The blossoms of the elderberry can be identified immediately with the appearance of small white flowers in late spring along with black-red fruits reminiscent of berries. The elderberry itself can be found in any health-food store as an ingredient in cold and flu and syrups. The fascinating thing that I discovered is that elderberry extract is great for cooking and baking and so easy to prepare at home, so I came up with a recipe that uses elderberry extract to make a delicious cookie that is sure to sweeten your day.
Ingredients for elderberry extract:
Ingredients for elderberry cookies:
Method of preparing the elderberry extract:
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Take a few elderberry flowers and cook them in water, almost to a simmer, at a ratio of 1 : 5 (flowers : water)
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Remove the flowers and leave only liquids in the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring. Add the sugar and simmer. Let the sugar melt slowly, simmering, until you have a syrup consistency, stirring constantly. Once you're satisfied with the consistency, remove from the heat, allow cooling and store in a glass jar in the fridge.
Method of preparing the elderberry cookies:
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In a bowl mix 1/2 a cup of sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and 3 tbsp. of elderberry extract.
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Add the butter and beat until you get a creamy texture. Sift the flour and add to the sugar and butter, mix until a soft dough is formed. Add the chocolate chips.
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Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/3-inch (1 cm) and wrap in plastic wrap, put in the refrigerator for an hour.
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Preheat your oven to 350 °F (180 °C), remove the dough from the refrigerator, and cut the roll into slices. Apply some elderberry extract over the cookies and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top before serving, after the cookies have cooled down a little.
Chef's Tip:
The syrup will last 3 months in the fridge. It can be used to top many desserts, you can also add it to drinks or use it as a homemade cough syrup.
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