Rosemary with Lemon and Honey Shortbread Cookies

About 3 weeks ago, I purchased a small rosemary plant to have fresh rosemary for this recipe. Since I was growing my rosemary plant indoors, here are some tips so you can grow your own indoors.

I love growing plants indoors over the winter, so I have fresh herbs all year long. My back deck is where I plant my spring herbs which keep the deer, rabbits, and squirrels from eating them all. I ran into a herb last year called Rosemary Honey Lemonade; this gave me the idea in the first place for a cookie with those flavors.

Ingredients for Shortbread

• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar 
• Lemon juice
• Lemon zest
• Honey
• Rosemary fresh
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Kosher salt

Honey - I found a great website that tells all about the different types of honey and the best way to use them. Almost any store purchased honey works well with baking so feel free to raid your pantry. Clover honey is the most common but you might want to see what are the different types and try something different with this cookie. Types of Honey

Rosemary - You will be shocked to find that there are a ton of cookie recipes that use rosemary as an ingredient. The key to adding rosemary is to finely chop the fresh rosemary. You do not want big chunks of rosemary when you bite into your cookies. I am going to invest in a herb grinder after doing some research. I will update this section to let you know what I decide on for my purchase.

Lemon zest and juice - Depending on the size of your lemons one lemon should be enough for the one tablespoon each of zest and juice.

Making Shortbread Cookies with Rosemary

Prepping

There is a little prep work for these cookies so let's get started! First zest and juice at least one lemon to get the amount you need. This depends on the lemon size. Next, dice into very small pieces the fresh rosemary.

Now, weigh or measure the powdered sugar and set it aside. In another bowl weigh or measure the dry ingredients flour, baking powder, and salt. I run a whisk through the flour mixture to blend.

Take the cardboard center of a paper towel and cut it in half lengthwise so you can cradle each log with each half. This helps keep the logs round and not flat on one side when in the fridge for chill time.

Line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.

Mixing the Shortbread

Add the butter to a mixer bowl and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes so that the butter is creamy. Turn the mixer to a LOW SPEED and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once the sugar is incorporated with the butter turn the speed back to a medium setting and blend for a couple of minutes.

Now is the time I scrape down the side and add the lemon juice and zest, honey, and the diced rosemary and mix through. Turn the mixture to a low speed again and gradually add the flour mixture. You want the flour incorporated but don't overmix. A minute should be good.

Place the cookie dough onto a floured pastry mat.

I make one long roll then cut it in half or you can divide the dough in half and make 2 logs of equal length. Either way, you want 2 cookie logs of equal length and circumference.

Wrap each log in plastic wrap.

Put each log on the paper towel center cardboard. Then set them on a flat surface and put them in the fridge for an hour.

The firmer the logs are the easier they are to slice.

Slice and Bake

Unwrap the plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife score and slice one log. I usually get 15 cookies per log. I make each cookie about ¾" thick.

These cookies do not spread much at all so you can fit the whole 15 cookies from one log onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet pan.

Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 10-12 minutes. You want the cookies to be golden around the bottom edge. Leave them on the cookie sheet pan for at least a minute after pulling the pan from the oven. Then, move to a cooling rack.

To get the most of the rosemary and lemon flavor, these cookies seem to meld together so they are even better the next day. The powdered sugar needs a little time to fully embrace the butter. The butter brings it all together into a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie you will want to make again and again.