½ cup sugar
2 tsp. culinary lavender
2 cups flour
1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips (optional)
Before you get started, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheet(s) with parchment.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir the lavender into the flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar, using a wooden spoon to combine into a ball. Place dough onto a lightly floured countertop and gently knead for five minutes. Don’t overwork. Once done, separate dough into two pieces and place each piece in plastic wrap, rolling into two logs approximately seven inches long. Refrigerate the wrapped logs for two hours. Cut the chilled dough into ½-inch rounds with a sharp knife. Transfer the disks onto the parchment-lined baking sheet(s), spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 15–20 minutes until edges are golden, depending on how hot your oven is. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. The recipe should make 12–14 cookies.
Once the cookies are cool, you can dip ends into melted semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips. Coat one-third of each cookie with melted chocolate. We prefer milk chocolate.
Afternoon Tea Sandwiches
We’re a big fan of tea sandwiches in our house. We serve them at birthdays and showers. Bites of Bliss makes the sandwich bread for the inn, but I have to order mine from the local bakery. You might also be able to find sandwich bread at your local grocery store. I order brown sandwich loaves and white, as well as loaves dyed pink and sometimes blue.
Here are some of the most popular fillings at the inn and at my house. The amounts vary depending on how many sandwiches you’re making and your personal taste preference, so you may want to adjust. You can also make double- or triple-decker sandwiches, using two or three of the fillings. If you go with a single filling, you can use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Sandwiches can also be cut into rectangles, squares, or triangles. Once you have the fillings made, cut off bread crusts and use softened butter to butter bread.
Salmon
1 6-oz can of salmon
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¼–½ cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 green onions, chopped fine
Pinch of salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients and spread evenly on bread.
Tuna
1-oz can of tuna
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¼–½ cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 green onions, chopped fine
Pinch of salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients and spread evenly on bread.
Egg
4 hard-boiled eggs, mashed
¼–½ cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 green onions, chopped fine
Pinch of salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients and spread evenly on bread.
Chicken
3 boneless chicken breasts, boiled and chilled, either pulled apart or grated
¼–½ cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 tbsp. cranberry sauce
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 sprigs watercress, chopped
Combine all ingredients and spread evenly on bread.
Ham
3 cups grated ham (my mother-in-law uses canned ham, but I’m not a fan of the jelly, so I buy a smoked ham and grate it)
¼–½ cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 tbsp. green relish (or to taste)
Combine all ingredients and spread evenly on bread.
Rolled Sandwiches
We usually gather together to make these sandwiches the night before. They need enough filling to hold them together. We wrap the finished sandwiches with plastic wrap, cover with damp tea towels, and leave in the refrigerator until we’re ready to serve the next day.
Banana and peanut butter—Cut crusts off bread and lightly roll with a rolling pin to flatten. Add softened butter to peanut butter to easily spread it onto the bread. Cut a whole banana to fit on the short end of the bread and then roll.
Gherkins and cream cheese—Cut crusts off bread and lightly roll with a rolling pin to flatten. Add softened butter to cream cheese to easily spread it onto the bread. Line gherkins on the short end of the bread and then roll.
Green olives and cream cheese—Cut crusts off bread and lightly roll with a rolling pin to flatten. Add softened butter to cream cheese to easily spread it onto the bread. Line the green olives on the short end of the bread and then roll.
Red cherries and cream cheese—Cut crusts off bread and lightly roll with a rolling pin to flatten. Add softened butter to cream cheese to easily spread it onto the bread. Line red cherries on the short end of the bread and then roll.
About the Author
Debbie Mason is the USA Today bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado; Harmony Harbor; and Highland Falls series. The first book in her Christmas, Colorado, series, The Trouble with Christmas, was the inspiration for the Hallmark movie Welcome to Christmas. Her books have been praised by RT Book Reviews for their “likable characters, clever dialogue, and juicy plots.” When Debbie isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family in Ottawa, Canada.
You can learn more at:
AuthorDebbieMason.com
Twitter @AuthorDebMason
Facebook.com/DebbieMasonBooks
Instagram @AuthorDebMason
Praise for Debbie Mason and the Highland Falls Series
“Debbie Mason writes romance like none other.”
—FreshFiction.com
“I’ve never met a Debbie Mason story that I didn’t enjoy.”
—KeeperBookshelf.com
“I’m telling you right now, if you haven’t yet read a book by Debbie Mason you don’t know what you’re missing.”
—RomancingtheReaders.blogspot.com
“It’s not just romance. It’s grief and mourning, guilt and truth, second chances and revelations.”
—WrittenLoveReviews.blogspot.com
“Mason always makes me smile and touches my heart in the most unexpected and wonderful ways.”
—HerdingCats-BurningSoup.com
“No one writes heartful small-town romance like Debbie Mason, and I always count the days until the next book!”
—TheManyFacesofRomance.blogspot.com
“Wow, do these books bring the feels. Deep emotion, heart-tugging romance, and a touch of suspense make them hard to put down.”
—TheRomanceDish.com
“Debbie Mason writes in a thrilling and entertaining way. Her stories are captivating and filled with controlled chaos, true love, mysteries, amazing characters, eccentricities, plotting, and friendship.”
—WithLoveForBooks.com
“Debbie Mason never disappoints me.”
—FictionFangirls.com
“Mason takes her romances to a whole new level.”
—CarriesBookReviews.com
“If you enjoy multi-layered characters, humor, emotional twists and turns, and heart-tugging romance that will leave you eager for more, I enthusiastically recommend a visit to Highland Falls, North Carolina.”