Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Christmas is the time for giving and these deliciously buttery melt-in-the-mouth rosemary shortbread cookies make the perfect Christmas food gift! Cut out into all kinds of fun and festive shapes, these homemade shortbread cookies are embellished with herbs to make them extra special. Package them up in little boxes or glass jars to gift them to friends, family and colleagues or even serve them up at a Christmas function and they shall be admired and enjoyed!
Equipment
- Baking trays x 2
- Food processor
- Rolling Pin
- Christmas cookie cutters
- Glass jars, boxes or paper bags to package cookies as gifts (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (188g) plain flour
- ½ cup (45g) rice flour
- 200 g salted butter room temperature
- 2 tbsp (8g) finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- ⅓ cup (60g) freshly grated parmesan
- ¼ cup (38g) caster sugar
- extra herb leaves to decorate such as rosemary, thyme, sage (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the plain flour, rice flour, butter, rosemary, parmesan and sugar in a food processor. Blend until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. Then transfer the dough to a lightly floured working surface.
- Press the dough together into a flat dish, cover with plastic wrap and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes, to allow it to chill.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 170°C.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to 1 cm thickness between 2 sheets of baking paper. This will make sure it doesn't stick.
- If using herbs to decorate: Lay the herbs on the dough, then gently roll between the baking paper one more time to allow the herbs to get pushed into the dough slightly. Then using Christmas cookie cutters, cut out the dough into your desired shapes. With the leftover dough reshape it into a disk, roll it out then repeat the herb decorating and cutting steps*
- Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Pile cookies into a glass jar, box or paper bag to package as gifts or alternatively keep them in an airtight container somewhere cool (such as a pantry).
Notes
*TIP: If at any point you find the dough getting too sticky and difficult to work, put it in the fridge to firm up slightly (5 minutes or so) to make it workable and allow the cookies to hold their shape.