You guys, it’s almost Christmas!!! And I’m officially feeling it, well minus the lack of snow and 60 degree temps – which I am not complaining about. Christmas is almost here and you know what that means… COOKIES.

This past weekend was so wonderful. Pat and I saw Second City’s rendition of A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre, spent time with friends, and I made my first batch of Christmas cookies – specifically these wonderful Rosemary Shortbread Cookies!

I also made some chocolate sugar cookies, but they aren’t frosted yet and they’re not shaped like best state in the continental U.S. so there is really no point in sharing them with you.  Sorry.

I love shortbread cookies.  Most years I’ll bring plain shortbread cutouts to a cookie decorating party with my girlfriends but I decided to switch things up this year.  I’m taking the savory route – adding fresh chopped rosemary to the dough!

No decorations or frosting required.  Just eating. Only eating.

Minimal work + maximum flavor = my kind of cookie.

The rosemary adds a wonderful fragrance and flavor to this treat.  Plus I love the flecks of green sprinkled throughout the dough! They looks like sprinkles, but classier. I’m all about classy sprinkles.

I used my Minnesota shaped cookie cutter for these cookies.  The trick to have your cookies maintain their shape while baking is chilling the dough.  Both shortbread and sugar cookies contain a lot of butter; and when they are baked, the butter will melt. But if you chill your cutout dough for at least 15 minutes before baking, the cookies will keep their shape and won’t look like a melted mess!

It’s a Christmas cookie miracle!

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

• Author: Ellie
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 16 cookies 1x

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Description

A wonderfully fragrant Christmas cookie!

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Ingredients

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• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

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Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk the flour and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Add the sugar and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
4. Beat in vanilla extract.
5. Slowly add in the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.
6. Add rosemary and beat until just mixed.
7. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour, or until firm, in the refridgerator.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper.
9. Lightly flour your surface and roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.
10. With floured cookie cutters, cut out your shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
11. Place the baking sheets back into the refridgerator for 15 minutes. This will help the cookies maintain their shape when they bake.
12. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

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