🧁 A Little Sustainable Summer Sweet Tooth
Sustainable Kitchen Digest Issue 11 explores fruit powders, delicious fruit icing, and another way to get plastic out of the rotation when making shortbread cookies. Perfect for summer holidays!
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TL;DR:
🌺 Get even more use out of hibiscus petals 👉🏽 After making your favorite summer hibiscus drink, dry the petals again, and grind into a powder for smoothies, frosting, and more.
♻️ Swap plastic wrap for a towel when making shortbread 👉🏽 No need for plastic wrap or parchment paper. You can chill dough in a towel, bowl, and plate inverted on top!
🧪 Test Kitchen: Flavored Fruit Icing 👉🏽 After you’ve made a batch of shortbread cookies, make some flavored icing using the powders we’ve made lately!
🗳️ Take action 👉🏽 Join the fight against the March 2026 EU ban of meat-related terms on plant-based packaging.
If you’re surviving the heat like we are, I raise my glass (of whatever cool liquid I’m experimenting with today) to yours. Our heat index is close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit each day, and it will be this weekend as well.
On a personal note, Cliff and I are running the Peachtree Road Race Saturday morning. It’s his first time and just so happens to be the world’s largest 10K. The heat isn’t going to be fun, but we’re staying hydrated and just looking forward to crossing the finish line together.
Which is why I thought it would be fun to share some sweet treats with you in this issue. Whether you’re celebrating the 4th this weekend, or just need to satisfy a sweet tooth, here are some fun (and fruit-flavored) ideas. Enjoy!
💡 Food Scrap Idea
🌺 Dehydrated hibiscus petals for powder
If you aren’t familiar with dried hibiscus petals yet, what are you waiting for?! It’s the flavor of summer.
A few weeks ago, I shared a delicious hibiscus cinnamon tea (cold beverage) that’s absolutely refreshing.
And, one of my favorite all-time recipes on the blog is a no-sugar-added hibiscus lemonade.
Both require simmering hibiscus petals in water to extract the flavor and color.
Here’s the deal, though. You don’t need to toss them out when done. Pop them in the oven for a few hours at the lowest temperature (mine goes to about 170 degrees Fahrenheit) and heat until dry/brittle.
Then, grind them in that handy spice grinder (have I mentioned that in almost every post at this point? 😆) and sift to get a fine powder. It gets more use out of your hibiscus and creates a shelf-stable flavor bomb perfect for your next smoothie or frosted cookie (read on for more!).
If you don’t want to brew the hibiscus petals first, of course, you can go ahead and grind them into a powder straight from the packaging.
Either way, it’s delicious. 🩷
I’m beginning to think fruit powders deserve their own series. They’re becoming one of my favorite ways to reduce waste while adding natural color and flavor.
🔄 Sustainable Swap
Method swap: Skip the plastic wrap when chilling dough
Shortbread cookies are a year-round favorite, and like other butter-forward cookies, chilling the dough before baking is a common step in the baking process.
It’s usually a good idea to chill dough if it:
Has a high fat content (like vegan butter)
You want to keep its shape while baking
Is a sticky dough that could stick while rolling
Could benefit from flavor development/enhancement
To protect the dough from developing a “skin” (yum), recipes usually recommend wrapping the dough in plastic wrap or parchment paper.
And, depending on the type of parchment paper you use, it may contain petrochemicals (yum, again). I usually opt for the If You Care brand of parchment paper, wrapping the dough and reusing the paper in the oven before adding to our home compost.
Depending upon your comfort with their silicone coating, though, your comfort level may be different. Plus, I’m always looking for ways to rely more on products already in the kitchen.
So, I’m excited to share a technique you can use to avoid the microplastic conversation…when it comes to making shortbread cookies, at least. 😉
The next time you make a batch of shortbread cookies:
Roll the dough into a ball and place in a cotton towel or cheesecloth, wrapping to cover the dough.
Place the covered dough ball in a glass bowl.
Invert a plate over the top of the bowl, large enough to completely cover the top.
Place in the refrigerator to cool.
Due to the added layers, I do find it takes a little longer for the dough to chill, so I leave it in for at least an hour.
Then, I remove it, unwrap, and roll into a flat dough ready for my cookie cutter.
**I haven't tried this with a shortbread log yet, but I suspect it would work well. One exception would be any imprint from the towel weave on the exterior of the log.
Since I skipped the parchment paper entirely, I oiled the cookie sheet with a small amount of coconut oil. Worked like a charm.
If you’re craving some shortbread cookies now, walnut shortbread cookies and cinnamon shortbread cookies are some of my faves.
Have you kicked plastic wrap to the curb yet?
Now, go make some plain shortbread cookies and top them with our test recipes this week 👇🏽
🧪 Testing in Progress
Fruity Food Scrap Glaze Icing
Sounds delicious, right?! 🤣
Well, these are. Since we’ve been talking about dehydrating fruit and turning them into more shelf-stable fruit powders, I thought what better way to create a colorful icing than these leftover fruit powders?
This week, I tested the blackberry powder and hibiscus powder in a simple glaze that came together with homemade powdered sugar and unsweetened soy milk.
💜 Blackberry Powder Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp unsweetened soy milk (more for a thinner consistency)
1 1/2 tsp blackberry powder
Results: Subtle blackberry flavor and lavender color. A little more rustic with flecks of larger blackberry powder pieces throughout.
🌺 Hibiscus Powder Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp unsweetened soy milk (more for a thinner consistency)
1 tsp hibiscus powder
Results: The hibiscus flavor is a little stronger and turns the color a more vibrant hue…similar to magenta.
Both glazes had a sweet-tart fruit flavor that balanced the sweetness of the powdered sugar and buttery shortbread cookie.
If you’d like to try your own: keep in mind this is highly customizable. The ratio for glaze is approximately one part liquid to six parts powdered sugar. Add any extra flavorings (vanilla, fruit powder, etc.) a half teaspoon or teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired taste and consistency.
You can always thin glaze with a little more liquid, or create a thicker version with more sugar or powder. Full recipe coming soon!
💡Don’t forget! There’s no need to buy separate types of sugar at the store. Save the packaging waste and make it at home, using organic sugar, a little cornstarch, and a spice grinder or blender. Blend about a tablespoon of cornstarch per cup of sugar, and sift if you want a really fine texture.
Here’s a quick how-to video:
What fruit flavor would you prefer for a cookie glaze?? Always open to ideas! 😉
🗣️ Take Action: Petition Roundup
Please read the details of each petition and determine if any are a good fit for your support. Every platform has different terms and conditions and requires varying levels of data. Only share what you feel comfortable and sign at your discretion.
Oppose EU Ban on Food Terms: Join those opposing the March 2026 EU ban on food terms, limiting what plant-based food brands can use as descriptors on packaging.
Summary: In March, the EU banned plant-based food packages from using meat-related terms on packaging, with the exception of “burgers, sausage, and nuggets.” Clear labeling helps shoppers understand what they're buying. Supporters of this petition argue that restricting familiar food terms on plant-based products could make those products harder to identify and compare. If expanding plant-based choices matters to you, this may be worth supporting.
💬 I’d love to hear from you
How are you planning to celebrate the 4th of July (if you’re in the States), or the upcoming midsummer weekend? Planning to make any special recipes to mark the occasion? I hope it’s wonderful, no matter what you choose to do!
Your friendly neighborhood vegan,
Melanie