Bring the Garden in Friday with Meyer Lemon Rosemary Pound Cake

I've been really missing creating my "Bring the Garden in Friday" posts. For the next few months, until we're out turning the soil again, I'll be back with this Friday column once or twice a month.

The rosemary branches I snipped today had buds on them. It's January in Pennsylvania! I even collected a big bowlful of arugula last weekend.

This pound cake recipe caught my eye last Spring--I felt like it had me and my rosemary bush written all over it. This is some serious rosemary recipe. Three tablespoons in the pound cakes alone. I like that, though, most recipes are timid with their rosemary, and I am often liberal in my measuring.

After tasting my first loaves, I had two thoughts: too sweet and needs lemon.

I decided to give Meyer lemons a try. I have never bought them before, and our co-op has been getting them for a month or more now. I love their deep yellow color, and they were so much easier to zest than regular lemons.

I think they were just the right thing here, rounding out the sweetness from the honey and pungency of the rosemary, and adding a less assertive citrus flavor than typical lemon, almost an orange and lemon mix.

I'm a little envious of some of you out there in California picking these fruits off your trees, having so many you hardly know what to do with them. Meanwhile, I'm grateful to be bundling up in my parka, hat, and scarf, with scissors in hand and Harry underfoot to snip my budding rosemary.

I suppose it's a fair trade. What do you think?

Meyer Lemon Rosemary Pound Cake
adapted from Martha Stewart

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans and parchment
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 Meyer lemons
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 large eggs. plus 1 egg white
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
Rosemary Honey (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 4 1/2 x 8 -1/2 inch loaf pans, and line with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each long side. Butter parchment. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
2. Beat butter, sugar and rosemary with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs and egg white, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the milk and lemon juice.
3. Divide batter between pans. Bake, rotating halfway through, until deep gold and a toothpick inserted in centers comes out with moist crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. Brush cakes with some rosemary honey, and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, using parchment, and transfer to wire rack. Remove parchment and let cool for 15 minutes more before slicing. Serve warm with more honey if desired (although we eat ours as is!).
Storage: Cakes can be stored at room temperature for 1 day.

Rosemary Honey

1 cup light-flavored honey, such as clover
5 rosemary sprigs (3 inches each)

Bring honey and rosemary to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let steep until cool, about 45 minutes. Remove rosemary, or leave in for a stronger flavor.
Storage: Honey can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

For Your Love and Digestion

My bread baking group (formerly HBinFive) is starting a monthly theme-based challenge, now that we have completed Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day. Our theme for November is "historical".

Taking advantage of living in a very historic city, I decided to focus on colonial Philadelphia. My decision was made easily having the City Tavern Cookbook in my collection.

While I have dined at the City Tavern several times years ago, including for our own rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding, I have never made anything from the cookbook. This book and its bread recipes have surprised me in several good ways.

For those of you not familiar with the City Tavern, it was one of the finest restaurants in the New World. "Opened in 1773 by fifty-three prominent Philadelphia businessmen and investors, including several signers of the Declaration of Independence, City Tavern was the setting for suppers 'as elegant as was ever laid on a table,' according to John Adams."

Philadelphia being one of the largest ports at the time was importing spices, citrus fruits, chocolate, madeira, even bananas.

All of these exotics were used along side foods native to the region, such as seafood, turkey, cranberries, squash, corn and pumpkins.

By the early 1800's the tavern had fallen out of favor with the elite and burned in 1834, no longer as respected an establishment. In 1854 it was demolished.

In 1948 when Independence National Park was created, City Tavern was noted as one of the historical sites. It took 25 years to faithfully recreate it. It reopened in 1976, and in 1994 the Tavern was taken over by Walter Staib, the author of this cookbook.

If you lived in colonial Philadelphia, your rosemary bread would have been in a big loaf, not shaped like a baguette. I took a little creative license, as I tell you in the recipe, out of trepidation of baking a 3-pound loaf of bread. These are (or were prior to dinner) two 1 1/2 pound loaves.

I know these loaves probably look like ordinary baguettes. Tasty ones, I hope, flavored with rosemary. Trust me, though, this bread tastes more like focaccia, and it may be one of the best breads I have ever eaten.

The bread recipes are updated (thank goodness) for the 21st century home cook! While they seem surprisingly to be just like what we eat today, careful examination reveals differences, particularly in richness, sweetness and flavoring.

