Challenge: Dessert with Herbs

[catharine]

My supper club is having an "herbs" theme next weekend. I thought it would be fun to come up with a dessert that contains herbs. Not sure if you'd call it an herb, but since I am allergic to mint I figured I would avoid the potential problem of having a minty dessert and bring the sweets myself. Any ideas? I can't think of anything.

Ooh, I just realized that lavendar is an herb. I think my lavendar plant died, but I bet I could get my hands on some. Any other ideas?

[Gilgamesh37]

I have a recipe for a lemon rosemary sorbet---it's really more of a palate cleanser, but you could do it as a dessert, maybe a small scoop on a vanilla pound cake?

Or I have a lemon-lavender pound cake recipe as well. Let me know if you want either one.

[funniegrrl]

Can you have basil (it's related to mint). If so, you could make a basil simple syrup to serve with vanilla ice cream or some other dish. I also know that Southern Living had a recipe for lavender cookies a couple of summers ago, although I don't have the recipe at hand.

You might see if your library has a copy of The Herbfarm Cookbook. It's mentioned here: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/souptonuts/kitchen_herbs.html and there are a couple of dessert recipes on this page.

[misskitty100]

Here are a few suggestions:

Lavender Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lavender flowers, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, creak butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and lavender, and mix well. May add more lavender for a stronger flavor, if desired. Combine flour and baking powder and add to lavender mixture, stirring until well blended. Drop by teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Yields: 4 dozen.

Catnip Cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 teaspoon Catnip
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoons butter
Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add molasses, egg, oil, and milk. Oil a cookie sheet and roll mixture out flat. Cut into bite-sized pieces, then put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool, and store in a tightly sealed container.


Coriander apple crumble

6 peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples
4 whole cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or cassia
1 cup plain flour
half cup raw sugar
125g butter or margarine
2 teaspoons ground coriander seed

method
Layer the apple slices into a greased ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the cloves and cinnamon.
Place the flour, sugar and ground coriander seed into a bowl, mix to blend, then rub in the shortening with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Distribute the crumble evenly and lightly over the apples. Do not press it down. Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve with cream, ice-cream or custard.

[Canice]

The Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Brulee (CL 4/05) was excellent!

[Clover]

These cookies, originally posted by Jessica, are very good. You could do these and the lavender cookies and have two herbs.

Tuscan Rosemary and Pine Nut Bars

1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread pine nuts on baking sheet and toast in oven, stirring once or twice to prevent burning, until they are a shade darker, about 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to prevent further browning and set aside.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Remove pan from heat and stir in sugar, rosemary, salt and pine nuts. Combine until sugar is dissolved. Stir in flour to make a stiff dough.
Spread the dough evenly into an ungreased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake about 20 minutes until the dough is golden around the edges and firm in the center. Cool pan on a rack for a few minutes, then cut dough into bars or squares. Let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before removing. Makes 18 bars or 16 squares.

Times testing notes: These savory shortbreads are one of our favorite offerings this year. Serve them with tea or port; these aren’t your typical sweet cookie.

Source: “Short & Sweet: Sophisticated Desserts in No Time at All” by Melanie Barnard (Houghton Mifflin, 1999).

CLBB-Jessica, from St. Petersburg Times Christmas cookie countdown 2003.

[MaryH]

Try this. I know it sounds weird but it's one of those things that better than the sum of all the parts. It's delicious.

FRESH FIG, MASCARPONE, AND PESTO TORTE

For crust
1 cup finely ground wheat crackers such as Wheat Thins
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted until golden, cooled, and ground fine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For filling
1 1/4 pounds cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mascarpone or sour cream
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups homemade basil pesto (recipe follows) or prepared basil pesto
2 pounds firm-ripe fresh figs (about 16 large), 1 pound cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup fig preserves*
1 1/2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar

Accompaniment: baguettes cut diagonally into thin slices and toasted lightly

*available at some specialty foods shops

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 325° F. and butter a 10-inch springform pan.

In a bowl with a fork stir together crust ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Press mixture into bottom of pan and bake in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Make filling:
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together filling ingredients and salt and pepper to taste until very smooth.

