Rosemary Shortbread

By Melissa Clark

Updated Sept. 10, 2025

Rosemary Shortbread
Lisa Nicklin for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
5(2,683)
Comments
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This basic, buttery shortbread practically begs that you customize it to suit your own tastes or pantry supplies. The dough, which comes together quickly in a food processor, is already enhanced with rosemary, but nuts, seeds, citrus zest, spices, vanilla or minced dried fruit — or a combination of some of these — all make fine additions. Scale it up, scale it down. Add more salt, or use less. As long as you maintain the butter-flour ratio (one stick of butter for every cup of flour), you are free to play around. But the shortbread is delicious all on its own: tender, rich, crumbly, irresistible.

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Ingredients

Yield:One 8- or 9-inch shortbread
  • 2cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅔cup granulated sugar
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1teaspoon plus 1 pinch kosher salt
  • 1cup (2 sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 to 2teaspoons rosemary, chestnut or other dark, full-flavored honey (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, rosemary and salt. Add butter, and honey if desired, and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some crumbs start to come together, but don't overprocess. Dough should not be smooth.

  2. Step 2

    Press dough into an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan or 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes for 9-inch pan, 45 to 50 minutes for 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,683 user ratings
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Comments

Gerry

Wow! Just made two batches of these. One with the recipe as written and a second with finely diced preserved lemon about (1 tablespoon) instead of rosemary. Gilded the rosemary version with a sprinkle of smoked Maldon sea salt flakes. Used a 15" x 5" oblong tart pan with removable sides resulting in 36 perfect slices per batch. Plan on keeping those that survive kitchen marauders in a tin to serve after dinner with soft blue cheese. Thank you for a winner.

Stef

These were absolutely perfect. I will be making these again and again. Make sure to cut while they're warm, but then take them out of the pan once they've cooled. Otherwise they'll crumble.

Outstanding, beautifully balanced - just one thing...

Made almost exactly per the ingredient list (used 2 tsp maple syrup instead of 1-2 tsp honey), and followed suggestion in the headnote to add vanilla extract. They were perfect! Buttery, a little salty, with wonderful texture and a perfectly balanced and clear rosemary flavor.

One crucial tweak needed: Grease the pan and/or use parchment paper. These stuck when using an ungreased pan as directed.

Cesca

Using the food processor makes easy mixing, but I found the rosemary flavor brightest and less bitter when I minced it with a chef’s knife and added it for the last few pulses. Grated Meyer lemon peel was a nice addition. Brushing my pan with melted butter made extraction more reliable.

Silbermuti

This is one of my most cooked recipes and I always make sure I have some on hand. I use just a 1/2 cup sugar for my preference and generally include a bit of lemon zest. I love the freshly chopped rosemary. It makes a great food gift. We moved away from our rosemary (a new one is in the works) and tried it with a big handful of walnuts thrown in with the butter before processing. I have also tried it with Parmesan with great results.

cheesepuff

Made as written, but added lightly toasted pine nuts. Delicious. The salt really makes it sing.

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