I’ve been on a mission to find my favorite traditional shortbread recipe, and it’s taken a bit longer than I’d planned but I have cracked it, and will share it ASAP. But we’re taking a quick detour today for a sister recipe—a delicious SAVORY shortbread!
Disclaimer: I keep the Days of Unleavened Bread (the week following Passover) as laid out in the bible, so I avoid leavening (sometimes called a rising agent). This can be things like yeast, baking powder, etc. (definition here). My understanding is that some Jewish people may keep these days differently and also avoid flour and certain grains. I can’t speak to that in any way, and only YOU know how you keep the Days of Unleavened Bread. So please don’t send me angry comments, you have been warned 🙂
Every year for the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread I like to try at least one new unleavened bread recipe, and this year I couldn’t resist this parmesan rosemary shortbread.
These are great because you can make them fresh, or you can make them ahead of time and freeze them. I’ve tested out both freezing them as cut-out dough or already baked, and both work great when put in the oven at 350 F.
Personally I prefer to freeze them as little dough rounds, and then you just add a minute or two more of baking time…and VOILA fresh unleavened bread!. I always recommend double ziploc bagging to prevent freezer burn.
One of the things that initially caught my eye on this recipe was those laminated herbs on top of the cookies. They’re so pretty!
But here’s the thing…it LOOKS awesome, but is a bit fiddly/inefficient, and also doesn’t add anything to the eating experience. I did a few, so they’d photograph nicely, but it’s definitely not a must-have on this recipe. If you’re freezing them, I’m not sure it’s worth it.
But if you’re looking for something that looks jazzy, with minimal extra work, this is a great option.
You definitely want to use fresh rosemary for this. You can substitute other fresh herbs, though I find rosemary to distribute the most evenly in a savory shortbread.
Put the flour, shredded cheese, minced rosemary, salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor.
Add the chunks of softened butter and pulse about 30 times to combine into a crumbly mixture.
Then process until the dough comes together…this should not take longer than 30 seconds to a minute. If the dough does not come together (likely), add a TINY bit of water as it’s mixing, starting with 1/2 teaspoon and adding a bit more if needed.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and bring together into a smooth flat disk, like you do with piecrust dough.
The dough should be smooth and uniform, without dry floury parts, but mine was still pretty dry and hard to work with but turned out fine. Knead it with your hands if necessary. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Roll out the dough to about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thickness. It may be a little hard to roll and try to fall apart, just be patient. You can roll it between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper and then you don’t have sticking issues.
If you want to laminate herbs onto the surface of the dough, lay them out onto the dough, leaving space between. Put the wax/parchment paper back over the top and lightly roll with your rolling pin to press the herbs right into the dough.
Here’s the thing, though…it LOOKS awesome, but is a bit fiddly/inefficient, and also doesn’t add anything to the eating experience. I did a few, so they’d photograph nicely, but it’s definitely not a must-have on this recipe.
Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out your circles. Remove the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper—I find my multipurpose scraper tool does this beautifully.
Reform the leftover dough, roll and repeat until all the dough is used. Do try to re-work the dough as little as possible though, it will get tougher each time.
At this point, you can put the baking sheet in the freezer for a bit, freeze the cookies, and then toss them in a baggie to keep in the freezer til they’re needed. Or you can bake them.
Bake the shortbread for 10-15 minutes at 350 F, until they are just starting to turn pale golden around the edges (and should be golden on the bottom).
Cool for a few minutes on the pan, then remove to a rack. The shortbread will firm up as it cools.
These are so beautiful and spring-y feeling! They’d be great for a wedding or baby shower, or as Mother’s Day brunch. I made them for the Passover meal and Days of Unleavened Bread, and they were a hit.
While nothing will replace sweet shortbread in my life, this savory shortbread is an awesome new option to switch things up.
Adapted slightly from The View from Great Island
Other awesome unleavened bread recipes:
- Spicy Unleavened Cheese Straws
- Cottage Cheese Rolls
- Simple Rosemary Unleavened Bread
- Unleavened Almond Bread
Pin for later!
Savory Parmesan Rosemary Shortbread (Unleavened)
These savory shortbread cookies are packed with parmesan and fresh rosemary with a buttery, flaky texture. These are a perfect appetizer recipe, or savory unleavened bread option.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (ideally freshly-shredded)
- 2 Tablespoons of finely minced fresh rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper
- Optional: whole herbs for laminating onto the dough (I think flat-leaf parsley did best)
Instructions
- Put the flour, shredded cheese, minced rosemary, salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Add the chunks of softened butter and pulse about 30 times to combine into a crumbly mixture.
- Then process until the dough comes together...this should not take longer than 30 seconds to a minute. If the dough does not come together (likely), add a TINY bit of water as it's mixing, starting with 1/2 teaspoon and adding a bit more if needed.
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and bring together into a smooth flat disk, like you do with piecrust dough. The dough should be smooth and uniform, without dry floury parts, but mine was still pretty dry and hard to work with but turned out fine. Knead it with your hands if necessary. Wrap the disk in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thickness. It may be a little hard to roll and try to fall apart, just be patient. You can roll it between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper and then you don't have sticking issues.
- If you want to laminate herbs onto the surface of the dough, lay them out onto the dough, leaving space between. Put the wax/parchment paper back over the top and lightly roll with your rolling pin to press the herbs right into the dough.
- Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out your circles. Remove the dough to a baking sheet. Reform the leftover dough, roll and repeat until all the dough is used. Do try to re-work the dough as little as possible though, it will get tougher each time.
- Bake the shortbread for 10-15 minutes, until they are just starting to turn pale golden around the edges (and should be golden on the bottom). Cool for a few minutes on the pan, then remove to a rack. The shortbread will firm up as it cools.
Notes
- You can make this ahead, either go ahead and bake them and freeze them (reheat in the oven at 350), or cut out the dough and freeze it on the cookie sheet, then put them in a double-ziploc bag and have them in the freezer. Bake from frozen, just add a minute or two extra.
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