Chef John's Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Pro tip 1: Use the best butter you can. I used fancy Irish butter and, since it was salted, withheld the kosher salt. I also beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on low, then beat in the flour, and only THEN used my hands to work it together. It seems too dry at first, but then, miraculously, it's dough! Pro tip 2: You can cut it into any shape you like. Trees would be cute for Christmas. I used a patterned rolling pin to give mine a herringbone pattern, then cut it into circles with a biscuit cutter. Pro tip 3: Rosemary and chocolate are amazing together. I dipped an edge of each baked cookie in melted dark chocolate and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt and minced rosemary before the chocolate set. Heaven! ... I was a little short on rosemary for the second batch, so I only used 1 tablespoon and that was plenty. :)

This recipe is worthy of TEN stars! Absolutely delicious flavor and very tender shortbread. One of the reviewer's suggestions worked well and helped to speed up the process and yet did not compromise the quality. Instead of using a spoon to hand mix/blend the butter with the rosemary and list of items leading up to the flour, go ahead and put them into a food processor to blend. Then add the flour, using your fingers to blend. I have given this shortbread to a number of people, and everyone wants the recipe! Every recipe I've tried from Chef John has been delicious. 'Am curious about his background, and really appreciate him sharing such terrific recipes! Thank you!

When one becomes a dolt, maybe that was an adult, complexity outweighs sweetness. This was an example.

These taste awesome. Just like the good shortbread cookies I buy at the store. I did leave out the rosemary though (I'm not thrilled about the flavor). The only problems I had with this recipe is 50 minutes is way too long at 300 degrees. I made the cookies 1/4" thick and checked at 40 minutes and they were more than done. I should have checked at 25-30 minutes. They also came out flat but the taste is great. I will definitely make it again. I did increase the sugar by 1/4 cup and increased the vanilla to 3/4 teaspoon. Some of them I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top before baking. I will definitely be making this again. The bad thing is they taste so good that you can't stop eating them. :) Edit: I roll the dough into a log and put in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Then cut 1/4" thick and bake on parchment paper for about 20 minutes. Cold dough will not go flat. Perfect cookies. Yummm.

This was a classic shortbread recipe brought into the current scene with the addition of Rosemary, of all things. WONDERFUL, folks were arguing over who would get the last cookie. FANTASTIC. I used dried rosemary from my garden - about a tsp., ground fairly fine. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. I'm making more today...

I did exactly as the recipe called for except I used 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour they still turned out light crisp and floral. SO good.

These were great! I'm not a skilled baker, and I panicked a little when I was forming the dough as it was really flaky and not holding together. But as the butter softened, it assumed a more workable consistency. If you have the same issues as me, I'd recommend just working the dough more and not being afraid to let the butter melt more when you are adding the flour. If you like combos of savory and sweet, you will probably like this recipe. :)

Theses turned out great! We were pleasantly surprised with the aromatic twist that the rosemary added.

Made these the first time to take to a neighborhood party. I dipped them in melted dark chocolate as shown in the picture. The foodies at the party loved them and requested the recipe. That being said my husband was not a big fan. He likes a sweet cookie and these are not that. Very good savory cookie though. Be sure to use the best butter you can find.

I made these as a Chritmas gift for my friends at the office and they were a hit. Great texture and the rosemary added wonderful unexpected flavor. I will make these again.

I used a pastry blender to begin the blending process before getting in there with my hands - worked well. My husband thought 1T rosemary was plenty or even too much, but that's a matter of taste.

I have made this recipe several times and it has turned out well every time.... even the time I forgot to sprinkle sugar on top and poke it with a fork.

Had to bake them 10 mins longer get a golden brown. Otherwise perfect as is. :)

a little less salt but besides that these are amazing.

Thank you Chef John for another fabulous recipe! My friends thought they were too perfect to be homemade and said I should open a bakery! This is our new favorite cookie. I was a bit worried about the long cooking time, but they came out perfect. I my try a little lemon zest in the next batch... Thanks again!

These cookies are amazing they are so rich and decadent because of the butter yet they’re so sophisticated because of the rosemary. These became a huge hit over the holidays for me!

