Lemon-Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Fan of shortbread cookies? I am!! Shortbread cookies are easy to make and can be customized any way you like, flavor wise. I like traditional shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate, or even just on their own (with a cup of coffee of course). I recently made lemon-rosemary shortbread cookies using fresh rosemary sprigs clipped from my garden. I always keep a bowl of lemons in my kitchen for cooking and baking purposes. So I married the two ingredients together to make a delicious shortbread!
I think what makes this recipe so tasty is the lemon-rosemary infused sugar used in the dough and on top of the cookies. You will need 1 tbsp of lemon zest (from 2 to 3 lemons) and 2 tsp of finely chopped rosemary. In a food processor pulse these ingredients along with your sugar until a fragrant sugar mixture is fully combined. No food processor, no problem, just use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat these three ingredients on high speed until they are well blended. If you use a mixer, be sure to cover your bowl with a towel while mixing to ensure that sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Reserve 2 tbsp of your sugar mixture for later. Now time to make the dough.
Your butter needs to be softened to room temp, but not melted. I usually set my butter out the night before I make shortbread cookies. In a large bowl, mix your butter (I used salted), vanilla, and kosher salt until they are well combined. While you continue to mix or beat your ingredients, slowly add in your sugar in a steady stream. Once your sugar is completely incorporated, add in flour one large spoonful at time. Now, that all of your flour is added in, mix all these ingredients on high until a dough forms and starts to pull away from the sides of your bowl, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
Now that your dough is formed, turn it out on a 9x13 baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang on each side of your baking sheet. This will act as handles when your cookies have cooled and you need to transfer them to a wire rack. Press your dough evenly onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet. After all of my dough was pressed pretty evenly onto my baking sheet, I used a small, lightly floured rolling pin over the top of my dough to even it out a little more.
Now for the fun part! Using a fork, prick your dough all over, it doesn’t have to be in a perfect pattern. Once you have pricked your dough willy nilly style, sprinkle your remaining 2 tbsp of the sugar mixture over the top of the shortbread dough.
Time to pop this shortbread dough into an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You bake these for 25 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Your kitchen will smell so good while the lemon and rosemary are baking into this delicious dough.
Once you pull the cookies out of the oven, immediately cut them into bars with a knife or a bench scraper. After cutting them, allow them to cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Using the long sides of your parchment paper overhang, carefully lift the cookies out of the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. *Side note, I would highly recommend investing in a bench scraper if you like to cook and bake. It is one of my favorite universal kitchen tools.
Shortbread cookies are so tasty and so very customizable! For instance, swap the fresh rosemary with fresh lavender. Swap the lemon zest with orange zest. If you like traditional shortbread cookies, omit the herbs and zest from your recipe. This pliable shortbread dough is so user friendly. I hope you will enjoy making this recipe as much as I did!
-XOXO-
Sally
Lemon-Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
3 sticks of salted butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of lemon zest
2 tsp of finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp vanilla
3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment paper leaving a 2 inch overhang on each side of your baking sheet. Spray your parchment paper with cooking spray (I used baker’s joy).
In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and 2 tsp pf chopped fresh rosemary until all ingredients are fully combined. Remove 2 tbsp of this sugar mix and set aside for later.
In a large bowl, beat together your softened butter, salt, and vanilla on medium speed until all ingredients are well combined. Continue to beat these ingredients and slowly add in your sugar mixture in a steady stream. Once your sugar mixture is completely incorporated, slowly add in flour, one large spoonful at a time. Once all of your flour is added in, turn your mixer speed to high and beat all ingredients until the dough starts to form and is pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn your dough out onto your prepared pan. Press your dough into the pan evenly to completely cover the pan. Using a fork, prick the dough all over in a random pattern. Sprinkle the dough evenly with your reserved sugar mixture. Bake the cookies for 25 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Once you have removed your shortbread from the oven, cut your cookies into bars using a knife or a bench scraper. Let the cookies cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Using the sides of the parchment paper as handles, carefully remove the cookies and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.