The Learning Center

Herbal Spotlight: Apple Blossoms, With Apple Blossom Jelly & Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookie Recipes

4/19/2021

Sure they're pretty, but did you know apple blossoms are delicious?
So delicious in fact, Apple Blossom inches out Peony as family-favorite jelly in this house! [which is really saying something...]
Apples are actually in the plant family Rosaceae, same as roses, almonds, & strawberries. And, their flowers & leaves are just as edible as the apples themselves! Of course, if you pick all the flowers, you won’t get any apples later; keep that in mind as you harvest. Most trees produce an enormous amount of flowers, so this isn’t a major issue. Once you taste this jelly, I'm quite sure you will agree it is worth ‘sacrificing’ some apples for it!

Apple Blossoms have a short blooming window of only 5-10 days.

A true herald of Spring, apple blossoms are only produced if the tree has had enough ‘chill-hours’ of dormancy. It is quite an interesting process, with mature trees producing both leaf buds & flower buds if the proper conditions have been met. Once the flowers begin to bloom, the race is on! Bees have a very short window to pollinate the flowers causing fruit to develop -- likewise, you now have about 5-10 days, depending on

the cultivar, before the petals drop to collect any you’d like to dry or use. Here in Maine, that happens in the end of May, but full bloom can happen mid-April in more southern states like Virginia. Best to be prepared to ensure you don’t miss out of these delicacies!

Apple blossoms are high in anti-oxidants & minerals, with adatogenic, cooling, & astringent properties. They can be used fresh or dried. They are traditionally used for relieving stress & calming nerves, improving digestion, & treating acne. How to use apple blossoms? They are lovely tossed with salads & as garnishes. They're delicious infused in whiskey. Use them to make Apple Blossom Cordial by steeping them in vodka with some sugar.

Both apple blossoms & apple leaves are wonderful in tea; this is a great way to incorporate their adaptogenic properties into your daily routine. Wilted & steeped in witch hazel, they make a fantastic facial toner & sunburn soother.

Experience apple blossoms yourself in our fantastic Restorative Body Mist -- Perfect for soothing sikn after sun & hair removal

restorative body mist

The most delicious way to enjoy them though is to make some jelly with them -- Let me show you how!

Our tree's flowers make the most gorgeous, pale-pink jelly.

First, we must gather our apple blossoms. You will need about 2 cups to make this jelly. Be 100% sure the flowers you collect are from trees that have not been sprayed! Also, remember the flowers you don’t take will [hopefully] become fruit, so only take what you will use & take it gently. You can remove blossoms without damaging their neighbors by sliding the flower

between two fingers & gently pulling toward yourself to pop it off the branch. The color of your jelly will depend on the color of your blossoms; the beautiful white & pink flowers have varying amounts of pink depending on the apple variety. Your jelly will range from pale yellow [completely white flowers] to vivid pink [darker pink flowers.] Our ancient apple tree gives us mostly white flowers with a fair bit of pink that creates the palest, most stunning colored jelly I have ever seen. The color is impossible to capture in pictures. It is breathtaking and just as delicious as it is beautiful. We like to take the flavor up a notch by adding cardamom to our batches-- It compliments the sweet, softly floral flavor of the jelly perfectly.

Cardamom Apple Blossom Jelly

Just as we do with so many other flowers & plants, the best way to capture the flavor & color with apple blossoms is to make an infusion first. Start by rinsing your flowers & removing any worms & leaves in the lot. I also remove most of the green bases from the blossoms. You want 2 cups of flowers once they are all cleaned. Add them to your water in a cocotte or

Straining our steeped petals off.

2 Cups Fresh Apple Blossoms
3 Cups Distilled or Spring Water
¼ Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
4 Cups Sugar
½ tsp Ground Cardamom or ½ tsp Cardamom Exract
1 Pouch Liquid Pectin [or 2 TBS powdered pectin - NOT reduced sugar pectin tho!]

try our cardamom extract

large pot on the stove & bring to a full boil. Reduce heat & simmer for about 15 minutes. Pour your infusion into a large jar, allowing it to steep. For best flavor, I let it steep overnight. The steeping petals resemble gari [ginger] as they float in your infusion-- So pretty.

