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.
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.
It will soon be time for me to start thinking about my herb garden this year and what I want to grow. I am trying to put herbs in the garden that I use for cooking and what I might like to try for new cookie flavors. I am always trying to push the envelope for what will work and finding out what will not work. But it is really fun trying to mix flavors together for a new surprise taste.
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 not to be so powdery. The butter brings it all together into a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie you will want to make again. I hope you enjoy this cookie.
Rosemary with Lemon and Honey Shortbread Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
- 1 cup (227 g) room Temperature Butter unsalted
- ⅔ cup (80 g) Powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon zest
- 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Honey
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) finely chopped Rosemary fresh
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Zest and juice 1 lemon into separate bowls. Weigh or measure the powdered sugar in another small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt, running a whisk through to blend. Dice the rosemary into tiny pieces. You want the rosemary to complement the lemon and honey, not overpower it. Small pieces achieve this.
- In a stand or hand-held mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is creamy and light in color, about 3 minutes. Turn your mixer down to a low setting and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once incorporated, turn the speed back to medium and mix for about 2 minutes. I like to scrape down the side and then mix for about another 30 seconds. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, and diced rosemary, mixing them through the cookie dough. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture till incorporated. I turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides. Then mix for another 30 seconds.
- Take the bowl off the stand and scrape the cookie dough onto a non-stick-floured pastry mat. The cookie dough will be a little tacky. Divide the cookie dough in half to make 2 rolls about 11 inches long and about 2 ½ inches in diameter. Take a plastic wrap piece that is longer than the length of the log; you want to be able to fold the ends under the log. Roll the log in the plastic wrap. Repeat with the second roll.
- A trick I learned from another baker is taking the center of a paper towel roll and cut the roll in half lengthwise. Next, place the plastic-wrapped log onto the paper towel half. The paper towel cardboard helps to keep the log shape and will give you rounder cookies. Place the two logs onto a sheet pan and place them in the refrigerator for about an hour. Chilling will make the slicing of the logs easier if the cookie dough is firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a cookie pan with parchment paper. Take the cookie log out of the refrigerator and unwrap the log. Placing the log onto a cutting board and slice each cookie about ¾" thick. I put all the slices from one roll onto one cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. You want the cookies to be a little golden around the bottom edges. Then, leave the cookies on the sheet pan for 1 minute before moving them to the cooling rack. You want them to set a little before moving them.
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