Lavender Fudge oh yeah

A dear friend of mine had a French-themed potluck birthday party recently and it was the perfect chance for me to try this recipe. I had both dried lavender flowers and a bottle of doTerra Lavender essential oil on hand which is safe for use in food (read those labels carefully!). The recipe was quite easy and a big hit! Friends asked what made it less sugary and a bit lighter than a lot of fudge--the not-so-secret ingredient is marshmallows. 

A couple of notes: 

• ​The recipe calls for ground lavender mixed in with the evaporated milk and then heated. I added 3 drops of essential oil instead during this process but then realized that the heating process wouldn't work as well for this and that some of the oils may have evaporated. I added one more drop after all of the ingredients were in the pan but if I do it again, I'm only going to add 2 drops at the end as lavender can be a little overbearing if you use too much and I thought these were just on the edge of "wow, that's lavender all right." 
• I sprinkled dried lavender flowers on top because I had them but they are rather amusingly crunchy and I think would work better sprinkled around the plate instead. If you have a lavender plant, a few fresh sprigs would be lovely! 
  

All in all a good, solid recipe that worked! I could see adding this one to the list of "go to" recipes for future gatherings and there are lots of possibilities of variations on fudgey goodness like omitting the lavender and adding nuts. 5 yums.