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Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

I love the taste of rosemary in savory dishes! But how would a strong herb like that taste in a sweet cookie? I hesitated to add rosemary to one of my favorite cookies, shortbread. When I finally made them, they were such a pleasant surprise! The strong taste of rosemary was not overwhelming to the shortbread, but instead, it created an interesting taste combination.

I was intrigued by the taste of these cookies when I first made them, but I was met with a little taste-testing resistance from my family. Fast forward a few years and I made these cookies again. My daughter, who had said, “No thank you”, when I offered them to her as a young child told me the green specks looked like rosemary.

When I confirmed her guess, I was sure she would say, “No thank you”, again. But to my surprise, she was now interested in these rosemary shortbread cookies. Fast forward a short time later and she is making them for herself and her friends.

These cookies aren’t overly sweet so the coarse sugar sprinkled on top isn’t too much. However, if you don’t want the extra sugar, you can leave off the coarse sugar dusting. To make a smaller number of cookies, you can halve the recipe but will need to change the chopped rosemary amount to two tablespoons. All other ingredients can be halved. Enjoy!

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Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread cookies with fresh chopped rosemary inside and coarse sugar on top
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 13-16 minutes
Passive Time 45 minutes
Servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 13-16 minutes
Passive Time 45 minutes
Servings
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well mixed.
  2. Mix in the flour, a little at a time, until it is incorporated into the dough. Add the rosemary and stir until distributed throughout the dough.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes or until chilled but not hardened.
  4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Then remove the dough from the refrigerator and make sure it is workable. If the dough is too soft it is difficult to move it after cutting it out. If it is too hard from chilling, it is challenging to roll it flat. You want it somewhere in between. On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4 inch (about 6 mm).
  5. Using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on a baking mat. You can also lightly grease the pan if not using paper or a mat. Using the cookie cutter, line it up exactly and place it over a cut-out shape. Then sprinkle the coarse sugar on the cookie. The cutter helps keep the sugar on the cookie instead of it scattering across the baking sheet. Repeat for all the cookies.
  6. Bake for 13-16 minutes or until very lightly browned and set. Let cool for a few minutes and then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes

Keep the dough in the refrigerator between baking a pan of cookies so that it doesn't get too soft.

A trick I use to cut out cookies is to roll out the dough on a baking mat.  Then gently cut out the cookies on the mat, being careful not to cut the mat.  Then remove the extra dough from around the cut cookies, leaving the cookies on the mat for baking.  This helps ensure that the cookies don't get torn when you try to move them to the baking sheet after cutting them with the cookie cutter. You do not have to flour the baking mat if you roll dough on it. You also will not need parchment paper with a baking mat. Click here for a baking mat source.

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