This month, I’m sharing a recipe that celebrates Summer here in West Cork where the colorful bell-shaped blooms of Fuchsia have filled hedgerows to become the regions emblem. Blended with the zing of some citrus & earthy thyme leaves, these refreshing fuchsia shortbread biscuits are delicious with a hearty brew on damper days or with ice cream in sunnier ones.
GATHER..
- 220g butter softened
- 150g sugar
- 1 organic egg yolk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 200g organic plain flour
- 60g cornflour
- 4 tbsp fresh fuchsia flowers (I use just the inner less bitter petals)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
WHAT TO DO WITH IT ALL..
- Cream together the butter & sugar, then add the egg yolk, lemon juice & lemon zest & stir together.
- Add both flours, fuchsia petals & chopped thyme & stir to form a rough dough.
- Take the cookie dough out of the bowl and form it into a log shape.
- Wrap the log tightly with baking paper paper & put in the freezer until firm. Make a batch of dough in advance & store it in the freezer until ready to cook some fresh biccies.
- Whenever ready to cook, preheat the oven to 150°C. Slice the log into half a cm thick rounds.
- Put them on a tray lined with baking paper. They really don’t spread much so don’t need to leave much space.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check them closely after 25 minutes. Ready when the edges start to turn golden. The centers will still be fairly soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They will firm up as they cool.
Want to taste these fuchsia shortbread biscuits!? Potentially on the menu for tours this Summer so why not join for a cuppa!
