A Relaxing Garden Dessert Treat with “Sweet Morning Dew” Wine

As you know, I have partnered with Woody Lodge Winery in Ashville, Pennsylvania to bring you a variety of wonderful table wines that offer unique and fun twists when it comes to flavor. The best part? They have graciously given me a 15% discount on any order you place with the code DEW15, so be sure to take advantage of it! Also, they just opened their Instagram account and would love to welcome you as a follower, so be sure to check them out.

This Friday, I am sharing “Sweet Morning Dew“…ahh! Even the name of this wine sounds relaxing, right? It’s the perfect blend of Riesling and Niagara grape varieties, so this white wine is as light and versatile as you can imagine, and pairs nicely with a wide range of foods.

I knew that Riesling varietals were fragrant and flowery, and I learned that Niagara grapes are similar in their freshness. I also learned that they are a variety that is indigenous to the cool and dry weather of Pennsylvania, where Woody Lodge Winery is located. This native grape is naturally sweet and plump, which is why it is used to make white grape juice too. Sounds delicious, right? It does not surprise me that this particular, fabulous wine earned the 2018 Silver Medal from the American Wine Society!

For this week, I decided to highlight the fresh and light flavor (and match, somewhat, its truly gorgeous color!) by pairing it with a crispy, buttery, and very lemony wafer, deliciously flecked with rosemary to give it enough woodsy depth.

This is a very easy recipe that is as versatile as the wine with which I am pairing it. You don’t have fresh rosemary? You can use dried. You don’t like rosemary? Try substituting it with basil or thyme! Honestly, it is difficult to go wrong here… The buttery crispness of the wafer is only enhanced by the fresh sweetness of the wine. And the versatility of the recipe doesn’t end there! For example, I browned the butter, which adds a delicious nuttiness to the wafer, but if you don’t want to brown yours, you can simply use regular sweet butter. You could even drizzle them with lemon glaze, if you so wish, or sandwich lemon curd between two wafers. Mmmmm! Again, versatility, my friends!

These cookies are the perfect addition to a Spring tea or even an Easter brunch, add a bit of clove and cinnamon, and they will a Christmas staple too. They are delicious with coffee, but superb with tea and, of course, with “Sweet Morning Dew“. By the way, pairing it with the wine is an elegantly different way to enjoy an after-dinner dessert treat in your living room!

Lemon-Rosemary Brown Butter Wafers

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, browned until golden and refrigerated until soft consistency. (You can use regular softened butter too for a milder flavor)
1 cup of brown sugar. (You can use regular sugar for a milder flavor)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of salt
1 ½ tablespoon of fresh rosemary chopped OR 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary, re-hydrated for 10 minutes in water and drained afterwards
2 eggs, beaten with a fork
Zest of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
Sugar for coating

Directions

With a stand mixer, start mixing the browned butter with the brown sugar until fluffy, about 8 minutes. In the meantime, mix the flour with the chopped rosemary and salt. After the 8 minutes have passed, add yolks, lemon extract (if using), lemon juice and zest to the butter mixture, and mix until smooth. Stop the mixer, and add flour mixture. Beat on slow to avoid splattering, and continue mixing until no flour remains, scrapping the bowl, at least once.

Refrigerate the dough for, at least, 1 hour (until a couple of days) to make it easier to roll dough into 1 to 1 ½ inch balls with your hands, roll them in sparkling sugar, and flatten with the bottom of a glass tumbler. You can refrigerate for 1 hour, bake immediately, or freeze until ready to bake. If the dough becomes too soft, refrigerate (or freeze) for a few minutes until it becomes workable again.