Browned Butter & Rosemary Shortbread
Could it be December 10th already? How did that happen? That means it’s time for the The Ultimate Baker’s Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange! How much fun is this: I’ve united with a dozen delicious food bloggers to bring you a virtual Christmas Cookie exchange, since I couldn’t manage to pull one together in real life. (Which I have to say bums me out a little bit – I was fully determined to bring back the cookie exchange this year – think I could swing it in the next two weeks?)
Let me tell you, I had a hard time deciding on ONE cookie recipe for this party. I kept stacks of holiday magazines and Christmas Cookie Special Editions beside my bed to flip through for late-night inspiration. I pondered the ones (Mom’s nut balls, stroopwafels, Hello Dollies) that could not be left out of my own Christmas baking. Bars were excluded, which was a bit of a relief; that restriction narrowed my options by several hundred. Then one day a friend forwarded me an old recipe she had found, knowing it was right up my alley – a recipe for Browned Butter Shortbread. She knows me well.
That’s right – BROWNED BUTTER. Were there ever two words that married so well? Browned butter makes everything better. Since shortbread is a mere vehicle for butter, it makes the perfect candidate for browning. If you’re not familiar, browning the butter caramelizes its natural sugars, intensifying its flavour and giving it a nutty edge.
The recipe was a little odd, adorned with a whole, bald almond, but I took the browned butter idea and ran with it. What would I make? Plain old straight-up shortbread? Brown sugar? I didn’t want anything to interfere with the aforementioned browned butter.
Using browned butter, which has been melted, gives the cookies a sandy texture and a bit of tooth; these aren’t like those whipped shortbreads that -and I may be Grinched (that’s like lynched) for saying this- I find a little dusty in the mouth.
I made two batches. On the second try I thought of mulching the rosemary with the sugar, rather than the flour, which typically helps release as many flavourful oils as possible and distribute them through whatever it is you’re baking. A bit of moisture in the form of honey or maple syrup helped grind the rosemary considerably. The first batch I chilled solid, and had to practically sit on for an hour to render it workable again.
The second I patted into two round cake pans, and pressed around the edges with the tines of a fork. After baking, you cut the disc into wedges while it’s still very warm (it tends to crumble at the tips when completely cool.) I do adore shortbread wedges; the only problem with shortbread in this form is that it’s impossible to resist balancing one on your mug of steaming coffee or tea, even if it’s only 7:30 in the morning. I lived on this stuff for days.
The first batch, once it regained its pliability, was rolled into walnut-sized balls and once on the cookie sheet pressed down with a cookie stamp – little ceramic stamps that make an imprint on cookie dough that doesn’t spread much, like shortbread. Mine was a snowman – I found a couple in my stocking a dozen or so Christmases ago and managed to locate them in the depths of the basement, covered in cobwebs. You don’t need a cookie stamp, you could use the bottom of a glass, or roll the dough out, or shape it into a log and slice it. Really, do whatever you want to do – it’s just shortbread dough. It will be soft at first – you can chill it for a half an hour or so to firm it up, but chill it overnight and it will be hack-apart-with-a-cleaver solid.
Browned Butter & Rosemary Shortbread
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (pull the leaves off the stems)
1 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. saltIn a small saucepan, heat the butter until it melts, foams and then starts to turn brown and smell nutty. Pour into a mixing bowl, scraping out any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and set aside.
Meanwhile, put the sugar, rosemary and honey or maple syrup into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well mulched; the mixture will look like wet sand. Add to the browned butter and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir just until well blended.
Chill the dough for half an hour or so to make it workable, then roll into walnut-sized balls, place them on a baking sheet and press down on them with the bottom of a glass or a cookie stamp, or divide the dough in half and press each into the bottom of a 9″ cake pan, and press around the edges with the tines of a fork. Bake at 325F for 15 minutes (for cookies) or 25 minutes (for wedges), or until pale golden around the edges. If you used cake pans, cut into wedges while still warm.
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen shortbread cookies.
