Rosemary Thumbprint Cookies w/ Meyer Lemon Marmalade.

A few days ago I was totally busted picking one too many meyer lemons at the PB community garden. Technically, I wasn't doing anything wrong. All members were allowed to pick from the trees. The bad part was the Treasurer caught me with a shirt full of them! Although I could tell he was displeased with my actions, he was very polite about it.

Feeling guilty I started chomping down on the lemons as he told me about the garden. They were sooo good, but at the same time not the first thing I should have eaten in the morning. I was walking past a trashcan full of rosemary that someone had pruned earlier that morning. I couldn't resist grabbing a handful. Before I knew it I was eating handfuls of rosemary with the meyers.

I decided to make amends by making something with the lemons to share at my first garden meeting this Saturday. I figured I'd make some lemon marmalade and a rosemary shortbread to share with everyone. The idea evolved into a rosemary thumbprint cookie with lemon marmalade. I didn't have time to make fresh marmalade, so I'm using my lavender meyer lemon marmalade instead (but I'll still tell them its lemons from the garden. lol.)

I tweaked Ina Garten's Jam Thumbprint Cookie recipe mixed with the rosemary shortbread recipe for these cookies. Its a really interesting cookie because its actually not too sweet, aromatic, and has a sweet tart bite to it. :) Hopefully I'll be making these again soon.

Recipe:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat mixed with white, add 1tbsp of extra butter)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (Depends on how pungent your rosemary is I like to add a little more.)
Meyer Lemon Marmalade

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Cream together the butter, sugar, and rosemary until they are just combined. Sift together the flour and salt in a seperate bowl. Mix the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a 1-1 1/2in log. Wrap in plastic and chill for at leaset 30 minutes.

3. Slice the log dough into 1/2 inch slices and soften the edges. Place the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentaion into the top of each with your finger. (The back of a 1/2 tspn worked really well for me.) Drop 1/2 tspn of marmalade into each indentaion. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Cool on a cookie rack and serve.

Before

After