candied violets


#1

Candied Violets
(these are considered a delicacy, use only unblemished, perfect flowers.
Wash flowers lightly and dry them off on a piece of kitchen paper.
Leave them, in other words, on the paper and let them dry by themselves.
Then heat up the white of an egg. Then take a fine brush and paint each
flower with the egg white so that it is perfectly covered. Then
carefully dust each one with caster surar until it is well coated .
Dust some greaseproof paper with a little sugar and then lay your
flowers on this to dry. Once the flowers are coated, snip off their
stems. They are easier to handle at this point with stems on, and then
snip off when done "painting" them. (From the book titled "A Modern
Herbal" edited by Violet Stevenson)

#2
For this method, you will need powdered gum arabic an rose water both
available from drugstores or cake decorating supply stores. Pick as
many violet blooms as you wish to crystallize. Then dissove 1 Tbsp. of
gum arabic in 1 Tbsp of rose water and leave until the solution becomes
a paste. Using a small brush, paint each violet all over with the
solution, then dip the flowers in superfine sugar. Leave to dry on a
wire rack in a warm place. Store the petals in an airtight container,
and use them on desserts as an edible garnish. They have a picture of a
bowl of vanilla ice cream with these scattered over the top, some are
crushed, it really is very pretty. From the book "The Magic of Herbs"
by Jane Newdick

Here is another:

Crystallized

Beat 1 egg white until frothy. Paint the whole flower or petal, front
and back, with egg white. Sprinkle the flower lightly with extra-fine
granulated sugar and shake off excess. Press the flowers on surface of
baked cookie, adding more egg white as necessary to adhere.
The picture shows rose petals, pansys, violas, it is
really pretty sitting atop cookies- from Edible Xeriscape (no author)
You can make sugar finer by putting in blender or food processor and zap
it a few seconds.


PINON NUT AND FLOWER COOKIE
(see directions below)

2 C. unbleached white flour
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. butter
1 Tbsp. grated fresh orange peel
1 egg
pinon nuts
pansy or viola petals
Mix flour and sugar together. Cut in butter til crumbley. Add orange
peel and egg and mix until a
ball forms. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll out
to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut
into 2 1/2 inch rounds. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until lightly
browned. Makes approx. 18
cookies

Variations:
Pinon Nut cookies
Press pinon nuts decoratively on top of cookie dough before baking.
Ground pinon nuts may be
substituted for 1/4 C. flour in recipe.

JELLY PETAL COOKIES
Roll out cookie dough and cut scallop edged rounds 2 1/2 inches
diameter. Using a 2 inch round
cutter, cut middles out of half of the rounds. Bake and cool. Spread a
whole round lightly with plum
or apple jelly. Place a cut out round on top of this. Arrange flower
petals on the jelly. Serve