Take Your Holiday Cookies to the Next Level with an Indoor Herb Garden
As temperatures drop, there’s no better way to bring warmth to your home than with baking. Holiday cookies, in particular, are a wonderful way to give the season’s greetings to family, friends, and neighbors.
If you want to take your holiday cookie recipes to the next level, try fresh herbs. Even better, instead of trudging to the grocery store yet again to pick up an oft-forgotten ingredient, you can grow herbs as part of an indoor garden.
With an indoor herb garden at the ready, you’ll be at no loss for holiday cookie ideas. If your imagination still needs a bit of push, check out some of our favorite options below!
A Holiday Cookie Indoor Herb Garden
An indoor herb garden offers benefits beyond the abundance of fresh ingredients only a short stretch away. Their earthy, spicy, peppery, zesty, or floral aromas can make your home smell like a bakery — even if you’ve still yet to preheat the oven.
Of course, the primary benefit is the access to fresh herbs. While herbs tend to not be super finicky, they still need some love and care to become the ample holiday cookie ingredient source you want them to be.
An ideal spot for your holiday cookie indoor herb garden is a windowsill above a kitchen sink on a south-facing window. East- or west-facing windows will also work.
That’s because herbs generally need lots of sunlight and a humid environment. If your kitchen sink lacks a window or faces north, you can also amp up the moisture content of the air with a humidifier or by using a pebble tray.
Lavender
While all the herbs here offer a pleasing scent, lavender takes things up a notch with its soothing floral aroma. There’s a reason that people often deploy lavender in calming environments, after all.
Beyond that, lavender is also the only herb on our list that adds a pop of color that isn’t green; its slender flower spikes end in bursts of light violet.
When choosing a lavender variety for your indoor herb garden, try to find Munstead English lavender. This variety grows small and offers a lightly sweet flavor in holiday shortbread cookies.
Rotate your lavender weekly so that all sides receive extended periods of six to eight hours of direct sunlight. Grow lights can also help if there’s a lack of abundant sunlight.
Unlike other herbs, lavender doesn’t require a pebble tray or other methods of boosting humidity. Let the soil dry out, too, between waterings.
Keep the lavender away from forced-air heat registers or cold drafts. The herb tends to thrive when indoor temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit and around 10 degrees cooler at night.
Finally, when it comes to lavender holiday cookie ideas, there are plenty to choose from here. But, if we had to choose one, it would be lavender Earl Grey cookies with lemon glaze.
Mint
There’s probably no herb flavor used more often in holiday baking than mint. Of course, most people rely on peppermint extract rather than the fresh stuff.
But, if you’re trying to one-up last year’s holiday cookie batch, one of the best ways is with a heaping helping of mint from your indoor herb garden.
Most people are probably familiar with the herb. Its wrinkled leaves and green lushness make them easily identifiable.
If you’re having any issues with a visual ID, your nose can provide that needed second data point. Mint’s cool and invigorating aroma separates it from the more earthy scents other herbs give off.
Mint grows best in pots that are at least eight inches deep and 12 inches across. They can thrive in hanging baskets, but ensure their containers have good drainage.
Water your mint plant about once a week. They can recover quickly if forced to face brief dry spells, but too much water will result in rot and pests.
Like other herbs on this list, mint requires stable temperatures and ample air circulation. Avoid placing your mint near cooking appliances, heat vents, or where it can experience cold drafts.
You can use fresh mint in almost any recipe that calls for mint extract or flavoring. Among our favorite mint holiday cookie recipes is fresh mint chocolate chip cookies.
For those who want a little extra holiday spirit, fresh mint is also the perfect pinch of refreshing flavor in a variety of cocktails.
Rosemary
You may think that rosemary is more commonly an ingredient in savory holiday meals like stuffing, stews, and poultry dishes. If you look closely, though, you’ll find rosemary listed in many holiday cookie recipes.
In fact, if you fancy yourself a home chef or are looking for a gift for someone needing to save on space, consider buying a rosemary Christmas tree. With its needle-like leaves and woody stems, shaping rosemary into a conical shape allows it to truly resemble a miniaturized Christmas tree.
Rosemary is a warming herb. Its aroma is earthy, piney, and woodsy.
If you find that a rosemary tree brings an unfortunate size imbalance to your indoor herb garden, you can also leave it outside. However, if temperatures are expected to drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, make sure to return them indoors.
Try to water your rosemary tree every week or two. Aim for soil that is moist but never soggy.
To help the rosemary bush retain its tree-like shape, make sure to prune it every couple of weeks. Wrap a rubber band around the top branches so they point upward, and trim any branches that are sticking out.
After pruning, give the tree a light misting.
You can also decorate rosemary Christmas trees as you would with its larger, pine-treed version. However, because of the notably smaller size, try not to put too much weight on the rosemary tree.
We like holiday shortbread cookies that iterate on a theme. So, why not use this herb for rosemary shortbread Christmas tree cookies?
Holiday Cookie Ideas From Your Indoor Herb Garden
There’s nothing that warms the heart more than freshly baked holiday cookies. To warm up your heart and home, use fresh herbs from your indoor herb garden!
