
This shortbread is the best kind of aromatherapy. Rosemary has a piney fragrance that reminds me of a freshly cut fir tree, and when combined with buttery shortbread dough you’ve got a cookie that tastes like Christmas!
I usually cut shortbread into long fingers (they’re great for dipping in coffee) but this aromatic dough absolutely begged to be cut into evergreen shapes.


I love how the chopped rosemary speckles the cookies throughout. It’s just so naturally beautiful.
Just about any cookie-lover will appreciate these, but I’m especially excited to give these to the avid herb gardener on my Christmas list.

Rosemary Shortbread
This shortbread is the best kind of aromatherapy. Rosemary has a piney fragrance that reminds me of a freshly cut fir tree, and when combined with buttery shortbread dough you've got a cookie that tastes like Christmas!
Equipment
- Tree cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups/320 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup/226 g unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup/85 g confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, rosemary and salt. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in the flour mixture. Blend until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Gather dough into two balls. Roll each dough ball flat (to about 1/4-inch) between two pieces of parchment paper; refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cut the dough with a tree-shaped cookie cutter, or other desired cookie cutter shape. Transfer cut-outs to the prepared sheets; re-roll scraps and cut as many shapes as possible.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. (Do not allow cookies to brown.) Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Notes
Sometimes a rosemary leaf will not cut with the cookie dough, so you’ll have a piece sticking out of the side of your cut-out. Just take a pair of kitchen-dedicated scissors and snip the piece away from the edge before baking.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Wonderful shortbread cookies. Very fragrant!
Cheers,
Rosa
These look delightful. About how many cookies -say, 2 inch rounds- does this recipe make?
Hi Naomi! This recipe yields about 2 1/2 dozen.
Simple and elegant, everything you have made are above and beyond wonderful
so pretty… too pretty for the tree!
Love rosemary in food!
http://beautyfollower.blogspot.gr
These sound delicious and something about the rosemary looks so pretty against the trees. I guess it resembles evergreen. I can't wait to bake these for my classroom Christmas party 🙂
I`m saving this recipe for the future!! Love the bits of rosemary in the cookies.
This may be a silly question, but do you use fresh or dried rosemary? I'm ripping up a stem of fresh right now, but don't want to wreck the recipe! Thanks for the aromatherapy in any case!
Fresh rosemary, definitely!
Heather! These came out AMAZING! I made so many of them. I shipped them to family and gave them to friends and still have plenty left for me to devour! They made my house smell like HEAVEN. I only baked them for 8 minutes, but I know that our oven runs hot. Everyone who has had them has at first said that they were "interesting." One comment was that they were like "sweet chicken." HAHA! I love them. They are on the list for every Christmas hereafter….and maybe in between too! THANK YOU for this delicious recipe!
These cookies were surprisingly addictive, my family and I absolutely loved the fragrance of the rosemary! I pressed my cookies into some white sanding sugar and they looked amazing! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I've had these on my radar for a couple of years now and tonight is the night! I am really looking forward to making them (and smelling them, and eating them, and gifting them…).
Checking back in after baking. THESE COOKIES ARE ADDICTING! Such an unusual but satisfying flavor! Definitely will make them again.
I used 2 heaping teaspoons of dried rosemary. The cookies were so delicious and fresh tasting! The rosemary seemed to bring out the sweetness of the cookies. Very enjoyable!