Now it’s time to take a trip down the cookie aisle and check out what the other bloggers are baking. The Ultimate Baker’s Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange website has links and descriptions of all our cookies – and plenty of giveaways – including chances to win actual cookies! They’re giving away 6 cookie-of-the-month memberships, including one that keeps on giving for an entire year! Visit participating blogs to see who snuck a contest in with their cookie recipe. (Quick, the contest ends on Monday, December 16th.)
Christmas is two weeks away – it’s cookie season!
December 10 2009 07:20 am | cookies & squares
bellini valli on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:15 am #
They sound so rustic and homey and perfect for what I have in mind.
Lori @ RecipeGirl on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:57 am #
Such a nice flavor choice! Brown butter, I love. Paired w/ rosemary is perfect
Janjet on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:36 am #
mmm… a delicious way to make use of my rosemary plant!
Thanks Julie
Anonymous on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:58 am #
This is the first time I’ve read your blog (watched the movie last night). I’m delighted to see this recipe because I’m already making rosemary shortbread cookies for next week’s cookie swap, and now they’re definitely going to be browned butter rosemary shortbread. Thanks!
Katie @ goodLife {eats} on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:35 am #
Yummy! I bet the flavor combination is outstanding.
megan on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:49 am #
Oh my these sound delicious!
Karen on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:56 pm #
I have a fabulous cast iron shortbread mold from a traditional Scottish bakery that was in Edmonton until the late 1960’s. These would look fabulous baked in it.
If making traditional shortbread, I was taught to properly knead the shortbread in specific stages. It really makes a big difference on the final cookie texture. Start working the butter to warm it up, then add cornstarch and knead until light and fluffy. Then add icing sugar-again knead until light and fluffy. Finally, add the flour and do the same. The result is fantastic. Not sure it would work with browned butter because it’s texture has changed. However, it is worth a little experimenting methinks.
JulieVR on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:58 pm #
Yes, it would be impossible to just knead the melted butter and cornstarch – unless you browned the butter and then chilled it before you began?
Lauren on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:43 pm #
Oh, Yum. Love this.
Erica B. on 10 Dec 2009 at 5:12 pm #
Love the snowman cookie press! Definite improvement over plonking down a whole almond. =)
Carolyn on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:00 pm #
I’ve made these a couple of times since I saw the recipe posted in your eye opener section. This is a fantastic cookie! I made the mistake of chilling the first batch and it was quite unworkable for quite a while. When it did soften up, I rolled and cut the dough into shapes. The second time I made it, I also toasted the flour (325 degrees for approx 12 minutes – the flour shouldn’t change colour – let it cool completely before using). I needed to add an egg yolk as well. Toasting the flour adds yet another layer of flavour to this amazing recipe. Thanks, Julie — I look forward to more Christmas recipes in the next couple of weeks!
steph on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:24 pm #
I can’t believe Christmas is coming so soon either. I’ve been debating over so many shortbread cookie recipes. Thanks for sharing another!
Beverley M on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:57 pm #
This is off topic… but do you have a Rum Ball recipe? I’m looking at “Chocolate Rum Balls I” from AllRecipes.com as a possibility…. and I don’t have OSC (though I’ve requested it for Christmas!)
Tartelette on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:57 pm #
Anything with browned butter gets my vote, shortbreads especially! I always love the addition of herbs into desserts.
Cathryn on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:59 pm #
Browned butter makes everything better. Browned butter makes everything better. Browned butter makes everything better. Browned butter makes everything better. Browned butter makes everything better. …. a tongue twister in more ways than one…
margo on 10 Dec 2009 at 11:20 pm #
Hmmm… how ironic that as I read this (and got totally distracted by it!!), I let my pan of ginger shortbread sit in the oven just a wee tad too long. It is for my hairdresser of 9 years, who I’m sure would refuse to cut my hair if I showed up tomorrow without her ginger shortbread. I make it in a stoneware shortbread mold; it is so easy, quick, gorgeous and delicious. But now it’s 11 pm!! I’m trying to justify that being just the slightest bit “brown” rather than “golden” will perhaps bring on that browned butter taste?? I do want to go to bed, but at the same time I dislike overbaked cookies. *sigh*
Looking forward to trying your recipe. (Another day, that is!) Being Scottish, shortbread is definitely my thing, but new flavors make it so interesting.
