Chef John's Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Description
Chef John's rosemary shortbread cookie recipe yields tender, crumbly cookies with a subtle hint of rosemary. They might be better than typical shortbreads.
Ingredients
•
8 ounces cold, unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
•
1/2 cup white sugar
•
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (not minced)
•
1 teaspoon kosher salt
•
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
•
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
1
Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2
Combine butter, ½ cup sugar, rosemary, salt, and vanilla extract in a large bowl using the back of a spatula or spoon, slowly incorporating ingredients until butter has softened somewhat and ingredients come together.
3
Rub flour into butter mixture, using floured hands and fingertips, rubbing mixture together, until floury crumbs become buttery crumbs, about 1 to 2 minutes. Press mixture together until forms a dough ball.
4
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; press into a disk, then into a ½-inch-thick rectangle. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten dough to ¼-inch-thick using a flat pan or rolling pin. Reshape into a 5x12-inch rectangle.
5
Cut dough lengthwise into 5 even strips, about 1-inch wide, trimming excess dough if necessary. Cut each strip into 6 even squares (you can roll out scraps to form more cookies if necessary). Transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with 1 pinch sugar. Poke 4 rows of holes into each cookie using a fork.
6
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 50 minutes.
7
Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8
Enjoy!