Rosemary shortbread
A good biscuit to have with tea or coffee
You can get one of Emile’s Blackwood chopping boards here.
Butter, 250g
Castor sugar, 1/2 cup
Salt, pinch
Vanilla essence, 1 tsp
Rosemary, 3 sprigs
Flour, 2 ½ cups
Before you want to make these, make sure you bring the butter to room temperature. Heat oven to 160C with a fan or 180C without.
Beat the butter and sugar and until pale and creamy. I use a cake mixer for this, but if you don’t have one a cheap electric hand mixer is worth buying for baking and making cakes . Finely chop the rosemary then add along with the salt and vanilla essence and beat until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift the flour into the same bowl. Using a metal spoon bring the dough together until just combined.
Sprinkle a little flour on your clean bench then knead the dough until smooth. Using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle if you don’t have one) roll out the dough until it is about 1 cm thick. Cut your cookies with any shape you like or use a knife cutting them by hand.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for about 25 mins or until they just start changing colour. Be careful not to burn them!
Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before eating them. They will keep for a few weeks in a sealed jar.
