You can almost invariably find it at your local (or perhaps like me, not-so-local) Indo-Pak grocery store, and believe me it's worth the trip.
Rose petal spread typically consists of no more than rose petals and cane sugar but it can be converted into the most wonderful desserts! One of my favorites is to warm the spread with equal amounts of honey and use it in a filo pastry alternating layers of filo, finely chopped almonds, and the honey/rose petal mixture. You end out with a fragrant and amazing variation on Baklava!
Recently though I came up with another fun way to use this wonderful ingredient. Commonly around this time of year I make Danish Butter Sandwiches from Maida Heatter's "Book of Great Cookies". They consist of small shortbread cookies sandwiched together with a browned butter filling, and I could sit and eat a double batch of these in one sitting! Well, this year I tried something new, and I don't regret it one bit. I used an almond shortbread recipe I found online. I nixed their forming and filling ideas. Instead I used a rounded teaspoon measure to divide the dough, then I rolled each dough lump into a firm ball, which I then smashed flat with the bottom of a floured glass. These baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until the edges just started turning golden brown (maybe 15-20 minutes). When the cookies cooled I filled them with a spread made by softening about two heaping tablespoons of rose petal paste with two tablespoons of butter then stirring in about a cup of powdered sugar, adding dribs of heavy cream until the mixture achieved spreading consistency.
Ooooo La La!
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