Ingredients

• Pluot and Lavender Jam:
• 3 pounds 8 ounces of pluots cut into quarters, with the seed removed
• 1 pound 8 ounces of organic granulated sugar
• 2 ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 packet of the MCP fruit pectin
• 2 tbsp of culinary lavender
• Lemon-Lavender Shortbread:
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Meso Nutso Lavender Extract
• zest of one small lemon - about 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• Extra dried lavender for the top covers
• Buttercream icing:
• 1/2 stick butter at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Meso Nutso Lavender Extract
• 3 tablespoons Pluot and Lavender Jam

Instructions

1. Pluot and Lavender Jam:
2. In a small bowl, measure out the sugar, and mix in the fruit pectin and blend well.
3. In a large bowl, add in all the ingredients, along with the sugar + pectin mixture and mix well. Cover with a plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for atleast 12 hours to macerate.
4. Before starting the jam process, wash 6 glass bottles with warm water. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Put them on a baking pan, and put it in the oven to sterilize them. This process happens while you are making the jam.
5. After 12 hours, In a 5 quart pan(I used a le cruset cast iron pan), on medium high heat, add in the mixture. Make sure to scrape out all the sugar that may have settled at the bottom. Let it heat and start boiling. The boiling process may take upto 10-15 minutes. Do not touch the mixture the entire time it is coming to a boiling point. Let it boil for 15 minutes. You have to watch it constantly at this stage, because you do not want the mixture to overflow from the pan. If you think it is going to fall over, start stirring it with a rubber spatula and clean out the jam from the sides of the pan. After 15 minutes, the jam should start settling in. Remove the white foam from the top.
6. Now let it boil for another 10 minutes. Switch off the stove. Clean out the jam again from the side of the pan. Now to do the jam test. Put the jam on 2 spoons on a plate, and keep it in the freezer for 3 minutes. When you remove it tilt the spoon. If the jam is very slow in falling, and is viscous in thickness, your jam is done. If the jam is still runny, you need to boil the mixture for another 5 minutes. Repeat the process of putting the jam on clean spoons again and putting it in the freezer, until the jam is very thick on the spoon, once you remove it from the freezer.
7. Once your jam is set, you are ready to bottle them up into jars. Remove the jars from the oven. Now carefully with a ladle, spoon it into a pourable measuring cup. I use a 2 cup measuring jar, to pour the jam into the bottles. Use gloves so that you do not touch the hot bottles. Now close the lids immediately on the jars once you have filled 6 bottles. Put the closed bottles onto the baking pan again and put it in the oven to sterilize once more for 15 minutes.
8. Remove the jam jars after 15 minutes and let it cool overnight. Let the jam set for 3-4 days before opening a bottle.
9. Lemon-Lavender Shortbread:
10. In a mixer bowl, add in the butter, sugar, lemon zest and mix till well blended for about 1 minute. Add in the vanilla and lavender extract and lavender flowers. Blend again. Add in the flours, salt and mix again until incorporated.
11. In a plastic sheet or saran wrap, add in the dough and cover it and shape it into a disk about 1 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour atleast.
12. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
13. Remove from the fridge, and roll out the dough on a floured surface into 1/2 cm thick. Cut out whatever shape you want with cutters. Top with 3-4 dried flowers again. Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and into the oven for about 12 minutes until the shortbread cookies are golden brown in color.
14. Remove from the oven and let cool.
15. For the Buttercream icing:
16. In a medium bowl, add in the butter, and whip it with a hand mixer for 1 minute. Add in the powdered sugar and slowly mix it so that the sugar does not spread everywhere! Increase the speed gradually to medium to mix the sugar with the butter for 1 minute. Add in the jam and extract and mix until well blended.
17. In a ziplock bag with a Wilton 221 star tip inserted, add in the buttercream into the bag, twist and close it tight. Push the buttercream down, and pipe them in half the cookies, after turning them upside down. Press the top of the cookie onto the piped cookie, and its ready to eat!