backyard baking 1

I stumbled upon this unusual recipe on a great blog (www.borealgourmet.com) by a Yukon-dwelling woman named Michele Genest. There's something charming in cooking with what you find in your backyard and I was out collecting spruce tips immediately. If there are spruce trees in your area, this is a recipe you ought to try.

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp chopped spruce tips
1 Cup unsalted butter at room temp
2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1/4 Tsp salt

Method:
1. Pick a handful of spruce tips

2. Combine sugar with the chopped spruce tips and set aside 1 Tbsp of the mixture for garnish.
Cream the butter until light and fluffy, add the remaining sugar/spruce tip mix and cream together. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.

3. Gather the dough into a ball and press into an 8-inch shortbread mold and bake at 325 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove from oven and set on a rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved spruce + sugar mixture on top of the shortbread, cut in sections and leave to cool.

Serve with black tea and a small spruce bough!