Serves 4
These individual focaccias are ideal for a holiday brunch or a not-too-sweet dessert. Add the cream cheese for extra richness or leave it off and pretend they’re on your diet.
• 1 tube store-bought pizza dough
• Olive oil for drizzling
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
• 2 teaspoons orange or lemon zest
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese (optional)
• 1½ cups frozen unsweetened tart cherries, thawed and thoroughly drained
• Confectioner’s sugar
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a pizza stone or baking sheet with nonstick spray. Unroll the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Roll or pat out each piece into a 5-inch round, pressing the center to create a slight indentation. Prick dough all over with tines of a fork.
2. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto each round and spread oil to coat surface. Top each round with 1 teaspoon rosemary, ½ teaspoon orange or lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar.
3. Bake about 12 minutes, or until light golden-brown. Remove from oven and cool about 10 minutes. Spread with cream cheese, if using. Top with cherries, then dust generously with confectioner’s sugar. Serve warm.
Contributing editor Barbara Pleasant, author of The Whole Herb (Square One, 2004), writes and gardens at her home in Virginia.
For the main article, The Essence of Rosemary,click here.