Shaun on 11 Dec 2009 at 7:54 am #
I’ve been struggling with my grandmother’s tersely-written Scottish shortbread recipe for years. I thought I’d gotten the hang of it last week — I remembered to let the butter come to room temperature, I kneaded the brown sugar, flour, cornstarch and butter until my hands ached and it came together — but when I tried to roll it out, everything fell apart. Is it supposed to be this difficult? Is this why they call it “Scottish” shortbread?
Karen, I may try your kneading methodology. In the meantime, Julie, I’m going to give your browned butter version a try, and see if I can cut down on the suffering part of my holiday baking.
Nancy on 11 Dec 2009 at 9:20 am #
Funny that I made my FB status today “time to make browned butter shortbread I’ve heard about” and here you are with the recipe! Yum!!! I just finished making parmesan/thyme shortbread for my cookie dough exchange, so I’m on a roll. This looks great, and I even have a cookie stamp somewhere! Thanks!
Carol SB on 11 Dec 2009 at 1:08 pm #
Ah, shortbread and Christmas. Julie, so cool to see the cookie stamp: and thank you for the link to the site with them! My Mum had a prairie rose shortbread stamp, very old: my sister has that one, and I’ve been looking for one ever since she moved to BC with it (too far to drive when i’m cooking!) Meanwhile, though, I’ve collected stamps in the shape of: holly; a butterfly (appropriate, no?), Christmas tree, a sailboat… Shaun, your “difficult” remark made me chuckle. (Mum was scottish, too). I’ll definitely give this cookie a try (and make the old favorite too, as my daughters would miss them if I didn’t!)
Barb on 11 Dec 2009 at 5:31 pm #
Woohoo! This sounds fantastic! Thanks a Lot. I have been making a homemade Christmas for everyone in my family and have not had time to make anything in the way of cookies or cakes for my own house. I love this one. (I hope it work for me!)
jenn in niagara on 11 Dec 2009 at 9:55 pm #
wow would never have thought of making this kind of a shortbread! thinking outside the “box”! will definitely have to give them a try!
neat recipes in the internet cookie exchange! too bad the contest is only open to u.s. residents…:(
WebGenii on 12 Dec 2009 at 10:38 am #
Hi Julie
If I’ve posted this recipe before, excuse me. But I thought I’d share this – I love this recipe. All ingredients are used up and it makes a LOT of cookies. Men really like them and they are a nice change from sweet cookies.
Nippy Cheese Shortbread Cookies
1 lb butter
1 250g container Imperial Cheese (in the red container)
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
4 cups all purpose flour
Cream the butter and cheese together. Add spices, mix well. Add the flour, mix well. Form into cookies (I now use a cookie press, which helps the production line move along – but you can form them by hand), keep them small 1 or 2 bite cookies are best.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 20 minutes – don’t overbake, the cheese will get bitter!
I like the rosemary with the cheese, but other flavours work well, I’ve used curry, onion powder and tumeric.
christmas baking « foodie suz on 12 Dec 2009 at 3:32 pm #
[...] are so addictive that I hid them downstairs in the freezer to save them from myself. And the Brown Butter and Rosemary Shortbread? I adore the way they taste – that savoury sweet combination is delightful, but when I cut [...]
Katharine on 13 Dec 2009 at 7:28 pm #
I ate them. They are out of this world! You must make them for your friends!
Adam on 22 Dec 2009 at 8:13 pm #
If anybody is reading this blog and wondering if these might be good to make DO NOT DO IT!!! They are FAR TOO GOOD. It may lead to a serious shortbread baking spree After I made them I had to make a batch with cocoa and chili in place of rosemary (which was incredible btw)…next I’m going to make the imperial cheese recipe above…and then…and then…
Ashley on 26 Dec 2009 at 4:42 pm #
These sound amazing! I love trying different kinds of shortbread and have never had one with browned butter.
Rebecca on 03 Feb 2010 at 6:36 pm #
These were really outstanding. My boyfriend didn’t like him (I blame his unsophisticated palate) but my oh my were these amazing. And more for me! Thanks fro posting!