Orange flower biscuits

I have been craving a light aromatic biscuit, a particular biscuit that I ate last summer in Provence, where biscuits are made as I like them: not too sweet and delicately flavoursome. Sadly, I could not find the object of my lust so I decided to make it.

A wonderful ingredient to conjure up the fragrance of Provence or the desserts of Morocco is orange flower water. Have you come across it? I'd love to know. It comes in a bottle and can be added to a number of foods, but is most commonly found in desserts. I am crazy about it, and decided to use mine for biscuits to send to my Ima (and for me to munch on over the weekend).

I was really pleased with how these came out, so I wanted to share the recipe with you in the hopes that you might give this unusual and delicious aroma a try. I think these are perfect with some Earl Grey or real mint tea. They are crumbly rather than very hard, and their delicate flavour makes them utterly addictive.

ingredients:

2 small eggs
3 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
3/4 tsp baking powder
5 tablespoons of orange flower water (to taste)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
2. mix flour, almonds and baking soda
3. cream butter and sugar until fully mixed. add eggs and orange flour water.
4. mix dry and wet ingredients
5. line two baking sheets
6. roll the mixture out thinly and cut shapes
7. bake for about 10 minutes
8. devour!

makes about 40 biscuits