You won’t believe this dreamy rice pudding is non-dairy and made with brown rice! It is so rich and creamy thanks to coconut milk used in place of the traditional cream in most rice pudding recipes. The thickened mixture is lightly scented with a beautiful combination of almond extract and mandarin zest and dotted with bright pops of citrus from pieces of fresh mandarin orange mixed in the pudding. My new favorite rice pudding to cuddle up to for a cozy dessert and healthified enough to eat for an indulgent breakfast!
Prep Time: Approximately 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 12 minutes
Makes: Approximately 18 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp real lemon extract
- Zest of one lemon, divided
- 1 Tbs edible lavender buds, divided
- (Or substitute 1/2 teaspoon lavender extract in the batter to for the 2/3 tablespoon of buds)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar for rolling cookie balls (You can substitute white sugar if needed)
Directions:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
2. Mix butter and sugar until thoroughly combined-using a hand or stand mixer is preferable as this help to incorporate air into the batter. Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon extracts, 2/3 lemon zest and 2/3 tablespoon lavender buds (or 1 teaspoon lavender extract) and mix well just until egg is incorporated but not over mixing.
3. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.
4. Combine remaining 1/3 Tbs lavender, 1 tsp lemon zest, and 1/2 cup of raw turbinado sugar. Roll dough into 2 inch balls and coat in sugar mixture. Space 2 inches apart onto lined baking sheets and refrigerate 1 or 2 hours to chill the cookie balls thoroughly.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Remove sheet pans with cookie balls from the fridge and bake in preheated oven approximately 12 minutes.
Recipe Notes:
1. Raw cookie balls pre-sugared as well as baked cookies can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for a couple of months.
2. I love to use meyer lemons while they are in season Winter through early Spring. They can usually be found at specialty stores and I highly recommend them in these cookies if you can find them. They are especially fragrant, are less tart than regular lemons and taste like a cross a mandarin orange and a lemon!
3. A microplane tool will be your very best friend when it comes time to make these lemon cookies. One of my favorite tools and essential to getting that beautiful lemon zest off the fruit and into your batter for the absolute best and impossible to bottle lemon flavor!
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