Plans have been made, travel arrangements and delicious dining destinations have been chosen. We are heading to Poteet, Texas. The first weekend of April we will enjoy our first Strawberry Festival as a family. My little sister’s family, my parents and our bunch will be making the trip together. In planning for the trip memories of our visit to Blanco, Texas for the The Lavender Festival only fueled my excitement even more. So in honor of our upcoming trip I bring you a recipe from their local cookbook, Lavender Brownies with Lavender Chocolate Ganache.
Lavender is the star of these fudgy brownies, the floral flavor adds a fresh perk to the chocolate. The directions state “allow ganache to set,” but try a small bit while the ganache is still warm and you will taste Texas lavender at it’s best. Enjoy! Sweet Life!
Have a wonderful week!!
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Lavender Brownies
The Local Flavor of Lavender
serves 16-20
1 cup sugar
1 tsp dried culinary lavender buds
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup walnuts or pecan pieces, chopped
Lavender Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter sides and bottom of an 8×8 inch or 9×13 inch pan. Line with parchment paper, and spray the paper with cooking spray.
Pulse sugar and lavender together in a processor until lavender is finely chopped. Using a sifter or strainer, sift lavender pieces out of sugar. Set lavender sugar aside.
Melt chocolate and butter together in microwave using short 15 second bursts, stirring well until smooth and melted. Add salt, vanilla, and lavender sugar; blend well. Add eggs and stir to blend. Add flour and pecans; stir well. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until edges are slightly set and corner is still moist. Coll in pan.
Frost brownies with Lavender Chocolate Ganache and allow to set at room temperature until brownies are slightly firm to touch. Pull brownies from pan using edges of parchment paper. Cut as desired.
Hubby holds our freshly picked lavender
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Lavender Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp dried culinary lavender buds
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into chunks
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Warm cream and dried lavender in a small saucepan until mixture just begins starts to simmer. Cover pan and remove from heat. Allow mixture to steep and infuse for approximately 15 minutes. Strain lavender from cream and return cream to saucepan. Bring cream to a simmer again. Remove from heat, add chocolate chunks, and stir until melted and smooth.
Want more lavender?
Lavender Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries
Blackberry Lavender Champagne Cocktail
Bonnie when I received your photo I couldn’t stop looking at your perfect brownies. This sounds like a fantastic recipe and I hope to try it soon. I hope you have fun on your up coming trip. Thank you for being a part of March’s YBR.
Moist and luscious looking brownies! Saw your post on YBR and was smitten by the chocolate-lavender flavor profile 🙂 The 30th snuck up on me, so I missed this month.
These brownies look AMAZING!! The photos are show stopping.
rich brownie, Chocolate lavender ganache – I want it !!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe
Wow. these look terrific and perfectly gooey. Love this flavor combination.
That ganache looks incredible!
A relaxing brownie – brilliant!
xo Patty
I’m trying to be good and not eat sweets but these sound incredible and I have lavender that I should use too… when I’m off work in a couple of weeks I will definitely make these!!
rich, dense brownies topped by a smooth, shimmery, positively luscious ganache = heaven on earth. bravo!
That second photo is GORGEOUS. Absolutely. Totally. Your plans sound beautiful too.
Oh my goodness…I want to go to both! I need to make a road trip. These brownies look AMAZING. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. I’m hungry now! I hope you have a blessed and peaceful day tomorrow. Hugs from Austin!
Lavendar festivals, strawberry festivals – love it all! They both sound so much fun! And these brownies look incredibly fudgy beyond belief. I’m drooling.
Oh my word, WOMAN!! That second picture is killing me!! Hope you all have a fantastic trip 🙂
What lovely fudgey brownie goodness! And I have a bag of lavender that is just itching to be used 🙂
I used to think lavender could not be found in Texas; how wrong I was, and this post is a reminder that people will accomplish miracles here when they set their minds to it. Would love to try this, lavender and ganache sounds heavenly.