The next day, strain off your infusion with cheesecloth or a fine-mesh stainer. Compost the spent petals. You will need 2 cups for the recipe -- Set aside any extra to enjoy as iced-tea later in the day! Prepare your sterile jelly jars & lids. Add your 2 cups of apple blossom infusion, your lemon juice, 4 cups sugar, & cardamom to your cocotte or large pot. I prefer to use a larger, rough grind of cardamom for mini

flavor bombs in ours--you can use finely ground if you prefer. The rough is quite visible in the resultant jelly as you can see. Bring to a full, rolling boil, stirring to prevent scorching.Keep at a rolling boil for a full minute, then add your pectin, stirring to incorporate, & bring the batch back to a rolling boil. Boil your jelly for 2-10 minutes until it is glossy & thick. Ladle into prepared jars & set aside to cool completely -- And there you have it! You can either keep your jars in the fridge or process them in a water canning bath for the proper time for your elevation.

Prepare yourself--This jelly is absolutely AMAZING!
Wonderful on toast, or crusty bread with some chevre. It is also my favorite for filling thumbprint cookies -- With almonds & apples coming from the same family, it isn’t surprising how well their flavors play together & these cookies really show off how gorgeous this jelly is!
Here is my recipe for them:

Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies With Apple Blossom Jelly

1 c Unsalted Butter, softened
2/3 c Sugar
1 TBS Vanilla Exctract*
½ tsp Almond Extract* [*or just 1 ½ TBS Buttercup extract]
1 ½ c All-Purpose Flour
½ c Almond Flour
Apple Blossom Jelly
Note: This is a very soft dough & it must be refrigerated for at least 3 hours prior to baking.

Whip your butter with the paddle in a stand mixer until light & fluffy. On medium speed, add the sugar & your Vanilla & Almond [or Buttercup in place of both]. Scrape down your bowl. Add flour with the mixer on low. Compact & press your dough down in the mixing bowl. Cover & chill your dough for at least 3 hours. Preheat your oven to 350 & prepare baking trays with parchement, keeping your dough in the refigerator until abslutely ready to bake. Form balls with your cold dough, using roughly 1 TBS of dough or each, & evenly space on trays.

Simply smooth the dough edges if they start to crack like this one in the lower left-corner.

Press your thumb in the middle of each ball to make a small crater, smoothing the edges if they crack a bit. Fill each of these indents with Apple Blossom jelly, a bit less than ½ tsp in each.

Bake the cookies at 350 for 10-12 minutes in top or middle [not lowest rack] until lightly brown.
Place cookies on racks to cool & ENJOY!

Okay--that is all for this round! Don't miss the extremely short window of opportunity to try these recipes. Hopefully, I got this out in plenty of time for you to plan for harvesting apple blossoms this season. It really is worth the fuss! I do hope you enjoy these recipes -- Let me know how it turns out for you & share pictures! I love to see all the different shades of jelly nature produces!
Until next time--Stay safe & #StopAndEatTheFlowers

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Herbal Spotlight: Forsythia, with Forsythia Syrup & Bees Knees recipes

4/4/2021

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One of the first powerful, floral adaptogens to emerge each Spring, forsythia blossoms have so many medicial & culinary uses.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is in a Forsythia Syrup that can be used in lemonades, over pancakes or ice cream-- & of course, in cocktails!
It tastes like spring & is so easy to make! I will walk you through the process, as well as how to craft your own Forsythia Bees Knees cocktails with it too.

Forsythia is actually part of the same plant family as olive trees & has been used, particularly in Chinese medicine, medicinally for centuries. Recent studies have shown it to have strong antioxidant content, as well as antibacterial, antiviral, adaptogenic, & anti-inflammatory properties. In addition to its more medicinal uses, forsythia is amazing for treating skincare issues, helping to reduce redness & tightness in the skin, & even wiping out acne & boils. An easy way to harness their benefits is to incorporate the blossoms into goodies in your kitchen. Their flavor is unique, providing equal parts floral & herbaceous with both sweet & slightly-bitter notes -- to me, they taste like sunshine!