Followed the recipe ingredients to a tee in one batch I made of this, and they are delicious! I made two batches of it, and for the second one I added dry lavender flowers (3/4 tbsp) and lemon extract in place of the vanilla. Haven’t tasted these ones yet, but my youngest tasted the dough and said it is delicious and has a hint of lemon in it. Versatile recipe, I will use again and again! Bumper crop of rosemary I need to use up. Update: the lavender one wins in my opinion. They are both really tasty, and you cannot detect the lemon in the lavender one without adding more lemon flavor, like fresh lemon zest, but it would be a fine line to not overpower the lavender flavor. That lavender flavor is amazing, though I love rosemary too. I have a ton of rosemary on hand, and a lot of dry (organic) lavender flower buds. It’s probably that I have been getting my fill of rosemary lately as to why the lavender won just now.

I never made shortbread cookies let alone rosemary shortbread cookies. I'm glad that was my first try on it. The flavor is absolutely scrumptious. It has a nice buttery flavor and the rosemary adds a nice twist to the usual shortbread cookie. Be careful to not overcook these as I did and still, they taste great!

I am not a baker and don’t necessarily love sweets or desserts. That said....these may be my favorite cookie ever (other than a chocolate chip fresh from the oven). They are tender, have a delicate sweetness that isn’t cloying and I love the rosemary flavor (I promise it’s not overwhelming). They are also super easy to make and keep for a long time. These are something I can see myself craving...and, again, I don’t love desserts. This is also my first review after years of using allrecipes.com...that’s how much I enjoyed these cookies. I can’t wait to use the base part of the recipe and play around with other flavor combinations! Thank you, Chef John!

DO not use cold butter. It does not easily change into a ball and does not roll out. Make sure the butter is warmer. And be sure to watch the cookies. He is right about the timing only being a suggestion.

This was such a big hit had to make it twice, first batch didn't last, This is now on my Christmas cookie list. Thank Chef John

Made it. Easy. Yummy. I didn't have fresh rosemary so I used dried. No problem! I also used large crystal sugar to top it with. The perfect blend of sweet, salty and savory. Make it!

Once again a recipe keeper from Chef John. Love shortbread and the fresh rosemary is a delightful addition!

I am an experienced baker, and boy, did I struggle with this recipe. Maybe the issue was that I doubled the recipe, using the All Recipes tool. My dough did not miraculously become dough like that of another reviewer. After an hour of getting the flour mixture all over my bench and kitchen, I finally just wrapped the loose mixture in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. The next day, it would still not come together, despite the addition of another tablespoon of butter, and several sprays of water. I finally just rolled out the very edge of the flour mixture, cut a cookie out with a doughnut cutter, and gingerly moved it with a spatula to the baking sheet breaking at least half of them on the way. I would then scrape the edge of the flour mixture back into the pile, roll out another two inch edge, cut another cookie out, etc. There is no way I could make the beautiful cookies in the photo; they were just too fragile. Nor could I roll out a rectangle like Chef John. After many hours, I did get very nice buttery cookies, with the interesting taste of rosemary. And, thankfully, they stayed together for a dip in melted chocolate.

Great texture but not a fan of the rosemary. Next time I’ll omit the herb.

Omitted rosemary and instead used lavender sugar. Delish.

Love these!! Followed the instructions plus one reviewer’s suggestions to use good butter and to dip them in dark chocolate. They’re delicious with or without the chocolate!

Made these to finish off an Italian themed luncheon HOWEVER when I got back from the grocery somehow the fresh rosemary was not in the bag. Ugh. With no time to go back to the store and didn't want to use dried rosemary so substituted orange zest. My oh my though turned out delicious. Will definitely make again and will be sure to use the rosemary.

I seriously believe these are the best i ever tasted. I made it with the rosemary and actually the video helped me follow the recipe exactly. I was a bit dubious about the rosemary but since I use it in other recipes i decided why not...wow...

Delicious and easy! Like another reviewer I used the food processor for EVERY step including mixing in flour. I was careful to process as little as possible. After refrigerating the finished dough for 10-15 min, I rolled into a log about 2” in diameter. I then took a sharp knife and sliced off 1/4” slices of cookie. This allowed them to be very uniform and was so much easier. I also added about 1T lemon zest and some fresh lemon juice - about 3T. I baked 50 min on 275 convection (I usually reduce temp by 25 on convection bake mode). Really different than standard shortbread but so much more interesting! Thanks Chef John - I love all your recipes! Posting pic now.

Great recipe....super easy.....makes people think I know what I'm doing! Also delicious without rosemary.