Herbs + dessert = absolute heaven. Besides, when you harvest your own herbs, it offsets some of the calories…right? These 3 sweet herb recipes are always family favorites. They’re healthy options that are easy to prepare ahead — perfect for satisfying late-night cravings.
Mint Peach Granita
Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from water and sugar. This one adds sweet peaches and fresh mint to make a crystalline dessert worth snacking on all night.
INGREDIENTS
- ⅓ cup of water
- 14 fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 4 peaches, peeled and pitted
- Mint leaves, for garnish
HOW-TO
- Place sugar, mint, and water in a saucepan on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Slice peaches into thin slices and add to saucepan. Cook another minute and remove from heat.
- Puree mix in a blender. If needed, press through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing hard on solids and discarding them. Let cool.
- Freeze mixture in a 1 ½ to 2-quart shallow non-reactive metal container, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 30 minutes until evenly frozen — about 2-3 hours. Scrape with a fork to lighten the texture and crush any lumps.
- Spoon into glasses or bowls, garnish with mint leaves, and serve!
Lavender Infused Banana Bread Muffins
Banana bread is something I crave often. These lavender muffin versions are absolutely delicious, a little sweeter, and perfect for light night snacks (or morning breakfasts!) With the light lavender flavor, this subtly sweet herb recipe will become a regular. We substituted yogurt to create a better texture and added coconut shavings for an extra touch of sweet flavor.
INGREDIENTS
For muffins:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 6 oz plain, whole-milk yogurt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 3 slightly overripe bananas, lightly mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp dried lavender
- Coconut shavings, to garnish.
For the lavender syrup:
- ½ cup of water
- ½ cup of sugar
- 1 Tbsp lavender
HOW-TO
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line muffin tins with liners.
- Cook 2 Tbsp of dried lavender in a pan on high until it begins to release scent — about one minute. Set aside ½ Tbsp of cooked lavender. Turn heat down to medium heat, add butter to the pan, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain infused butter through a sieve.
- In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Add infused butter and fold in mashed bananas and ½ tsp of cooked lavender. Gradually fold in flour mix and pour batter into a bread pan.
- Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean — about 45 minutes.
- While muffins are cooking, make lavender syrup. In a small saucepan on medium heat, make a simple syrup with ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water. Whisk to dissolve sugar. Once dissolved, add remaining tsp of lavender. When muffins are done, pour simple syrup over muffins. Garnish with coconut shavings.
Chocolate Orange Basil Brownies
In our book, chocolate is a girl’s best friend. And it pairs oh-so-beautifully with orange and basil. Fresh basil shines in this sweet herb recipes and creates a complex flavor you won’t be able to resist.
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup raw walnuts, finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil, tightly packed
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 drops oil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
HOW-TO
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8×8 brownie tin with parchment paper.
- Place walnuts and basil in a food processor and pulse until a crumbled mixture forms. Set aside.
- In a medium glass bowl, microwave the butter and chocolate at 50% power until the butter has melted — about 3 for 4 minutes. Whisk until chocolate has melted. Then stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange oil, salt, and the walnut basil mixture. Gradually add flour and stir until just combined.
- Spread batter into the prepared brownie pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
These sweet herb recipes aren’t the only ways to use your herbs. Check out these herbal water alternatives!