Almond Hyssop Cookies

These little biscuits are a perfectly-sized sweet treat to have with afternoon tea. I made these with blue anise hyssop from my garden, which is ever-so-slightly bitter with overtones of mint and anise. (If you don't have any hyssop, you could try mint flowers, lavender, or anise seeds)

This is a small batch; it makes ~24 half-dollar size cookies:

You'll need:

-- 1/2 cup sugar (I used raw cane turbinado, which gave them a golden-brown hue)
-- 1/8 cup anise hyssop flowers, removed from the stem
-- egg replacer for 1 egg ( I use EnerG brand)
-- 6 tablespoons of Earth Balance buttery stick
-- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
-- 1 cup flour
-- 1/8 teaspoon salt
-- 1/2 cup almonds, raw or lightly toasted, chopped into small pieces

With a gentle hand, finely chop the hyssop flowers. In a mixing bowl, mix sugar and hyssop flowers until well combined.(Alternately, pulse sugar and unchopped flowers in a blender.) Prepare egg replacer according to package instructions and add to sugar/hyssop mixture. Add vanilla extract.

One tablespoon at a time, add Earth Balance, mixing until the sugar is well incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Combine flour and salt and add to bowl, mixing until just incorporated. Gently fold in the chopped almonds.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball; you may need to work in a bit more flour so the dough is firm enough for rolling. Divide dough ball into two pieces and roll each piece into a log, roughly 1 - 1.5 inches in diameter
Wrap dough logs in plastic wrap and allow to chill for at least an hour.

When the dough is firm enough to slice, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/4 inch rounds and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until biscuits just begin to golden.