This rosemary bread, for example, calls for 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Had this been a focaccia recipe, calling for olive oil, I would have thought nothing of it. Instead it is 3 pounds of dough called for shaping jelly roll style into a 12 inch long loaf.

Rosemary Bread
adapted from City Tavern Cookbook

Rosemary was most likely brought to the New World by the French, who prized it for its therapeutic value--it was believed to relieve digestive ills--as well as for its symbolism--it was often used to represent a declaration of love. Rosemary bushes also were used in hedges to ward off garden pests.

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups bread flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir in the oil, rosemary, and salt. Mix in the bread flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a soft dough (I was able to mix in 4 1/2 cups in the bowl).
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic and adding only enough flour to prevent sticking.
4. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and turn dough to coat all surfaces.
5. Cover with a slightly damp towel. Let rise in a warm place, free from drafts for 2 hours, or until doubled in size (the recipe calls for a 45 minutes to 1 hour rising time. This was not long enough for my dough despite having a warm kitchen).
6. Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
7. Knead for 3 more minutes, until smooth, then cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
8. Lightly oil a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet or baguette pan.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
10. Divide dough in half. Shape each piece into a 12 inch long loaf by folding the top and bottom halves to the center, pinching closed, and folding top over to the bottom and pinching seam closed and roll the seam to smooth it out. Taper the ends. Place on baking sheet.
11. Cover and let rise for 45 minute to 1 hour, until almost doubled in size.
12. Sprinkle the loaves with flour and make 3 diagonal slashes evenly across loaves.
13. Fill a baking tray with 1 cup of water below rack where bread will bake to give a crisp crust.
14. Bake loaves for 45 minutes, until golden and bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
15. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack for 1 hour before serving.
Note: The recipe called to bake this bread as one 12 inch loaf--considered a small loaf for the time, and an adaption for this cookbook. I was hesitant to bake 3 pounds of dough as one loaf, fearing it wouldn't bake through, not to mention how we would use a loaf of that size. However, if you wish, roll up your dough jelly roll style, pinching seam closed and tapering the ends and bake it on the prepared baking sheet. The instructions also indicated to bake this loaf for 20 to 25 minutes. My 2 smaller loaves needed 45 minutes. Slashing the loaves and creating a steamier baking environment was my choice given a more baguette-like shape.

Bring in the Garden Friday with Rosemary Snaps

When we come home from school pick-up in the afternoons, I bring A. upstairs to his room to change. I take off my coat and hang it on the newel outside his room. For months my parka has been there, and sometimes my long, black wool coat.

Today that post holds a mound of coats and jackets. My parka and black coat are there, as is my canvas barn jacket, my shorter and lighter, blue wool coat and my rain coat. That pile reflects the bouncing temperatures of the past week.

Yesterday, I got out and turned the compost. I snipped my rosemary for these cookies, and noticed that my lemon thyme is coming back, as is my oregano. I have a patch of arugula that I planted last Fall that is growing taller in a sunny spot.

There are crocuses everywhere! Our Co-Op has seeds. It is time to start planning.

This gingersnap variation was apparently a "serendipitous" creation by the author of this recipe. These cookies have soft, chewy centers, and will make your home smell wonderful while they are baking. This recipe makes approximately 30 cookies.

Rosemary Snaps
adapted from The Original King Arthur Flour Cookbook

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cups sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark unsulphured molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Put the butter, sugar, salt and molasses into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl.

Add and blend in the egg. Blend in the spices and baking soda. Stir in the flour until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Roll tablespoon-sized pieces of dough into balls between the palms of your hands. Then roll them in granulated sugar and place them on a slightly greased cookie sheet. If using a non-stick baking sheet, the cookies will spread nicely. If you are not using a non-stick sheet, press the balls of dough down with a glass before baking.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Rosemary, Asiago and Olive Bread

It's good to be back here. I hadn't intended to be gone so long, but the spoon has been working it's magic, and we've had a lot of snow days and delayed school openings during the past couple weeks.

I've been meaning to make this bread that whole time, but I always seemed to be missing an ingredient that I couldn't get out for. Finally, I shopped and put my ingredients under lock and key, and I found them safe and sound last evening to make this savory quick bread.

