Cooking With Rose Petals

Rose Petal Butter, Tea, Rose Water Cookies For Valentine's Day

© Terri Paajanen

Dec 19, 2007

Valentine's day isn't as big a holiday for traditional recipes and cooking as some others, but it's still a good opportunity to stretch your culinary muscles and make something seasonal. And what could be more romantic for Valentine's Day than recipes using rose petals.

Though used mainly for colour and garnish, rose petals do add a sweet and unique floral flavour to your foods.

For any of these recipes, use fresh blossoms. If you buy your roses from a florist, make sure they haven't been sprayed with anything toxic. Roses from your own garden should be rinsed to dirt and/or bugs. Bugs are not romantic.

Rose Petal Butter

A pink and delicately flavoured butter than can add a touch of roses to anything you choose. What a lovely spread for fresh muffins or biscuits. Makes just under a cup of butter.

• 1 cup of fresh rose petals
• ¾ cup of butter

1. Let butter sit at room temperature long enough to soften up for mixing.
2. Once the butter is soft, chop rose petals finely and stir into the butter.
3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. Let it sit for at least 24 hours so the rose blossom flavour can settle into the butter.

Home-made rose butter will last about 2 weeks in the fridge, or for a few months if you decide to freeze it.

Rose Petal Tea

A lightly floral tasting tea that is pretty and pink. Serves 4.

• 2 cups of fresh rose petals
• 3 cups water

1. In a small saucepan, heat water and rose petals to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. The petals will start to darken.
2. Strain out the petals and serve while hot. Add honey for some extra sweetness.

Rose Water Sugar Cookies

Not make with rose petals, but with rose water that you can find in most large supermarkets (usually in with the ethnic foods). You still get the same flowery taste.

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, soft
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tsp rose water
• 3 cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. In a small bowl, beat together the butte and sugar until creamed and smooth. Stir in egg, vanilla and lemon.
3. Mix the baking soda and sour cream into the creamed sugar mixture. Add rose water.
4. Add the flour to the mixture and stir well to combine into a dough.
5. Roll out the dough and cut out your cookies. Hearts would be an appropriate shape for Valentine's Day.
6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for approximately 15-20 minutes. It may take less time if the cookies are quite thin or small.

Romantic Roses

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