Shortbread isn’t just for holidays anymore. These summer-inspired Rosemary Shortbread cookies are packed with mouth-watering aromatic, sweet, and salty flavors. It’s a simple 6-ingredient and 3-step recipe!
Jump to:
- Sweet and herby rosemary shortbread cookies
- Rosemary shortbread cookie ingredients
- How to make rosemary shortbread
- Ways to flavor shortbread
- Do you have to chill the cookie dough?
- Baking Shortbread to Perfection
- Storing shortbread cookies
- Looking for more easy cookie recipes?
- Sweet & Herby Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Sweet and herby rosemary shortbread cookies
It doesn’t get much easier than Rosemary Shortbread when it comes to homemade cookies. Just as buttery and rich as your classic Christmas shortbread, this herby variation is packed with fresh rosemary and a sprinkling of sea salt to elevate each bite. Perfect for year-round snacking!
Rosemary has a habit of releasing luscious-smelling oils and infusing light herbaceous flavors into baked goods. Just take my Rosemary Dark Chocolate Tart and Rosemary Salted Caramel Macarons for example! The fresh rosemary not only adds to the presentation but also helps each bite taste divine and elegant.
Whether you're an avid gardener or accidentally bought too much rosemary, these summery cookies are the perfect way to use up all of your leftovers. They may sound fancy, but they’re easy to make in just 3 simple steps using only 6 ingredients. You can even keep a batch in the freezer for emergency cookie cravings!
Rosemary shortbread cookie ingredients
- Rosemary - This Mediterranean herb is easy to find in most major grocery stores, farmer's markets, and even growing around west coast neighborhoods in the summer. Fresh rosemary will always give you the best lemony, minty, and aromatic flavors, but if you can’t find it, dried works in a pinch.
- Flour - All purpose flour will give these cookies a crumbly, tender base. I don’t recommend using any other kind of flour.
- Unsalted butter - Because the best shortbread cookies are super buttery! Don’t use salted butter or else the shortbread will be way too salty.
- Powdered sugar - Unlike granulated sugar, powdered sugar melts evenly into the cookie dough to add the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Egg yolk - This will give the cookies an added richness while binding the rest of the ingredients together.
- Sea salt - To help round all of the sweet and savory flavors together and complement the herbs.
How to make rosemary shortbread
Step 1: Make the shortbread dough. Add the powdered sugar, butter, egg yolk, sea salt, chopped rosemary, and flour to a food processor. Pulse until the dough just comes together.
Step 2: Freeze and shape the cookies. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a thick disk, wrap in plastic, and place in the freezer. Once firm, roll the dough into slabs and use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. Place them back in the freezer to set once more.
Step 3: Bake, cool, and enjoy. Bake the rosemary shortbread cookies until they just barely start to brown. Allow them to cool before serving and enjoying!
Ways to flavor shortbread
Don’t just stop at the rosemary! These herb shortbread cookies can be enhanced with even more complimentary add-ins, like:
- Lemon zest
- Smoked sea salt
- Culinary lavender
- Parmesan cheese
If you’re making this shortbread recipe without the rosemary, feel free to get creative with even more add-ins. These are a few of my favorites:
- Brown butter
- Ground nuts
- Vanilla extract
- Citrus zest (grapefruit and lemon are my favorites)
- Sage
- Rose water
Do you have to chill the cookie dough?
Flash freezing the rosemary cookie dough before baking is crucial as the cold temperature will solidify all of the butter. If you skip the freeze, the cookies will spread in the oven and lose their round shape and tender texture.
Baking Shortbread to Perfection
Another trick to successful shortbread cookies is to make sure you do not over-bake them! Tender, buttery shortbread cookies that melt in your mouth is the goal. Making sure your oven temperature is set accurately is imperative. I am a huge advocate of purchasing an oven thermometer in order to make sure that your oven temperature is accurate. While baking, if you start to see even the slightest browning near the bottom or top of your shortbread, it's time to remove them from the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack, and allow them to cool.
Storing shortbread cookies
To store baked cookies: Keep the leftover rosemary shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 10 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To store raw shortbread dough: Leave the wrapped shortbread dough in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. You could also roll the cookie dough into a log and, when it’s time to bake, just slice off a few rounds and bake!
Looking for more easy cookie recipes?
- Chewy Molasses Cookies with Candied Ginger
- Pastel Holiday Sugar Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Quick and Simple Oatmeal Date Cookies
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try this recipe for Rosemary Shortbread, please share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Sweet & Herby Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Plastic Wrap
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheets
- Cookie Cutters
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 142 g (1 Cup & 2.5 Tbsp) Powdered Sugar
- 255 g (1 Cup & 2 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 Egg Yolk
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Rosemary, Chopped
- 326 g (2 ⅔ cups) All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, other than your flour and rosemary, in a food processor and pulse until smooth.142 g Powdered Sugar, 255 g Unsalted Butter, 1 Egg Yolk, ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- Using a knife and cutting board, chop your rosemary finely and add to your weighed-out flour.1 Tablespoon Rosemary, 326 g All-Purpose Flour
- Pour flour mixture into the food processor and pulse until the dough just comes together.
- Separate the dough into two portions and shape it into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and set it in the freezer for about twenty minutes.
- Remove disks from the freezer once they've slightly firmed. Taking two pieces or parchment paper, place one piece of parchment below the dough and one on top. Roll out your dough to ¼ inch and cut into circles using a cookie cutter.
- Freeze shortbread for at least 20 minutes until frozen, and preheat the oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes, making sure that you take them out of the oven before you see too much browning occur.
- Allow your cookies to cool on a cooling rack once baked
Notes
- Flash freezing the rosemary cookie dough before baking is crucial as the cold temperature will solidify all of the butter. If you skip the freeze, the cookies will spread in the oven and lose their round shape and tender texture.
- Another trick to successful shortbread cookies is to make sure you do not over-bake them! Tender, buttery shortbread cookies that melt in your mouth is the goal. Making sure your oven temperature is set accurately is imperative. I am a huge advocate of purchasing an oven thermometer in order to make sure that your oven temperature is accurate. While baking, if you start to see even the slightest browning near the bottom or top of your shortbread, it's time to remove them from the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack, and allow them to cool.
- To store baked cookies: Keep the leftover rosemary shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 10 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To store raw shortbread dough: Leave the wrapped shortbread dough in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. You could also roll the cookie dough into a log and, when it’s time to bake, just slice off a few rounds and bake!
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