Making Memories With Dandelion Cookies

Turn the next bouquet into a sweet snack

Let's be honest—one of the perks of motherhood is having a small person throw open the back screen door on a warm, sunny day mid-spring and thrust a bouquet of dandelions into our hands.

There are few tokens as beautiful and as simple as the sticky, crumpled heads of a fistful of dandelions shoved in the mouth of a jelly jar, and all mothers know it. It is an extravagant act of love, a winsome show of our child’s big love for us.

Dandelions, to children, are the stuff of the heart. As such, they are symbols of adoration for Mommas, too.

This spring has found our side yard dotted with yellow flowers. Now, I know the world says they are "weeds," but what can I say? Every time I see a new dandelion pop up, I remember the look of toe-curling bliss my kids have after they offer one up to me, and hear me ask, "For me? Really?" I have long since surrendered coveting an expanse of uniformly green lawn in favor of the medicine and free foodstuff that grow wild there—purple dead nettle, wild onions, plantain, and chickweed for starters. I’ll always have the medicinals. But some day, there will be no more just-for-me bouquets. I won't wish the short season of their offering away in exchange for more grass.

Today, spurred on by childhood memories and a whole assembly line of dandelion bouquets finding their way to my lap, I pulled up an old recipe for cookies that incorporate the butter-yellow petals. Turns out, making a batch of these turned the investment of a few dozen dandelions into even more of a labor of love for my kiddos. If you haven't tried them before, I encourage you to dive in.

This is more about the process than the result, but hey-- the result is yummier than you'd think! Employ your kids to collect the dandelion heads. Make sure the area hasn't been treated with chemicals (obviously). After washing the heads thoroughly, show your children how to grasp the base of the green stalk, and gently pull the petals from the center. It's even more fun than picking them!

Dandelion Flower Cookies

1/2 C butter
1/2 C honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 C oatmeal
1/2 C dandelion flowers (measure dry and intact)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Blend oil, honey, eggs and vanilla.

Stir in flour and oatmeal. Add dandelion petals, removing all green. Stir until combined.

Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 min.