Assemble torte:
Pour half of filling into crust. Drop dollops of pesto over filling and spread carefully to form an even topping. (Some filling may show through.) Top pesto layer with half of fig slices, overlapping them slightly, and pour remaining filling over figs, spreading evenly. Bake torte in middle of oven 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until top is golden brown and set. Cool torte in pan on a rack (filling will deflate slightly). Chill torte, covered loosely, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

In a small saucepan stir together preserves and vinegar and bring to a simmer. Remove pan from heat and cool mixture. Stir in salt to taste.

Slice remaining pound figs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and remove side. Spread torte with preserves mixture, leaving a 1/4-inch border, and top decoratively with remaining fig slices. With 2 large metal spatulas transfer torte to a serving plate.

Serve torte at room temperature to spread on toasts.

Serves 16 to 32 as an hors d'oeuvre.
Gourmet
September 1996

[funniegrrl]

Oh, I forgot. Michael Chiarello has a recipe for a rosemary cake that sounds good. It's in his Casual Cooking book (from the PBS series of the same name).

http://www.napastyle.com/kitchen/recipes/recipe.jsp?recipe_id=225

Rosemary Sandcake with Summer Berries

This recipe is adapted from one given to me by Marta Pulini, now the chef at Coco Pazzo in New York. After I tasted Marta's splendid cake, she took me to Mantua, where I tasted the cake made by the women who taught her how to make it. Its Italian name is torta sabbiosa (sandy cake), due to its incredibly fine, sandlike texture. It doesn't store well, so make it the day you plan to eat it. And, yes, the recipe is correct. The batter goes into a cold oven.

(Serves 12)

Cake:
Unsalted butter and unbleached all-purpose flour for the cake pan
1 1/3 cups sifted potato starch (not potato flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For serving:
Confectioners' sugar
3 pints mixed summer berries or 6 peaches, peeled and sliced, or a combination
Granulated sugar
Lightly whipped heavy cream

Thoroughly butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with 2-inch sides. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Coat the sides of the pan with flour, shaking out the excess.
Make the cake: Sift the potato starch and baking powder into a bowl. In an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the 1 cup sugar gradually, beating until well blended. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the lemon zest, rosemary, and vanilla. By hand, stir in the dry ingredients just until blended.

Beat the egg whites and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar to soft peaks. Fold half of the beaten whites into the potato starch mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, leveling it with a spatula.

Place in a cold oven and turn the thermostat to 350ºF. Bake until the cake is well risen, nicely browned, and beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a rack, then invert onto the rack and carefully remove the parchment paper. Invert again onto a serving platter. Put the confectioner's sugar in a sieve and dust the surface of the cake lightly with it.

Thirty minutes before serving, put the fruit in a bowl, add granulated sugar to taste, and crush the fruit with a fork until it is roughly mashed. Let it stand 30 minutes to render some juice.

Cut the cake into 12 slices. Serve a slice of cake with crushed fruit spooned over and around it and a dollop of whipped cream on the top or alongside.

Michael's Notes: Most supermarkets stock potato starch with the baking ingredients.

[hAndyman]

This is an interesting thread you've got going catharine; I'll add a couple biscotti recipes to the mix, hoping you are a biscotti lover and maker, and a fruit dessert.
The first is quite a good biscotti, with interesting flavours and good texture.

From: Gecko @ Gail's

Biscotti with Lavender and Orange

Recipe from Cooking Light website

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh lavender leaves
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat the first 5 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Beat in egg whites. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating until blended. Stir in almonds.
Turn biscotti dough out onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; with lightly floured hands, shape the dough into a 10-inch-long roll; flatten the roll to a 1-inch thickness. Bake the roll at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the roll from the baking sheet, and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
Cut roll diagonally into 14 (1/2-inch) slices using a serrated knife. Place the slices, upright, on baking sheet. Bake the slices at 325 degrees for 15 minutes (the cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool).
Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: calories: 106 carbohydrates: 17.7 g ; cholesterol: 7 mg fat: 3.1 g sodium: 80 mg protein: 2.1 g calcium: 20 mg iron: 0.7 mg fiber: 0.5 g

YIELD:14 servings (serving size: 1 biscotti)
*********************

Here's another recipe that wasn't my cuppa tea, but others have made it and liked it.

