. You'll want to make sure your dandelions have not been sprayed by herbicide, or are too near a road where they could be soaking in exhaust fumes, and you might want to consider dog traffic, too. The whole flower is edible, but the green parts can be quite bitter (this is an extreme understatement).

These cookies were alright. I found them a little bland, and dare I say it - healthy tasting. The little florets added a pleasing visual appeal, and made me think more of lavender scones, than weeds in my garden. I think these could be served very nicely at a ladies tea, maybe with some lemon curd to the side.

If you're looking for something with a little more kid appeal you might try this recipe from http://www.fairygardens.com/colorbook/cookiesdandilion.html. It uses sugar, instead of honey, and suggests adding mini M&Ms. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks promising. Who knows, if they're good, it might get the kids interested in weeding the yard.

It's great to be a homeschooler.