Lemon Rosemary Shortbread

This weekend I am hosting a Jewelry party for a friend and wanted to bake some homemade cookies for my guests.  I came across a lemon rosemary shortbread recipe which was perfect considering I had lemons on hand and a huge supply of fresh Rosemary still growing in my garden ( it even grows in the Winter) .  Shortbread is a slice and bake classic Scottish cookie that consists of three basic ingredients : flour, sugar, and butter.  It's a very versatile cookie that can be altered with spices and zest and made into different shapes.  The most common shape is a circle sliced from a frozen log of dough.   I added lemon extract and a bit more rosemary than the original recipe called for and it came out perfectly tart with a little kick.  I also stuck with just plain all purpose flour rather then white whole wheat.  The texture is crisp, buttery and crumbly. If you want to experiment with different spices and zest such as orange and cinnamon, or lime and coconut, I am sure they would taste just as amazing.   

A snappy little gem and delicious too!

Slice and bake is really easy to do.  Place your dough on plastic wrap and cover.  Roll into a log and then open the plastic wrap and roll in sanding sugar.  Place in the freezer until firm enough to slice.   If you can't find sanding sugar just use plain granulated sugar.  

Mmmm...freshly baked from the oven and cooling on a wire wrack.  These are insanely addicting!

Lemon Rosemary Shortbread

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
Sanding or granulated sugar for rolling (optional)

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest, extracts and egg and beat until combined.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt and rosemary.

3. With the mixer on low, gently add dry ingredients into butter mixture. Mix until ingredients are well combined and a stiff dough is formed.

4. Place dough in a piece of plastic wrap.  Cover and begin to roll out into a log.  Once you have achieved a log, open plastic wrap and begin to roll the dough in the sanding sugar (if you are using).  Cover to coat.  wrap back up in the plastic wrap and freeze about 1 hour.  Once firm enough to slice, make half inch slices (or desired thickness) and place each slice 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges.  Cool on wire wracks.

recipe adapted from I am Baker