Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

My love affair with crispy, buttery, ridiculously-easy-to-make shortbread is fairly recent. It's probably only in the last year that I've discovered how fast these little cookies come together and how fun it is to play around with different flavors.

This version has just a hint a rosemary and originally started out as a crust for a tart I was working on..

The tart is a sour-sweet combination of Italian prune plums and rosemary shortbread. I baked a number of tarts for testing and shooting and I noticed that even after I had tasted a piece I would end up picking at the crust every time I walked by until all my tarts were edge-less and looked like they had been attacked by mice.

Nibbling at baked goods that have been left on my counter isn't that unusual. The kitchen is a dangerous place for plates of cookies and slices of cake. What was different this time was that it didn't matter how many tarts I made, I never got tired of the rosemary crust. Ever. This tart was barely made it safely through the photo shoot before I also ate the edge crust on that piece.

 

 

 

The only reasonable thing to do to save my pretty tarts was to make a double batch of the shortbread dough for the next tart and use the extra for a tray of rosemary shortbread cookies.

 

 

Instead of messing around with forming a log or trying to roll the dough between parchment paper I just popped it in a large freezer bag, folded it in half, and rolled the dough out to an even height. Then the dough chilled out in the freezer until it was firm which makes it easier to slice into cookies and also helps the cookies keep their shape in the oven.

 

 

10 minutes in the oven and I had rosemary shortbread that I could snack on guilt-free (well.. considering how many I've eaten I'm not sure that it counts as guilt free anymore).

I love how easy they are and how sophisticated they taste with the rosemary. I have a goat cheese making challenge coming up and can't wait to make a sweet and savory combo by topping these sweet cookies with some goat cheese and honey.

Shortbread dough keeps well in the freezer so you can make a couple of batches of dough and have them on hand and ready to slice and bake in the freezer so that freshly baked cookies are never more than 10 minutes away!

 

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

½ cup  unsalted butter softened

1/3 cup (45g) icing sugar

½ tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 ¼ (195g) cup flour

¼ tsp salt

 

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the softened butter and 1/3 cup icing sugar until completely combined. Stir in the rosemary until evenly distributed. Add the flour and salt to the bowl and stir until the mixture looks crumbly. Use your hands to squeeze the mixture into a ball which will help bring it all together and ensure that there is no flour left unmixed into the butter.

2. Place the dough in the bottom half of a large freezer bag. Fold the empty half over the dough half and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even height. Place the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up

Preheat oven to 350

3. Remove the dough from freezer and freezer bag and slice into 20 cookies. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until the edges are starting to to turn golden. Allow the cookies to cool on a wire tray before serving.

Tips: Make sure your butter is very soft, it will make mixing the dough together much easier and help you avoid areas of crumbly dough.

You can bake these cookies fairly close together on a tray because they do not spread.

Comments

[Samantha 'duhmplin' Wagner]

Yum! And genius move with the freezer bag.

[Emily]

Plum and rosemary tart sounds heavenly and the idea of using the rest of the dough for these little cookies is genius.

[Stefanie @ Sarcastic Cooking]

Oooo such a fancy yet simple cookie! And that freezer bag move is life changing!

[Eileen]

I love the idea of rosemary in a tart crust! Definitely the right move to bring it over to cookietown.

[Daniel]

Those look so simply yummy.
I've made a similar cookie a couple times recently when I saw this recipe pop up on SE:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/08/rosemary-pine-nut-sables-cookies-recipe.html

Thanks for sharing your version.

[Mary at n00bcakes]

EVERY TIME I make shortbread I am always underwhelmed and even more hesitant to try another recipe. Perhaps this one...? I really like your trick of rolling it in a gallon ziplock, by the way! How tricksy!

[Rachèle]

I heart your food styling! You're pretty much ready for the food phography big time now! (I imagine this would be a lot of swirling around uptown New York with a camera around your neck and a cookie in your hand).

[jaime alcaraz montreal]

My god, this discussion has me positively DROOLING!!! Especially the shortbread....yuuuummm....also has a hint of nostalgia as thoughts of that taste remind me of my grandmother...some great ideas here, thanks!! jaime alcaraz montreal

[Paula]

The shortbread sounds wonderful and that tart is amazing. Love your pastry rolling trick!

[Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe]

Your Instagram photo of these cookies has been haunting me...until now! They look wonderful! And that trick of rolling the dough out in the freezer bag? Genius!

[Mardi (eat. live. travel. write)]

What a GREAT idea! I made some similar shortbreads this summer (with seaweed) and at the time wondered about rosemary. Now, I wonder no more!

[Deb]

What tasty little morsels of buttery delight! A touch of rosemary is a spirited addition to your splendid cookie.

[Julie]

I LOVE rosemary shortbread. But a plum tart made with it?! That sounds insanely good! So going on my must-make list!

[Jen]

Oh I LOVE your rolling pin. It is adorable! Where did you find such a cute utensil? I have not tried rosmary in my cookies but it is on my list.

[Slovak Roots]

I absolutely adore your rolling pin!!!!

[erin @ yummy supper]

Okay Stephanie, I'm drooling over here. Rosemary shortbread is one of my favorites and with that plummy tart - dangerously good.
Have a good week,
E

[A Canadian Foodie]

Absolutely GORGEOUS! Great tips! Tart looks like heaven. I have been a fan of shortbread when I first tasted it on the knee of my mom!
:)
V

[Haniela]

These look delicious. I love rosemary!

[story]

Yes, please do tell, where did you get that rolling pin? And rosemary is one of my favorite sweet and savory herbs.

[Melissa@EyesBigger]

omg i love your idea of the freezer bag for rolling (and your rolling pin is so pretty!). That's genius. I think the cookies will be amazing with the goat cheese. So good. mmmm...

[tigerfish]

The aroma of rosemary and butter in these cookies while baking and while being enjoyed...IRRESISTIBLE!

[Krissy]

I just tried these and my dough doesn't seem to be sturdy to cut... Even after 15-20 mins in the freezer it crumbled when I tried to remove from the Baggie to slice :( any suggestions?

[Stephanie]

Krissy: Here's a few tips that should make it easier:
1. start with really really soft butter, that way it will coat all of the flour evenly.
2. mix the dough until it comes together completely. Its easy to worry too much about over-mixing that the dough gets under mixed and crumbly
3. Freeze it until completely solid
4. Sometimes I just cut the freezer bag down the middle and remove the bag instead of pulling the dough out from inside it.

Hope that helps!