Before the blooms of 2023 go to sleep for another season, East Coasters are graced by an enormous variety of fall colors; asters in pinks and purples and goldenrods in sunshine yellow are amongst them. Whether you are on the east or west coast, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere you'll be experiencing some version of this palette too.

Drink it up while you can before the richness fades, and the plants settle into their winter slumber.

My view at the moment is particularly purple, with Balloon flower, Platycodon, New England aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae , and anise hyssop, Agastache foeniculum all making their presence felt. They are all medicines, but the only one that lends itself naturally to food is the anise hyssop.  This native wild flower is a member of the mint family and the leaves and flowers are what herbalists typically use.

If you like the taste of fennel, licorice, and aniseed, plus a little mint and lemon, then you’ll like the taste of anise hyssop…It has hints of all those flavors. (Basil leaves would be a great substitute!)

Medicinally anise hyssop is a wonderful digestive, helping with bloating, gas, nausea, and gastritis. It’s also useful for breaking up mucus, congestion, coughs, flus and colds. It’s used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for alleviating morning sickness, and its aromatic personality makes it a great mood booster. It’s been used for PTSD, trauma and shock. Topically it can relieve skin irritations, including burns and poison ivy.

Pollinators love this native wildflower!

27g buckwheat flour
22g oat flour
33g almond flour
25g ground sunflower seeds
7g freshly ground flax seeds
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
30 ml olive oil
1 teaspoon of psyllium husk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
20g of fresh ground anise hyssop
3/4 teaspoon of ground orange peel
1 teaspoon of honey
2-3 teaspoons of water, (or as much as you need to make the flours bind together
Makes approximately 16 cookies

Method
I make the flours myself by pulverizing the whole grains in a designated coffee grinder, but even if you opt to use shop bought versions, do take the time to grind the flax seeds yourself. Ground flax tends to go rancid quite quickly, so it’s best to do it as and when you need it. (Your nose will be the best assessor of rancidity).

Blend all the dry ingredients together. Add the oil, water and honey, and combine into a dough. Roll it out between some parchment paper or plastic wrap. Once the dough is 1/4” thick it’s ready to cut into cookie rounds…I used a 2 1/2” wide cookie cutter and got about 16 cookies...(Apologies if I got the cookie count wrong, I started eating them before I counted how many I’d baked)!

They are crunchy, wholesome, sweet and salty and lightly scented with the anise hyssop. Perfect with a little cheese or, nothing at all.