This recipe is from this past Fall's King Arthur Flour catalog. It called for buttermilk powder and cheese powder, both of which King Arthur sells. I didn't have them or really care to use them, so I consulted the online baking support at the King Arthur site to ask a couple questions about making substitutions.

This was so fun and helpful. I typed in my question, and a baker responded to me within a few seconds. I was ready to bake just like that!

This bread is incredible. What I really love about it is the addition of semolina flour, which gives it a little sandy, graininess. I was worried it might not be so flavorful because of the omission of cheese powder (the KA baker said the bread would just be less cheesy without it). However, with good Asiago cheese, I think this was plenty "cheesy" for my taste.

My rosemary bush is mostly snow covered, but I was able to reach a branch sticking out. I went out at 5:30 last evening to snip it, and there was just a last hint of light. The days are lengthening slowly.

It felt good to be out in the hushed, blanketed garden, if only for a moment, with Harry romping by my side.

Rosemary, Asiago and Olive Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 ounces) semolina flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped, fresh rosemary
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese, plus 1/4 cup (1 ounce) for garnish
1/3 cup (1/2 ounce) fresh parsley
1 cup (5 1/2 ounces) olives, chopped (I used black, oil cured, which are my favorite)
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) olive oil
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Toss in the cheese, herbs, and olives.

In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, and eggs until foamy. Stir in the flour mixture, then spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated cheese.

Bake the bread for 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Braised Red Cabbage and Rosemary

Yesterday morning while driving A. to school, I was planning out my day and thinking what I might make for dinner that night.

The morning sky at that hour was pink and grey with a little diffused sunlight. I found myself thinking about going to Paris years ago, as a college student, in January for the second half of my junior year. Somehow the light of yesterday morning reminded me of being in Paris in Winter.

I don't know if this memory bears any resemblance truly to Paris in January, or if it was more of a feeling of longing to be on a plane at the start of a new year for an adventure. I reluctantly acknowledged that the lingering sadness over the death of a young friend last week had something to do with the desire to get away.

Regardless, the visions of France, cooking, and January melded together, and I knew as soon as I got home I would pull one of my favorite, but not often used, cookbooks off the shelf.

Turning to the January chapter, I chose a recipe that would give me the excuse to clip some rosemary and use up the remainder of a red cabbage. I love this book because of the illustrations (I always prefer illustrations in cookbooks to photographs) and because it is organized by month.

Red Cabbage Braised with Red Wine and Rosemary
adapted from The Cook and The Gardener

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head red cabbage (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed and cut in quarters through the stem
Coarse or kosher salt
Pinch sugar
3 branches rosemary
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken stock

1. In a flameproof casserole large enough to fit the cabbage snugly without crowding, heat the olive oil over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until you can smell it. Add the cabbage quarters and season with salt and sugar. Color lightly on all sides, adjusting the heat as necessary--the cabbage should not burn but should color quickly. Tuck the rosemary branches under the cabbage and pour in the red wine and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to an active simmer.

2. Turn the cabbage from time to time so it cooks evenly on all sides. You want it to be tender without getting mushy. Keep an eye on it, and when a fork pierced through the thickest part can be pulled out without sticking, the cabbage is ready. This should take 10 to 12 minutes (I was using part of a very large cabbage, and the cooking time for me was longer). Taste for seasoning and discard rosemary branches.
Note: If desired, the cabbage may be removed after it is cooked and kept warm in the oven, while cooking down the remaining liquid to a few tablespoons of a thicker, syrupy consistency. Spoon the reduced cooking liquid over the cabbage.
Serves 4

Bring the Garden in Friday with Apricot Rosemary Bars

I was so pleased to find this recipe, and to have a sweet excuse to use more rosemary. I am reminded of making these cookies last year.

Apricot bars are probably not something I would normally make, but the rosemary shortbread drew me right in. I was really happy with these bars, and glad to have tried something a little different for me.

The shortbread layer is tender and buttery, and the rosemary influence is subtle. If you do make these, don't be concerned if your topping seems dry. I was sure mine would fall right off the top with the first bite, but the apricot filling held the crumble nicely.

Happy Holidays to you! Bring the Garden in Friday will be back the first Friday in January. See you then.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Pizza with Red Onion, Rosemary, and Hot Pepper

I can't resist these little rosemary trees at this time of year. I don't cook from them, but I love to have them indoors for their fragrance.

