Rosemary Grapefruit Shortbread

A distinctive and delicious shortbread variation that's also easy to make! The rosemary is wonderfully balanced by the bright citrus punch of the grapefruit, and neither ingredient overwhelms the individual cookies.

Note that the cooking time can vary considerably depending on a few factors. See the notes for more details.

Course Dessert

Cuisine European, Miscellaneous, Scottish

Keyword citrus shortbread, rosemary shortbread, shortbread variation

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings cookies

Calories 133kcal

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter warmed on the counter for ~1 hour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp rosemary (1 medium sprig)
1.5 tbsp grapefruit juice
2 tbsp grapefruit zest packed (approx two medium grapefruits)
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp corn starch or rice flour

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Zest two grapefruits, taking care not to get too much of the white pith. Squeeze some juice (half of one grapefruit should be enough), and set aside.
Grind the rosemary, grapefruit zest, and around 1 tbsp of the sugar in a coffee or spice grinder. Alternatively, you can finely mince the ingredients by hand.
Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
Sift the flour and corn starch (or rice flour) together. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, thoroughly combine the butter, sugar, rosemary/zest mixture, salt, and grapefruit juice.
Add flour to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing until a malleable dough is formed. It should have a consistency rather like playdough.

Shortbread Pan

Spray or brush a very thin layer of vegetable oil over the inside surface of the pan.
Evenly press the dough into your shortbread pan. The dough should be around 1.5 cm (5/8 inch) thick (see note below on dough quantity).
Bake the shortbread until it's flaky and set in the middle, and nicely browned all over; generally around 40-45 minutes.
Cool the finished shortbread for 20-30 minutes. Gently run a small knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the shortbread, then carefully turn it out onto a cutting board. The wedges are easiest to cut apart when still somewhat warm.

Individual Cookies

Shape the dough into individual cookies by hand, or with a cookie press. I like to make small balls with about 15 grams of dough (~1 tbsp), then flatten these with my thumb. Double the size for larger cookies.
Arrange the cookies on a baking tray, taking care to leave a bit of room for them to spread out. Bake until lightly browned on the bottoms; about 10-12 minutes for small cookies, and a little longer for larger ones.

Notes

Volume vs. Weight Measurements - The actual weight of a cup of flour can vary quite a bit depending on a variety of factors. The weight given here (300 grams for 2 cups) is based on my actual measurements, and not a standard conversion.

Serving Size/Dough Quantity - Scaling the batch size to 2/3 will fit best in a shortbread pan without any leftover dough. You can use the serving slider in the recipe card to adjust the batch from 24 to 16 servings, or you can simply make a full-sized batch and bake a few small cookies separately. Alternatively, you can double the recipe size and make three pans worth of shortbread - just make sure to cover and chill your dough in between baking sessions.

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