Raspberry Fool with Lemon & Rosemary Butter Cookies

Raspberry Fool with Lemon & Rosemary Butter Cookies©Kevin Ashton 2023
Raspberry Fool with Lemon & Rosemary Butter Cookies©Kevin Ashton 2023

History Of The Term Fool

Historically, cooks and chefs where not know for writing recipes and methods down, thus recipes were frequently passed on verbally, often leading to the origins of a dish being disputed. You might even say a mishmash, which is appropriate!  The word ‘Foole’ was first mentioned as a dessert in 1598, made of ‘clouted creame‘ although the origins of gooseberry fool may date back even earlier.  Why the word “fool” is used as the name of this fruit dessert is not clear. Several authors say it is derived it from the French verb fouler meaning “to crush” or “to press”  though this derivation is dismissed by the Oxford English Dictionary as baseless and inconsistent with the early use of the word. This is why I love the history of food, it’s like a good ‘Who dunnit’.

First make the cookies, then the coulis and then the fool.

Cookie Ingredients: makes approximately 24 cookies

227g  unsalted butter

160g light brown sugar

2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

Zest of 1 large lemon

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 grams (1 TBsp) very finely chopped fresh rosemary

250 grams self-raising , plus more for rolling

 

Method:

  1. Cream the butter and brown sugar until it has become smooth, fluffy and very light in colour using an electric mixer. Scrape the mixture back into the centre of the bowl as needed.
  2. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat until the cookie mix is smooth.
  3. Sprinkle the salt, rosemary, and flour on top. Beat on low speed using a beater blade (paddle) until the flour is completely mixed in. 
  4. Wrap with cookie dough with cling film and refrigerate overnight so the mixture can set.
  5. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  6. Lightly dust your countertop with flour and roll out a third of the cookie dough out until it is 1/4inch (6 mm) thick.
  7. Use a plain 2 .6  inch cookie cutter (68 mm diameter) and cut circles of dough out.
  8. Place the raw cookies onto the lined baking trays, making sure there is about an inch between each cookie. 
  9. Now put back the tray of cookies back into the refrigerator to firm up for 15 minutes. Repeat the process until you have rolled out all of the dough (each tray should hold about 8 cookies)
  10. Preheat the oven to  175 C (350 F).
  11. Bake for 12-15  minutes or until edges are very light golden brown and centers look set. 

Stack of Lemon & Rosemary Butter Cookies small

Raspberry Coulis (sauce)

1 x 350 gram bag of frozen raspberries

2 dessert spoons of caster 

2 Tbsp Raspberry schnapps (optional)

Schnapps 

Schnapps 

Schnapps 

Method:

  1. Heat the raspberries, sugar and schnapps on a medium heat stirring from time to time.
  2. When the raspberries are very soft and turned into a sauce, remove from the heat.
  3. Press the coulis through a fine sieve with a spoon to remove the seeds. Press through as much of the pulp as you can.
  4. Chill in the fridge and reserve.

Raspberry Fool (4 portions)

Ingredients:

340 grams fresh raspberries + 25 grams of raspberries to decorate.

Juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

400 ml Double  cream

Method:

  1. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and honey to a bowl. Mix with the lemon and honey and mash at the same time. Set aside.
  2. In a separate clean bowl Whisk the double cream until stiff. 
  3. Fold the 3/4 mix of the whipped cream into the raspberries so you get a nice, pink swirl.
  4. Serve in glass bowls layering the raspberry fool, raspberry couli and the remaining whipped cream then top with fresh raspberries.

16 thoughts on “Raspberry Fool with Lemon & Rosemary Butter Cookies”

    1. Thanks Charlie, Since returning from my trip to the states, my schedule has been full on. Next up is to talk about my up coming BBQ masterclass in August.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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    1. Thank you for kind words Cheryl, they are appreciated. Sometimes simple desserts are the hardest to photograph and look good. My wife (who helps me so much) and I were on a tight schedule because we’d promised to take the finished desserts and cookies over to my sister’s dinner. We both took a bunch of photos and hoped a few turned out. 🙂

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