Barbara's Low-Fat Rosemary Cashew Biscotti

4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons chopped rosemary
Black pepper
Cashew nuts
6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine and blend flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, pepper, and nuts in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat eggs with vanilla and blend into dry ingredients with hands. Divide dough in half and place on greased cookie sheet in a 3-inch wide roll (1 roll per sheet). Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until top is firm. Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices and rebake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Variations include 3 squares of semi-sweet chocolate melted and mixed in the batter, or dip the ends of the biscotti in the melted chocolate.
*****************

Here's a tasty light dessert:

From: West Coast @ Chatelaine: I read about this dessert in a magazine last week, and tried it. It tastes great, is not expensive, is easy to do, and is especially good after a heavy meal when you don't want an equally heavy dessert. For two people (can be multiplied)

-two orange
-1/4 cup liquid honey (not "creamed")
-4 tsp water
-1 sprig of fresh rosemary, snipped into small pieces (approx. 1/2 teaspoon of pieces)

Peel and cut the oranges into bite-sized pieces. (I find it easiest to cut each one vertically into four pieces, remove the peel with my hands, and slice the four pieces into chunks). Divide the pieces between two individual dessert bowls. Put the honey, water and rosemary into a small saucepan. Bring just to a gentle boil, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain the honey through a close-meshed sieve into a small jug. Drizzle the honey over the oranges, and enjoy. (There will probably be enough honey left over for at least one more portion).
Andy's note: the water (and a bit of the honey) can be replaced with an orange liqueur if desired.

[mbrogier]

Don't forget about lemon verbena. I had a friend make lemon verbena sugar cookies that were really good.

Nigella made those lavender cupcakes in Domestic Goddess. I haven't made them, but they look good. If you can't find the recipe online, I could type it in for you. My book is the US version.

[Canice]

Yes, I'd thought about Lemon Verbena Cheesecake (http://www.caryn.com/links/garden/recipes/lemonverbena_cheesecake.html).
Still, though, I'd go with the Meyer lemon/rosemary brulees and lavender cookies!

[Canice]

This just in from a friend of mine who's an excellent cook! The recipe is for one serving, but it's really a method as much as a recipe. I'll try it as soon as I see nectarines in the market here....

Nectarine & Brioche Tart
Serves 1

Ingredients
1 slice of brioche
knob of butter
1 nectarine, cut into slices
handful of basil leaves
honey, to drizzle
55g/2oz caster sugar
splash of double cream
To serve
110ml/4fl oz double cream
1 tbsp honey
basil leaves, to garnish

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Place the brioche slice onto a non-stick-baking tray and dot with a little butter. Arrange the nectarine slices into two rows, so that they slightly overlap. Sprinkle the basil leaves on top. Drizzle with honey and then bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, gently melt the sugar in a pan and cook over a low heat until dissolved and a caramel has formed. Add the cream, shaking the pan and cook gently until slightly thickened.
4. In a clean bowl, whisk the cream until thickened. Stir in the honey and refrigerate until required.
5. To serve, transfer the nectarine tart to a serving plate. Drizzle the toffee sauce over and spoon the cream mixture on top. Garnish with basil to finish.

[catharine]

Oh my goodness - so many choices. They all sound great. I am going to read through all of these fabulous recipes in the next day or two. It turns out we might cancel the meeting this weekend because a bunch of people have to cancel. I might go ahead and make myself dessert anyhow :)

Thanks!

[Alethea]

These got generally high reviews on epicurious (though there were some dissenters). I haven't made them yet, but plan to soon because I have an excess of lemon thyme right now. Though I think I'll halve the recipe, I can't imagine needing 120 cookies!


SWEET LEMON-THYME CRISPS
The following recipe makes 120 cookies. Any excess raw dough may be kept, frozen, 3 weeks. You'll find these delicate wafers so delicious that they'll disappear in no time.

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme leaves
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 large egg
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh gingerroot
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and stir in thyme. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating until combined well, and beat in lemon juice and gingerroot. Add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
Halve dough and on separate sheets of wax paper form each half into a 14- by 1 1/2-inch log, using wax paper as a guide. Freeze logs, wrapped in wax paper and foil, about 20 minutes, or until firm, and up to 3 weeks. If frozen solid, bring logs to cool room temperature for ease of slicing.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cut 1 log diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick ovals and halve each slice diagonally. Arrange cookies about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets and bake in batches in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 12 minutes total. Immediately transfer crisps with a spatula to racks to cool. Make more cookies with remaining log if desired. Dust cookies lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 2 logs; each log makes 60 crisps.
Gourmet
August 1997