That looks amazing! I have some lavender sugar I need to use up but I’ve found that its flavor disappears after baking. Maybe it will work in your ganache – can’t wait to try!
@Stephanie…please give them a try and let me know!!
sweetlife
I know it sounds unoriginal but we really need “smellavision” to appreciate the scent of lavender , and with brownies being baked in the process…more “smellavision” please…:O
I can breathe in the scent of the lavender by looking at your lovely photos. I love bringing lavender into desserts. Culinary lavender is hit and miss here – so I envy you your trip to the lavender festival. How sumptuous those brownies are!
this sounds so yummy!! thank you for sharing this.
Oh Bonnie, those brownies look so incredibly good. I’m going to try them, since I have some of that lavender;-) Plus, I’m totally in the mood for something rich, chocolaty, and delicious.
*Hope you guys have a nice time at the strawberry festival too!
Heavenly treats, I adore lavender…these are just the perfect sweet 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful and safe trip
I’ve seen lavender in sweets but I would have thought that the chocolate overpowered it in these…sounds like it doesn’t! So I’d love to try them, they certainly are gooey!
What a combo!!! Looks amazing!
wow love these and sounds like a beautiful place to visit look forward to seeing you blog posts hugs
Wonderful flavor combination. Excellent execution.
Ooooo YUM!!!! I just want to lick my monitor. Looks like an amazing recipe and the photos are gorgeous! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Your new page design looks great! And so do the brownies!
Kathleen
I love lavender but never thought of it with chocolate – except as a garnish. It is winter here – I do have a few buds left – but am saving them for a syrup – however – when in Paris last summer, bought some incredible essences… so, I may just try this.
I love the photos. YUM
🙂
Valerie
Oooooooman…totally droolworthy…so darn moist and rich! Simply irresistible!
How lucky of you to have fresh Lavender at your door step! Have never seen fresh ones before. The Brownies look decadent.
It’s easy to see why you are so excited for your trip. 🙂
Your brownies look like they would taste heavenly!
🙂 Mandy
@Blond Duck..let me search a bit and I will get back to ya!
sweetlife
@Sensiblecooking..your invited, we always have room for an extra friend!! thanks for the tweet!!
sweetlife
@Foodessa..oh no worries, the floral flavor is not for everyone..the bouquet was my fav reminder of the event..
sweetlife
@DessertforTwo your correct he was born in Poteet and raised in Pearsall..
sweetlife
This is heaven Bonnie and the fact that you infused the lavender in the fudgy cookie and the ganache is wonderful….I can’t believe how melt in your mouth good these look 🙂
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Gorgeous!!!
Have fun in Poteet! Isn’t that where Mr. George Straight grew up? I know he was born in San Antonio, but I think I remember hearing it grew up somewheres else…
Have a great week 🙂
Oh Bonnie, lavender in brownies…must be a piece of heaven…would love to try it…and soon! Have a wonderful week!
Those brownies look incredibly scrumptious.
Although, I do admit that I’ll take a bouquet of lavendar flowers before I’ll eat it, sorry not a real fan of it.
The color in your picked flowers are gorgeous Bonnie.
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
So jealous of your family trip. I love love family trips especially road trip. Can I join you on the trip, I will be quite promise as long as I have good supply of those brownies. BTW just re-tweeted the recipe. Drooling.
I want to take Ben to one of the lavender farms! Do you know of any local farm that makes their own honey?
Wow, pure decadence here! I love the idea of pairing chocolate with floral lavender, what a terrific combination!
Oh Bonnie, they look like heaven! I’m still using the lavender I won on your blog after the last lavender fest!
An interesting and delightful flavor combo! Your brownies look so luscious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Lavender is one of my favorite floral flavors…I can only imagine what it does to these brownies. Lovely!
What a beautiful brownie with a lovely surprise!
OMG!!! That one is amazing and cant wait to try it!!!
Thanks for that lovely suggestion.
XXXX Lia.