SAVOURY ROSEMARY PARMESAN SHORTBREAD

Savoury Rosemary Parmesan Shortbread

Who says that all Christmas cookies have to be sweet? These savoury Rosemary and Parmesan Shortbread Cookies will not only make an interesting addition to your cookie box this year, but will also go really well with a cheese platter.

Servings: 24 cookies

Difficulty: Medium    

Prep Time:  15 minutes   |   Cook Time: 15 minutes   |   Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients: 

Cookies:

▪  1 pound (2 cups) salted butter, at room temperature

▪ 1/2 teaspoon salt

▪ 1/2 cups icing sugar

▪ 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

▪ 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

▪ 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the butter and salt until smooth and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth and combined.

Next, sift in the flour and beat until combined. It is easier to add half of the flour at a time, mixing thoroughly between additions. Once the flour is completely combined,  fold in the Parmesan cheese and the rosemary. Shape the dough into two discs and wrap each disc in plastic wrap. Place the discs in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the dough to cool and for the gluten to relax.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and arrange your oven baking racks so that they are near the top of the oven. Roll out each disc of dough on a lightly-floured surface. Using a lightly floured cookie cutter, cut out the cookies into shapes.

Place them onto parchment-lined baking sheets, abut 2-3 cm apart. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.