Rosemary shortbread cookie recipe
Delicate and buttery, this rosemary shortbread cookie recipe melts in your mouth and is simple to make. They have so much flavor, the perfect crumbly texture, and they last for days. A bit of grapefruit zest provides a subtle citrusy zing.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my lavender shortbread and my lemon thyme shortbread recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my cookie recipes in one place.
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Shortbread recipe
Shortbread cookies are one of the easiest cookie recipes out there. This makes them perfect for occasions when a sweet treat is needed without much time or effort. They are buttery and crumbly in the best possible way.
I love making extra special treats like this for special occasions. If you really want to make this rosemary shortbread cookie special, dip a corner of the cookie in melted white chocolate, or dark chocolate, and place a little grapefruit zest in the chocolate.
What you need to know
This simple rosemary shortbread cookie recipe makes the most delicious treat. Because butter is one of the main ingredients, spring for the good butter. I can tell you from personal experience that it makes a difference.
The dough for these cookies is made in a food processor, but don’t worry if you don’t have one, I will give you instructions in the post for making the dough by hand.
You’ll need an 8×8 baking dish or cake pan to bake the shortbread in, or something similar in size. You can use this recipe as is, or swap out the grapefruit for lemon, if you prefer.
Ingredients
This easy shortbread cookie recipe calls for a handful of pantry ingredients, plus a bit of fresh rosemary.
- Butter – Normally, I use unsalted butter, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and went with my favorite Irish butter. It paid off, these rosemary cookies are perfectly buttery and delicious, plus it eliminates the need for salt.
- Sugar – Adds sweetness to the rosemary shortbread cookies.
- Flour – Regular all-purpose flour is the backbone of this recipe.
- Rosemary – This woodsy herb has citrusy notes and well as a piney scent that makes it pair so well with both sweet and savory.
- Grapefruit – Bright citrus flavor that is absolutely wonderful in these cookies. It pairs really well with rosemary.
- Bonus ingredient – Coarse sanding sugar sprinkled on top gives the shortbread a lovely bit of texture. Optional, but delightful.
This is the scale that I own and use daily. It is easy to use, plus it measures in pounds, ounces and grams.
Measuring ingredients by weight, ESPECIALLY in baking, is much more accurate than cup measurement.
How to make
Here’s a quick summary of how to make this rosemary shortbread cookie. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe. The shortbread dough comes together in a snap. No food processor? No worries, I have directions for you below.
- Prep – Preheat oven to 325°F // 160°C. Add everything except the butter to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 20 – 30 times to break up the rosemary and distribute everything evenly.
- Add the cold butter and pulse until you have a crumb-like texture to the mixture. You do not want it to be smooth. It should look like crumbles.
- Press the mixture into an 8×8 pan. I like to use my flexible rubber scraper to get into the edges of the pan. I use it to scrape down the edges of the pan to make them level and it also helps to flatten the top out nice and even.
- Dock the dough – Use a fork or a skewer to poke holes in the shortbread before baking. Do not skip this step. The holes allow steam to escape, preventing the cookies from puffing up, which gives the shortbread the perfect crumbly texture.
After baking, cool slightly, then gently cut shortbread while still warm. Then, place on a cooling rack to cool completely before storing.
Rosemary shortbread cookie recipe FAQ’s
Buy the best quality butter you can. Do not substitute with margarine. Butter is a main ingredient in shortbread, so make sure it’s the real thing.
Yes, you can freeze both the dough or the baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. If you are like me, and you like to get some of the cookie dough made ahead of time for holiday baking, this dough would make fantastic shortbread christmas cookies.
Yes! You can make the shortbread dough up to 3 days ahead of time. Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
How to make shortbread cookies without a food processor
No food processor? No problem. You can still make this cookie recipe with a couple of slight changes.
Start with very soft butter. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat together with a handheld electric mixer or by hand. Then, add remaining ingredients and mix until a crumbly mixture forms. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
Helpful tools and equipment
- 8×8 baking pan – Easily the most used pan in my kitchen. If you are in need of a new one, this is my pick.
- Food processor – This is a newer version of the one I own. I’ve had my food processor for 20 years this year. That’s a pretty good return on my investment.
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Rosemary shortbread cookie recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour 240g
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar 133g
- 1 ½ tbsp. fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tbsp. grapefruit zest
- 1 cup cold, salted butter cut into cubes / 2 sticks / 227g
- 1 tsp. coarse sanding sugar optional, but delightful
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F // 160°C // Gas mark 3.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, pulse together flour, sugar, rosemary, and grapefruit zest, to break up the herbs and zest.
- Add cubes of cold butter and pulse until crumbs form. The mixture should look like sandy crumbles, it should not be smooth.
- Add mixture to an ungreased 8×8 pan, and press dough down to flatten. (I like to use a flexible plastic bench scraper to clean up the edges and press the top of the dough flat).
- Using a fork, skewer or toothpick, dock the dough (make holes in it) to let the steam escape.
- Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, to ensure even baking.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and gently cut shortbread while it is still warm.
- Place cookies on wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- The grapefruit flavor is very subtle here. If you prefer a stronger grapefruit flavor, add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon grapefruit extract or flavoring to the dough.
- Store shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can refrigerate them for up to another week, but freezing them will keep them even longer. Cookies can dry out in the fridge, so eating them sooner rather than later is best.
- To make cookies WITHOUT a food processor: Start with very soft butter. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat together with a handheld electric mixer or by hand. Then, add remaining ingredients and mix until a crumbly mixture forms. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
Nutrition
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