The aroma of fresh lilacs has always been one of my very favorite childhood memories.
I’m very sense-driven, you see, and I associate so much of my life with both bold imagery and strong scents.
It must be part of my creative process.

In any case, I fondly remember each spring, a lovely lilac ceramic pouring pitcher stuffed to the brim with bundles and bountiful bunches of the blooms fresh from our yard.
And the smell was downright dramatic…as sunlight beamed through the bright kitchen windows and Mom walked around the corner for a Mother’s Day spring greeting.

Ah, yes.

And because I loved the Lilac Sugar I gifted away last spring so very much, I decided to couple the two sweets together once again!

This time in the form of a sheet cookie – a sweet cornmeal cracker of sorts.

Yum!

Sugared Lilac Lemon Sheet Cookie

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, or masa marina
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of kosher salt
3 Tbs. butter, room temperature
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs. white sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white gently beaten for egg wash
1 Tbs. lemon zest
3 Tbs. fresh lilac petals

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Beat in flour mixture on low.
Fold in lemon zest and lilacs.
Roll dough between two sheets of parchment to 1/4 – inch thickness. Brush with egg wash, transfer to baking sheet (on the parchment), and bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and garnish with any remaining fresh petals.

And even better, top the cracker-cookie with homemade Easy Lemon Curd and Honeyed Goat Cheese.

Prepare to be utterly amazed.