Hello beautiful people!
How is everyone doing today?! I know things have been pretty busy over here trying to get ready for holiday vacation, but I’ve been doing my best to enjoy this time before Christmas when things are kind of extra magical and festive! I definitely need to make my usual holiday cookies and other winter-themed goodies, but lately I’ve been sipping on this lavender latté I’ve made on the daily with a lavender simple syrup I whipped up last week while playing Billie Holiday…it was kind of the most perfect night ever, tbh.
We were recently given a GINORMOUS bag of lavender from one of Alex’s family members who was staying on a farm a bit north of LA, and we weren’t quite sure how to use it. After getting some of your opinions on Instagram, I decided to go with a simple syrup since we can use that to flavor anything like coffee drinks, cocktails, and even food! I don’t actually keep regular white sugar in the house (although I’ll need to stock up if I’m going to make my Christmas cookies!), but I did have coconut sugar. And from there, the coconut sugar lavender simple syrup was born!
The simple syrup takes all of about 10 minutes to make + cooling time, and the latté is super quick, too! It’s not overly sweet, so sometimes I’ll actually add a half of a stevia packet too, if that’s the kind of drink I’m craving. If you’re not into coffee at all (regular or decaf…which I’ve been making in the afternoon!), you could totally just leave it out and make warm lavender almond milk. That actually sounds kind of amazing?!
Coconut Sugar Lavender Simple Syrup
1 cup water
2 cup coconut sugar
2 tbsp lavender flowers
1. In a saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of water over high. Once boiling, add in the coconut sugar and lavender flowers, and lower the heat to medium. Continue to stir so the mixture doesn’t burn for about 10 minutes. *You’re technically supposed to use a candy thermometer here, but homegirl doesn’t have fancy tools like that in the kitchen…
2. After about 8-10 minutes, remove the pan from heat and let it cool. Pour into a mason jar over a strainer to strain out the flowers. Store in the fridge for up to a month.
Almond Milk Latté
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1-2 shots of espresso or 1/2 cup coffee
1 tbsp coconut sugar lavender simple syrup (recipe above!)
1. Heat the almond milk in a mug in the microwave for 1 minute (or over stove in a saucepan, but it’s slower!). Use a frother
2. Add in your espresso or coffee, lavender simple syrup and stir to combine. If desired, add extra sweetener like stevia or honey.
p.s. I only topped mine with the lavender because it looked so crazy beautiful, but if you decide to do that (for Instagram, duh), I would suggest removing the flowers before drinking. They don’t taste amazing straight up!
Have you guys ever made anything with lavender before?! We still have so much left and I don’t know what to make! Edible or not. Maybe sachets, or some bath scrub? Let me know in the comments 🙂
xo Jordan