In the summer and even into the fall, there’s so much rosemary flourishing in our garden–big, established plants that come back even stronger each spring–and sometimes it’s tough to find a use for all of it since it grows so fast. The first two steps of this recipe are chopping up the leaves of a fragrant fistful of just-picked rosemary and then using your hands to mix it with sugar, salt, and lemon zest; this makes the kitchen smell amazing.
The funny thing about these is that they fall on that line between sweet and savory. It’s your call: have them with milk or top them with Parmesan and enjoy a couple with a glass of wine.
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, stems removed; finely chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
½ cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ cup soy or olive oil margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Combine the rosemary, salt, lemon zest, cane sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl and mix well using your fingers. In another bowl whisk the egg and then add the margarine and vanilla and stir. Pour in the sugar-rosemary mixture and stir. In another bowl whisk together the flour and baking powder and add this to the egg mixture. Mix until none of the flour is visible. Chill the dough in a container in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface, flour your rolling pin, and roll out to about ¼-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut cookies. Place on 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 12 minutes.
Makes 24 cookies