Are you contemplating DIY edible favours for your wedding? We are huge fans of the idea, read on and you’ll find out why.
DIY Edible Favours by The Boho Baker
Lavender and white chocolate shortbread favours
Pretty wedding favours that are super easy to make and can be baked with lavender from your own garden. Once baked, lavender has an almost ginger-like taste which is more spicy than floral. The white chocolate provides a little creaminess to counteract the spice of the lavender.
Add a name tag and pretty ribbon to use these delicious bakes as a place setting as well as an edible wedding favour – perfect for an elegant country theme with a nod to nature and fragrant flavours!
The Recipe
Courtesy of Debby Donnelly-Addison who specialises in organic, botanical baking using edible florals and foraged ingredients. Find her on Instagram @thebohobaker! Debby is an accomplished baker and owner of in-house bakery Vanilla Nova Cake Boutique
Makes: 30
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients for DIY Edible Favours
100g caster sugar
2tsp dried lavender
200g softened butter
300g plain flour
200g good quality white cooking chocolate.
Method
-
- If using lavender from your own garden, tie the stems together with a piece of string and hang in a cupboard or dark place for two weeks until dry. Be careful not to leave the lavender in a room that is damp or houses a tumble dryer as this can encourage mould and stall the drying process. If you do not have homegrown lavender you can purchase pre-dried culinary lavender in Waitrose and online. This works just as well and tastes just as good.
2. Break down the lavender into small granules by either blitzing in a blender or chopping finely using a knife or mezza luna. Pop in a bowl with the caster sugar and give it a good shake until combined.
3. Add the butter to the lavender and sugar mix, and cream together using the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Add the flour a little at a time, using the spoon to cream it together. If your mixture starts to look flaky, use your hands to compress it, creating a nice, smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and pop it in the fridge for half an hour.
5. Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 5/190C/170C (fan) and line your baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
6. After half an hour, take your dough from the fridge and lightly dust your worktop with a little flour. Roll out the dough to roughly the same thickness as a £1 coin. If your rolling pin sticks to the dough whilst rolling, lightly flour that too. If your mixture starts to split slightly, simply compress it with your hands to fill any gaps and continue to roll out to your desired thickness.
7. Cut out your shortbread cookies and place on the baking tray, leaving 1cm between each one to accommodate any spreading whilst baking. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
8. Remove from the oven and carefully press your cookie cutter over each cookie again, removing any excess and creating a clean, uniform edge. If you wish to hang your cookies, poke a small hole in the top of each one to accommodate the ribbon tie. Place on a wire rack to cool.
9. Whilst your shortbread is cooling, break up the white chocolate into small squares and melt in a glass dish over a pan of simmering water. Alternatively, place in the microwave and heat in short bursts, mixing thoroughly. Ideally, you don’t want the chocolate to get too hot, so stirring during each intermission will ensure that the chocolate will melt into itself using little heat.
10. Lay out a sheet of greaseproof paper or wire rack in readiness for dipping. Take each shortbread cookie and dip into the chocolate before placing on the paper or rack to set. Sprinkle a little lavender over the top whilst the chocolate is still damp. Leave to set at room temperature.
11. Once the chocolate is completely dry, either loop a ribbon through each hole to hang as a centrepiece, or bag up and add a name tag to use as place settings as well as wedding favours. If you are not confident in writing the labels yourself, you can download a brush script font online and cheat it out. Cut out using a pretty punch and attach with ribbon.
Finally, all that’s left is to stand back, look admirably at your work and proceed to tell everyone you handmade them as you hand them out.
READ MORE:
- DIY sweetie table for your wedding
- 20 Wedding Favours Your Guests Will Love
- 15 Wedding Day Details You Haven’t Thought of Yet
Want more wedding information and inspiration? Just hit ‘Like’ on our Wedding Ideas Facebook page, and ‘Follow’ on our @wimagazine Twitter account to join in the conversation.
