Each year, Katie from Thyme for Cooking hosts a holiday exchange. Any food bloggers who are interested can e-mail her with our name and address. She draws names for all of the participants. You are then to send the person you drew a food-related gift based on where you live, and a recipe to use the item in. The gift can be an herb from the area, etc.

This year I recieved my gift from Meridith in France. Her blog is
here. She sent me a wonderful gift- a bottle of French olive oil and a bottle of orange flower water. She sent a recipe for Fougassette, which is a slightly sweet bread flavored with orange flower water. This bread is one of the thirteen desserts that are eaten after Midnight mass on Christmas eve. It was wonderful to read about some of the Christmas traditions that are followed in France, and even more wonderful to try this bread. It has a nice tender crumb and a wonderful orange fragrance. We had it warm from the oven the night I made it, and am getting ready to have it again, this time toasted and topped with orange marmalade. I will be making this again in the future-I love the flavor of the orange-flower water. Thanks again Meredith, and Merry Christmas!

The recipe is written below as given to me. You have to guess on the water amounts-just use your judgement to make a nice pliable dough.
Fougassette
A slightly sweet bread flavored with orange flower water.
Ingredients:
250g + 250 g flour
150 g sugar
About ½-3/4 cup water
1 pkg dry yeast
6-9 Tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon Orange Flower Water
Zest of 1 orange
Pinch of salt
1. Sift 250g flour and combine with ½-3/4 cup water and the yeast. Knead until smooth. Form into a ball, and let rise 2-3 hours in a warm place until doubled in volume.
2. Sift 250g flour, add a pinch of salt. Place in a lg bowl and form a well in the center. In the well, place 2 eggs, the orange flower water, sugar, orange zest, about ¼ cup water, and olive oil. Knead to a smooth dough. (Add more water if too dry.)
3. Combine the 2 doughs until smooth; flatten into ovals about 1” thick.
4. Slash the surface deeply. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked and golden.