Cooking with herbs: lemon rosemary shortbread cookies

Our rosemary bush became so huge this summer so I decided it's time to trim it. I've got so much of the aromatic branches that I decided to dry some and use some fresh. I made some rosemary oil and wanted to bake some cookies. I found the original recipe on allrecipe.com and slightly changed it to my taste and the cookies turned out great. I brought them to a dinner party and they were a hit.

So here is what you need to make lemon rosemary shortbread cookies:

3 sticks unsalted butter (113g each), at room temperature

2/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

natural turbinado sugar crystals for decoration (optional)

Blend together the butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, salt, rosemary and lemon zest until well mixed. The dough will be soft so cover it and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375'F. Dust the rolling pin and rolling surface with some flour and gently roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out your cookies with a cookie cutter and place them 1" apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the tops, if you would like or bake them as is.

Bake for approximately 9 to 10 minutes or until golden at the edges. Carefully transfer them to a wire rack with a spatula to cool. 

Delicious!

Spring in the garden

Springtime in Phoenix is so different. Mornings and nights are nice and cool and the afternoons are hot.

We spend a lot of time in the garden right now trying to prepare it for the hot summer. I planted so much heat resistance plants so I hope we will have some greens through the summer.

I also became obsessed with herbs this spring. We planted some dill, parsley, sage, thyme and oregano. I am freezing or drying the bunches of herbs, adding them to the salads and main dishes and I am thinking about making some herb infused vinegars or oils.

A cup of mint tea is great while I am enjoying my quiet time in the garden.

If you want to make a cup of fresh mint tea just wash some mint leaves and add them to a teapot. 

Pour some boiling water over them, cover with lid and a tea pot cozy or a clean towel. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Pour your fragrant tea in your favorite cup and enjoy!