In Seattle, the trees and flowers never seem to stop growing.  Now before I really get into this post – I want to explain something – I am not a gardener.  That is my husband’s area.  I focus on the inside of the house – he deals with the outside.  I have never really had an interest in flowers or flowering trees – the only plants I really get into growing are herbs, and that is purely because I can use them in the kitchen.  It is so nice to always have fresh herbs to cook with.  So – it annoys me at times that in Seattle, there is always something blooming.  I just looked out the kitchen window the other day, and yes, in the dead of the winter, there are flowers starting to bloom.  At least I actually noticed them – I remember when I was in college, my mother asked me to water the flowers outside while they were away.  They came home, and the flowers were dead.  She was livid – and would you believe that I didn’t even realize there were flower boxes on attached to the house that she wanted me to water?  I just thought she was talking about the big pot outside the front door.

One of the most prolific plants out here is rosemary – I have actually seen it used as a hedge – it grows that much.  Rosemary is awesome, I love having a fresh rosemary plant that I can use whenever I am roasting meat, potatoes, vegetables – the sky is the limit.  But, I don’t often bake with rosemary – that was until I made these at The Pantry.  These were such a unique cookie – they were sweet, crunchy and herbaceous – which is really not how I have ever described a cookie before.  I couldn’t stop eating them because they were so unique.  So – if you are sick of looking at that overgrown rosemary plant in your back yard, here is an idea – instead of using it for your roasted chicken, how about a batch of these?  They almost made me appreciate my garden just a little bit more – which is a good thing – I think.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ ounces (1/2 cup) coarsely chopped almonds
• 1 ounce (1/4 cup) coarsely chopped hazelnuts
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 ½ tablespoons finely grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 4 ½ ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ ounces (1/2 cup) coarse yellow cornmeal
• 3 ¾ ounces (1/2 cup) sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon anise seeds
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• Egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until they are lightly golden, about 8-10 minutes.  Set aside to cool; keep oven on.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add orange zest and rosemary.  Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a mixture, mix the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking soda, anise seeds and salt.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg.  Add the cooled butter mixture and mix to combine.  Stir in the nuts, then let rest for a few minutes.

With wet hands, form the dough into a log 2 inches wide and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Brush the log with the egg wash and bake until it is a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Let it cool on a wire rack.  Reduce oven to 200 degrees.

Once cooled, using a serrated knife, slide the log on the diagonal into ¼ inch slides.  Arrange the biscotti on two parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until crisp, about 1 hour.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes about 30 biscotti.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Rosemary Cornmeal Biscotti