Wild-harvested forsythia is used in many of our skincare products, like these Forsythia Facial Bars, for its wonderful benefits.

explore our forsythia skincare products

Wild Forsythia Facial Bars

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Supportive Blue Tansy Velvet Day Balm

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Wild Forsythia Cleansing Grains

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Locally Foraged Forsythia Blossoms, Dried

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Be sure to grab my recipe for Forsythia Vanilla-Bean Jelly too!

Forsythia is amazing in teas, jellies, & syrups -- even ice cream! The blossoms can be used fresh or dried. Fresh are quite lovely sprinkled over a salad. Dried blossoms make a fantastic addition to herbal tea blends for immune system support. I find ther flavor pairs really well with honey, complementing forsythia’s green-floral notes perfectly. This pairing is what makes the Forsythia Syrup so damn tasty & is an excellent way to glean forsythia’s benefits in your diet.

forsythia vanilla-bean jelly

To get started, you’ll need some freshly gathered forsythia blossoms. As always, be sure to gather flowers only from shrubs you are sure have not been treated with pesticides. Picking the flowers is super easy as they emerge before the leaves, so you can forage a bunch quickly without having to pick through to remove them after. I find gathering them very relaxing, & a perfect excuse to enjoy the return of nicer weather! I always collect a ton so we have plenty to make our skincare products, dry enough for tea to last the year, & have a bunch for syrup & other tasty treats. To make this full-size batch of syrup, you will need about 1-1 ½ cups of blossoms.

Gather whole blossoms -- No leaves please!

Forsythia Syrup

1- 1 ½ cups fresh forsythia blossoms
1 cup spring water
1 cup pure honey [*for raw honey, see note at end of recipe]

Sort your blossoms, taking care to remove any hitchhiking bugs; there is no need to remove their green bases, but some people do. Removing the bases will enhance the floral aspect of your syrup’s flavor, while leaving them gives a more herbaceous/floral combination that I enjoy.

Add your forsythia & water to a pot; bring to a full boil, stirring occasionally. You'll notice the flowers begin to darken & lose their color to the liquid. Boil for 3-5 minutes, then turn your heat down to simmer & add the honey, stirring to dissolve & incorporate. Once fully dissolved, remove the pot from heat & strain out the spent blossoms with a fine strainer or cheesecloth. You can compost or toss the forsythia. *IF USING RAW HONEY: to protect the beneficial qualities of raw honey, remove your forsythia tea from heat & strain out the blossoms, allowing the tea to cool a bit BEFORE stirring in your honey. It’s a bit harder to incorporate, but still gives you a lovely syrup, while protecting the raw-honey benefits that would be damaged by heat.
Allow to cool completely & pour into a sterile bottle for storing. This syrup will keep for 3 weeks or so in the refrigerator. Try it over pancakes or vanilla ice cream for a real treat! Add a spoonful to a cup of Earl Grey tea or add a splash to homemade lemonade. Or use it is cocktails, like this one:

Forsythia Bees Knees

2 oz Gin
¾ oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
½ - ¾ oz Forsythia Honey syrup
Lemon Peel Twist for Garnish

A 'Bees Knees' is a Prohibition Era cocktail made with gin, fresh lemon juice, & honey. The addition of forsythia in this version gives this tasty classic a fresh floral vibe, making it the perfect Spring tipple! Use a classic London gin for a more juniper-forward drink, or try a botanical gin, like the Botanist, to play up the herbaceousness.
Simply add the ingredients & ice to your shaker & shake to combine. Stain into a coupe to serve. Bees Knees are traditionally garnished with a twist of lemon, but you can’t really go wrong adding an edible flower or two as well! Enjoy!

That’s it for this post. I hope you give these recipes a go -- they are so easy to make & so very tasty! Forsythia’s bright flavor is the perfect way to Welcome Spring. Until next time--Stay safe & remember to #StopAndEatTheFlowers