Rosewater And Walnut Biscuits/Cookies

Hey guys!  I'm back - well, sort of, kinda, mostly.  Still aching a bit, still a bit stiff, and with an aching arm from the jab!  You know what I mean :-)  My mantra this year is a quote from Julian of Norwich, the 14th century theologian and mystic: "All shall be well ... and all manner of things shall be well."  Her optimism is something for all of us to live by in these troubled times.  I find it helpful to chant this (to myself) when at the dentist also (which I have been to 5 times this year already).  

But harking back to food ... are you a fan of rosewater or lavender or violet flavours in foods?  Yes, I am!  So what if it reminds you of your grandmum's face powder?  I love it, so these biscuits suit me down to the ground.  Here is another of Thalia Ho's recipes from her book Wild Sweetness.  Funny co-incidence re Thalia - I have an artist friend who has a friend who is the mother of Thalia.  Or did I tell you that already?  Talk about 6 degrees of separation ...

all the rosy deliciousness

Makes 16-20 biscuits:

ingredients:

280g./10 oz plain flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

150g./5.3 oz butter (unsalted if you wish)

170g./6 oz light brown sugar

100g./3.5 oz white sugar

1 large egg

2-3 tsp rosewater

2 tsp vanilla extract

170g./6 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped - I used Lindt 70% which is easily broken up by hand

70g./2.5 oz walnuts, chopped

sea salt flakes, for scattering on top

dried organic rose petals for finishing (optional)

Method:

Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and whisk together

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat, stirring often

Pour the melted butter into a large bowl, tip in both sugars and whisk till combined

Whisk in the egg, then the rosewater and vanilla

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture

Mix well with a wooden spoon till a soft dough has just formed, and mix in the chocolate and walnuts

Cover, and whack into the fridge for 30 minutes

When nearly ready to start baking, put your oven racks on the lower and upper thirds of the stove

Heat the oven to 180C/350F, and line two baking trays with baking paper

You can use a tablespoon or your hands to scoop out and roll the dough onto your trays - about 8-10 on each tray, leaving a bit of room to spread

Scatter some sea salt flakes and rose petals, then bake for 10-12 minutes, swapping the baking trays halfway through the baking time until you have golden biscuits, with crisp edges and soft centres

Allow to relax and cool for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely

melt the butter

whisk the ingredients together to form a soft dough

here it be! - a soft dough

mix in the chocolate and nuts

ready for scooping onto the trays

halfway thru baking

cooling on the rack

I added a bit of bling

oozy and chocolatey

I handed a few out to the neighbours and to Mr P.'s staff, and they were well-received.  Looks like other people enjoy a bit of flowery flavour in their foods too, especially if you add oozy chocolate.  I actually made these the day of my accident, so I suppose you could say that was good timing, 'cos I don't think I'll be baking for a while yet.

© Sherry M.

In My Kitchen - September 2021

Newsflash!  I slipped on a wet floor in the bathroom a few nights ago - result - one broken rib, one strained neck muscle, shock and bruises.  Suffice to say, I’m not feeling great, my dear virtual friends. Luckily I had written most of this post beforehand, so here it is in all its bumpy glory :-)

I love September!  It's the start of Spring, it's beautiful weather, it's new beginnings, it's delightful.  I'm really keen on new beginnings!  This year has been - what's the word? - stressful and weird and tiring and odd ...  I need a new start, my fellow blogger friends.  I'm counting on you, Spring.  (And this was before I fell!)

In my kitchen:

we ate delicious chocolate

I didn't know for quite some years that macadamias are indigenous to this area - i.e. - south east Queensland and northern New South Wales.  Those Hawaiians were very clever in making it seem that these splendiferous nuts came from their area.  Blame the Queen!  Apparently she would only eat them from Hawaii.  What a turncoat :-)

 

we slathered the paté on crackers

Haven't tried the pickled ones yet.  Hope they're tasty.  Another newsflash!:  yes, very tasty, just a tiny bit too soft and sweet for me.  I like my pickled veg crisp and tangy - but these are not bad.

I munched on rice crackers and Pocky 

I love our local Japanese grocery shop.  So much fun to be had trying to decipher what you are buying.  And what the heck am I going to do with those sardines?  Mr P. refuses to eat them, silly lad.  Sardines in soy - so interesting I couldn't resist.  And as for that savoury custard powder stuff ...  We'll see down the track what that's like. 

you can never have enough EVOO

Patrice only has olive oil every so often, so I leaped at the chance to buy some this year.  You have to buy a minimum of three, so I keep two and give one to friends.  It's biodynamic and grown on her farm in the Hunter Valley - where she has to deal with water being diverted to huge cotton farms up north, and to the various coal mines and huge properties in the Valley.  Such a shame.  I was ignorant of the politics of water until I read her fascinating book The River.

We went to The Source Bulk Food Store

Another fun food shop.  They have food items in bulk and you can scoop up however much you want.  They also have really interesting things like dragonfruit powder.  (Blog post coming up, once the rib is better.)

and I bought another #Batchceramics dish in emerald green

How gorgeous is this!  Such a glorious colour.  Kinda reminds me of the eye of Sauron, though not so red - tee hee :-)

I added another sculpture by Maggie Brockie to my collection

Isn't this wonderful?  I have been collecting Maggie's work for ages, and this one really spoke to me.  I have named her Juno.  And she is my curveball for this month.  Maggie has called this Coming into Being #1, but I always name the artworks I buy, so Juno she is.

So that’s it for this month. Please join in, global readers. Looking forward to your posts.  Here's the usual reminder, my dears: IMK posts are about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  You get the picture.  And throw in a curveball! - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related.  The link is open from the first to midnight on the thirteenth of the month.  Let me know if you need help with adding your post, or if you would like it added manually by me after the 13th (if you're running late). Here's how to join in:

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the Add your IMK link OR:

2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it manually to the list below OR:

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In My Kitchen:

NotQuiteNigella

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