Juniper Berry is simply divine. For those who have never encountered the juniper berry, imagine the spicy exotic notes of eastern spices like nutmeg and allspice, and the scent of fresh-cut evergreen branches combined. Aromatic and perfumey, it is just the perfect spice for a buttery cookie. But how to best capture their flavor? Baked right in? Added to icing? What would best compliment? Chocolate, Gingerbread or a classic Sugar Cookie?
Well, I tried all three cookie variations, and all had their virtues. The chocolate was deep, dark, and delicious, the gingerbread spicy, but it was the simple butter base of the sugar cookie that allowed Juniper’s unique enchanting flavor to truly shine.
Growing on Vancouver Island, and all over the world, junipers’ gorgeous blue-black berries (actually tiny cones) are best known as the taste ingredient of gin. Traditionally juniper berry is used across Europe to brighten game, venison, pork, stuffing stew, sauerbraten, or sauerkraut. The berries are quite high in sugar and are also added to bread and cakes. In alpine regions, dark syrup is made from berries and served as a dessert with warm cream. Yum. And not incidentally, the berry’s bitter resins help stimulate digestion and support the digestion of heavier fatter foods!
But let me tell you, whatever the cookie I baked, making the juniper sugar was practically a religious experience! Whirring the dried juniper berries in my spice grinder filled the air with a delicious, resiny, foresty aroma. And breathing it in, I could completely understand why its fragrance has been part of spiritual ritual since ancient times.
Renowned for its cleansing, clearing, and protective qualities, the berries were burned as a purifying incense by ancient Egyptians and Greeks, and as a smudging herb by Siberian shamans. Both our local First Nations and Europeans used the boughs for cleansing the air, tossing it on fires along with pine and cedar during Yule and Winter Rites. Interestingly, considering its reputation as a purifier, recent studies show juniper contains potent antiviral compounds that inhibit many different viruses and flu. And apparently, juniper tea is a centuries-old hangover remedy! One safety note, due to its potent medicinal properties juniper should not be consumed excessively or long-term (more than 6 weeks). But a little during the season of feasting is good for soothing over-indulged tummies!
You can buy Juniper berries at herb stores and even grocery stores, but if you want to harvest your berries you’ll be looking for Juniperus communis, the common juniper. It has very prickly, needle-like leaves arranged in whorls along the branch, and they have a silvery band in their center.
It is found all over the Northern Hemisphere, as well as Asia, Europe, and North America and is a sprawling semi-erect shrub, which can grow several feet tall along dry woods, gravelly areas, stone outcrops, and mountainous areas. The bluish-purple berries appear on female bushes only and are technically cones made of the branch’s fused needles. The berries of other juniper species can be used, like Rocky Mountain Juniper provided they’re not ornamental junipers which are often toxic like J. sabina and J. oxycedrus . So to be safe, I’m recommending staying with the common juniper as its distinct characteristics make it easy to identify, not to mention its berries (cones) are the tastiest.
Today juniper berry is enjoying a culinary revival in restaurants that are using it as a seasoning for game dishes, venison, squab, pheasant, and rabbit. At home, you could try mixing juniper berries in ferments like sauerkraut or even infusing vodka (for a homemade gin!). Or of course, you could also make these aromatic Juniper Sugar Stars. Magical and medicinal, they are indeed a festive Yuletide sweet! If you have a favorite sugar cookie or shortbread recipe I encourage you to use those…the star of the show, after all, is the juniper sugar!
Juniper Berry Sugar Stars
Makes about 2 dozen small stars.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups cake flour (sifted)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (fresh)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces butter
- 1 cup sugar (granulated, for cookies)
- 1/2 cup granulated golden cane sugar (or just plain) for juniper sugar
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons dried juniper berries
- 3/4 cup cream (some for cookies, some for glaze)
- 1 cup of icing sugar
- (1/4 cup dark cocoa powder if you want a chocolate cookie – add a bit more butter to compensate)
Directions
Juniper Sugar: Grind 2-3 tablespoons of dried juniper berries in a spice or coffee grinder until it is a fine soft powder. Sieve out any large bits if necessary. Mix with half a cup of sugar. Place in a jar and let sit overnight.
Juniper Glaze Icing: Grind 2 tablespoons of dried Juniper berries in a coffee or spice grinder until fine. Sieve off any large bits. Grind again, sieve. Keep going until you have a smooth powder. Place powder in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup of cream. Bring to almost a boil. Take off heat, cover, and place in the fridge overnight. Next day, mix the icing sugar with the juniper berry cream. It should be thin enough for dipping – but not runny.
For Cookies
- Let all the ingredients come to room temperature before you begin. Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cream butter, sugar, and salt on low speed. Add the egg, cream, and vanilla, and mix until blended.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.
- Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients until combined.
- Pat and press the dough into a ball. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- Transfer chilled dough to a lightly floured (or sugared) work area, and roll out the dough out quite flat: about one-eighth of an inch thick.
- Cut out cookies, placing them on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are barely beginning to turn golden brown.
- When the cookies are cool enough to handle but still warm, remove them from the pan and cool them on a wire rack. Let them cool completely before icing.
- Dip one-half of each cookie in the juniper berry glaze, then dip again (while still wet) into a bowl of juniper sugar.
- Let the glaze dry before serving.