This recipe caught my eye because of the rosemary. I don't usually associate rosemary with pizza, and with my bush as one of the few things thriving out there in the cold, it seemed like a good choice.

If you're new here, I think I should tell you that rosemary is my favorite herb. I'm always looking for different ways to use it apart from the usual roast potatoes, chicken and focaccia. Patricia Wells' Trattoria is also one of my favorite cookbooks.

This recipe calls for a very thin pizza dough (a Sardinian Parchment), but I wanted to make something a little more typical. I might suggest, however, that you use dough that can be rolled to 1/8 inch. This topping, despite the chile peppers, is somewhat delicate, and thick dough will overwhelm. This recipe makes enough topping for about 1 1/2 pounds of dough. Lately I've been making smaller pizzas, using 1/2 pound of dough for each, and I find I have more control rolling out that amount.

Pizza with Red Onions, Rosemary, and Hot Pepper
adapted from Patricia Wells' Trattoria

1 large red onion (about 10 ounces), sliced into very thin rings
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
Your favorite pizza dough

1. In a large bowl, combine the onions, oil, salt, crushed red peppers, and rosemary. Stir to coat the onions with oil and to distribute the herbs and spices evenly. Set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours. The marinating will soften the flavor of the onions and will give the topping a more finished flavor.

2. At least 40 minutes before placing the pizza in the oven, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If using a baking stone, place it in the oven to preheat.

3. Roll out your dough to desired size, and as thinly as possible.

4. Place the rounds of dough on a baking sheet or stone. Spoon the onion topping onto the dough, spreading it out evenly with the back of the spoon. Bake until the dough is crusty and browned and the onions are sizzling, about 10 minutes depending on the thickness of your dough. Serve immediately.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Spiced Pecans

Happy November to you all! Things sure have changed in our area.

Last weekend, in addition to trick-or-treating, we started the leaf raking, or should I say, Husband did, while I looked out the window. Of course, I was indoors baking to fortify his energy for that strenuous yard work!

I began bringing in some container plants this week, only the ones I really hope to save. They included my bay leaf, scented geranium, and one flowering geranium. I may try for a couple more, but I am neglectful with house plants. Maybe this year, with this column to motivate me, I can hold myself accountable to their well-being.

Do you have container plants you bring indoors for the Winter? Let me know what you bring in and how successful you are. Maybe we can remind each other to water them or not water them too much, as is often the case.

Knowing rain was coming later in the week, I got out in the sunshine one day to do some maintenance and harvesting. I harvested the remaining eggplant and then pulled up my two plants. I also got an armful of small, green bell peppers, a few jalapeno and cayenne. My cherry tomatoes are still coming in, and every few days I pick a bunch. My basil is turning brown rapidly, but if we wanted some for cooking this weekend, there's enough to work with.

Yesterday, I went out in the rain to pick rosemary and thyme for these spicy, herb pecans. It was the perfect day to roast nuts, with the raw chill outdoors. Inside it was all sweet and heat, with the aroma of herbs bringing in the Autumn air.

I left the container of pecans open for Husband to sample when he came home. Are they for Thanksgiving, he asked, or did you just feel like making them? Given that we have yet to make our holiday plans, I was surprised he asked that, but maybe these flavors just made him think of that time of year.

The truth is I made them to share here with you.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Parmesan Rosemary Scones

I've been focused on sage recently, knowing it will only be around a few more weeks. Usually the week of Thanksgiving, when I need sage for our cornbread stuffing, the leaves have turned brown.

On Monday I had plans to make a parmesan sage bread. I thought it would go nicely with a big salad and baked squash--a real Autumn type of dinner. At some point, however, with my comings and goings throughout the day, I realized that I didn't have time to make the bread.

Do you ever have days like this where you're maybe a little too ambitious or distractions call you away? Sometimes by the end of the day I'm flying with Plan C.

Plan B I devised while driving to pick A. up at school. I'd make parmesan sage biscuits. After school pickups, I started searching for cheese biscuit recipes, and well, nothing was quite right. I was getting a little anxious by this point, seeing that dinner time was not far off and these supposed biscuits were to be the focal point.

Then I remembered my morning blog perusal. Scones?

Plan C. I adapted this cheddar scone recipe heavily to get where I wanted to go. I had some rosemary sprigs that I had used for photographing in the morning sitting on the cutting board. With no time to waste, the sage would have to wait.

These were heavenly. Sometimes being open to change works in one's favor. As a bonus, the beautiful, butternut squash we ate grew out of the compost pile from a squash we ate last year. A little gift for going with the twists and turns of the day.

Sometimes Plan C is mighty fine.

Parmesan Rosemary Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup half-and-half
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour with the baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and half-and-half and add to the flour-butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together. Add the parmesan and mix until it is incorporated (you may need to use your hands to work in all the cheese). Add the rosemary and work it in in the same manner (the kneading will allow it to get fully mixed in).

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently for less than one minute. Pat dough out to a 3/4-to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Scones are always best the first day (although we warmed the remaining scones again for next evening's dinner, and they were still really good).

A Garden Challenge

Just the other day, after spending some time in my garden, an idea came to me. Why not between now and say, mid-October, give myself a challenge to cook and eat something from the garden every day?

Honestly, I could narrow this to using my rosemary every day, and maybe, just maybe, I'd make a dent in that friend-of-mine bush. The heavy snow this Winter caused the big branches to bend over, and it's looking like it needs a little relief from itself.

I need to take things out there a day at a time.

I need to eat like a rabbit, or a cabbage worm, or a groundhog. Maybe an herbavore will do.

Since Friday: 6 strawberries, 2 radishes, and salad for 2 (spinach, arugula and chard), rosemary and chives.

Oh, Rosemary, I'm So Glad You're There, Part One

I wanted to bring you something from the garden.

Yes, I know, it's February in Pennsylvania.

When I went out before the most recent snowstorm to dump the compost, I saw crocuses coming up. Amazing, I thought. Impossible, really. 51 inches of snow has fallen this month alone. I suppose it is their time, however. It's their job to come up now, snow or not.

Seeing them made my breath quicken. Maybe there is hope, yet. Hope that maybe soon there will be room for two cars to pass each other on our street. Hope that I can get A.'s stroller out onto the sidewalks again.

In my garden, in Winter, there is one loyal friend I can count on. It's my rosemary bush growing ever larger in the garden bed next to the garage. It's in a sunny, protected spot, against the brick wall.

I planted that rosemary when we moved to this house 5 years ago. It was a tiny herb plant, in a plastic pot. That first season, it was too small to use. I didn't have great hopes for it surviving the Winter.

I had always marveled at those huge rosemary bushes that I would see in gardens. I longed for one of my own that would let off it's aroma when I brushed up against it. I wondered how long I would have to live in one place to have one of those.

Now, mine is threatening to take over my herb garden. Last Summer I anxiously looked at how it was pushing the sage to grow in a different direction. I wondered if it was time to divide it, but I am afraid of causing harm. Maybe I will use A LOT of rosemary instead.

Part of me just wants to let it go. Let it grow to it's hearts content in this sunny, hilly spot. Let it grow so I can feel like I obtained that vision of something I wanted. A little like looking a catalog, and wishing your house looked like the picture. Wondering what it would take to get that look.

I have my rosemary bush. I can cut long sprigs and put them in a vase. It seems almost decadent! There is something about that bush that screams of the person I hoped to be. Back in the days when all I had was a container garden on a deck outside our bedroom.

That rosemary never made it to Winter. I would bring it inside and that fuzz would grow on it's leaves, and that was the end.

This week I wanted to make something that wasn't my typical rosemary repertoire of roast potatoes, roast chicken, or focaccia. I found this recipe, and gave these cookies a try yesterday.

I'm not sure if this is my favorite shortbread dough. I like my shortbread a little sandy, a little crisp. This is tender. The flavoring however, is perfect. The lemon and rosemary compliment each other so well that neither is dominant, yet each is present.

I used all-purpose flour, suggested as an alternative to White Whole Wheat flour. I chose the snowman cookie cutters as a nod to the snowstorm that arrived while I made these. The choice of trees were in sympathy of our trees whose branches have been struggling to handle the weight of so much snow. Many of our beloved trees lost big branches, particularly our old, white pine by the driveway, that is so fragrant.

So, give these a try, and see what you think of the dough. Maybe it was me, overmixing. To change the dough may mean never getting the flavoring quite so exact. I'll have to eat a few more and mull it over.

Update: A day later after baking, I tried these again. I give a thumbs up! Maybe the shortbread were tender because they hadn't cooled enough. The texture was exactly what I like. I hope you feel the same way.