Rosemary Pecan Shortbread Cookies

We Love An Easy-To-Make Treat

We love a complex cookie, but there’s something incredibly special and sweet about an easy, simple shortbread too. Made with only a few ingredients, shortbread is one of our personal favorite treats because it’s easy to make and always delicious. You can also add whatever mix-ins you want. For these cookies, we’ve added toasted pecans and fresh rosemary, and of course, butter, sugar, flour, and a touch of salt. They’re rich, buttery, crisp but still soft, and subtly herbaceous. 

Pull Up A Chair

Rachel: These cookies kind of remind me of shortbread that I used to get at a bakery years ago. Those were great, but I like ours better!

Emily: Shortbread was one of the first cookie recipes I learned how to make when I was young and starting to think about cooking more seriously, so it’s kind of a special one for me. I love doing new mix-ins, and the combination of pecan and rosemary is so nice in these!

Why We Love These Rosemary Pecan Shortbread Cookies

• Shortbread is one of the easiest cookies you can make. It’s a great recipe for beginners or parents who want to bake something fun with their kids.
• Simple, just a few real ingredients. All you need is butter, flour, sugar, salt, rosemary, and pecans.
• A little different from regular shortbread. The combo of pecans and rosemary make these cookies unexpected and really delicious.
• Great make-ahead option. Either save the dough in the fridge to bake up later, or store cookies in an airtight container.
• Perfect for sharing or gifting. Shortbread is an excellent addition to cookie boxes, dinner parties, or holiday gatherings.
• Not too sweet. The herbal note of the rosemary keeps these from leaning too sweet.

Ingredients in Pecan Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

• Butter – we like to use salted butter for better balance and flavor. You can use unsalted, but just make sure to add more salt to the cookie dough.
• Sugar – brown sugar enhances the toasty, nutty flavor, and white (granulated) sugar adds sweetness and a crispier texture. 
• All-purpose flour – measure it by weight or with the spooned and leveled method.
• Pecans – be sure to use toasted or air-crisped pecans for best flavor and texture. 
• Rosemary – use fresh rosemary, if possible. Dried rosemary doesn’t have as much flavor.
• Salt (optional) – add a little more salt if you like a sweet-salty balance in your shortbread cookies or if you’re using unsalted butter.

This recipe was developed specifically with Lark Ellen Farm brand’s organic sprouted pecans, which are soaked and then air-crisped, making them crunchier and easier to digest than regular pecans (use the link above to buy them and save 10% with code CONKS).

How To Make Pecan Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Make the shortbread cookie dough. In a bowl, cream butter with sugar using an electric beater. Mix in the flour and salt until incorporated, then mix in the pecans and rosemary, careful not to overmix or the cookies will become tough.

Shape and chill the dough. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a rectangular shape using your hands. Roll out the dough to between ¼ and ½ inches thick using a rolling pin. You can use your hands or a bench scraper to straighten out the sides/edges of the dough as you go so that it stays in a rectangular shape. Cut it into 24 rectangular or square cookies. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Bake the cookies. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and place the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 16 minutes, or until you can just see the bottom edges of the cookies turning golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely before eating.

Our Tips for Rosemary Pecan Shortbread Cookies

• Use toasted or air-crisped pecans, not raw pecans. Raw pecans don’t have as much rich flavor and they tend to be more bitter too.
• Don’t overmix the dough. Sometimes you’ll hear the term “short” when it comes to really buttery doughs. That means that there’s a high proportion of fat to flour with a soft, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth texture. To keep it that way, you don’t want to overmix this dough. The dough should look crumbly but not floury. You can use a hand mixer, but don’t let it run longer than it needs to. Then dump the dough on the counter and use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle before rolling it out.

• Cut the cookies before chilling. If you refrigerate it as one block it’ll be too hard to roll out and will want to crack. Then you’ll have to wait for it to come back to room temp before you can shape it again. 
• Try to keep the cookies at an even thickness so they bake similarly to each other. If you have one thin cookie and one thick cookie, you may overbake the thin one by the time the thick one is done. 
• Shortbread doesn’t need to turn brown to be baked. These cookies have brown sugar so they are slightly darker than regular shortbread, but they still don’t turn super dark. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are slightly golden.
• The cookies should fully cool before eating. They’ll get that signature snappiness once cooled. If you eat them when they’re hot, they’ll be a little too soft and may not stay together.

Flavor Variations and Suggestions

Shortbread is super easy and versatile, so if you want to adjust the mix-ins slightly or change the shape of the cookies to make them your own, go for it. Here are some ideas:

• Use walnuts instead of pecans. 
• Swap the rosemary for another herb, like thyme, or skip it altogether. 
• Make these less sweet by using only ½ cup of sugar (all brown sugar, all white sugar, or a mix of both). 
• Add more rosemary for a stronger herb flavor. 
• Cut the cookies into circles with a cookie cutter, or roll the dough into a log and slice it.

And if you’re looking for a different shortbread recipe altogether, try our Chocolate Cherry Almond Shortbread cookies!

How To Serve Pecan Rosemary Shortbread

We like to serve these cookies with coffee or tea. They’re also great with a glass of milk of your choice. We love bringing a batch of shortbread to holiday parties or potlucks too. They always disappear fast and they’re great served next to our other holiday treats, like our Chocolate Peppermint Fudge or Gingerbread Muddy Buddies.

The Best Way To Store Shortbread Cookies

Like most cookies, these are best served fresh. However, they can be stored and enjoyed over a few days, as long as they are kept in an airtight container at room temperature. After a couple of days, they may start to soften and lose their crispiness, so please eat them within 3 or 4 days.

Rosemary Pecan Shortbread Cookies

These Rosemary Pecan Shortbread cookies are incredibly easy and are made with a few simple ingredients. They’re buttery, sweet but not too sweet, and nutty with a little hint of savory herb flavor from the rosemary. These shortbread cookies are great with a cup of coffee or tea, on holiday dessert tables, in gift baskets, or as an after dinner treat.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:16 minutes mins

Total Time:26 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (~280g)
• 1 cup butter, softened 2 sticks (227g)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt increase to 1/2 tsp if you’re using unsalted butter
• 1 cup pecans minced, unsalted
• 1 tsp rosemary minced

Instructions

• In a bowl, cream butter with the brown and granulated sugars using an electric beater.
  1 cup butter, softened, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Mix in the flour and salt until incorporated, then mix in the pecans and rosemary, careful not to overmix or the cookies will become tough.
  2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup pecans, 1 tsp rosemary
• Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a rectangular shape using your hands.
• Roll out the dough to between ¼ and ½ inches thick using a rolling pin. You can use your hands or a bench scraper to periodically straighten out the sides/edges of the dough so that it stays in a rectangular shape. Cut it into 24 rectangular or square cookies.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and place the cookies on the baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies for 16 minutes, or until you can just see the bottom edges of the cookies turning golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely before eating.

Notes

• Use toasted or air-crisped pecans, not raw pecans. 
• Don’t overmix the dough.
• Cut the cookies before chilling.
• Try to keep the cookies at an even thickness so they bake similarly to each other.
• The cookies should fully cool before eating.

You Need These Buttery Shortbread Cookies In Your Life

Seriously. These cookies are so buttery and perfectly crumbly. The pecans and rosemary make them a little more interesting than your standard shortbread (not that there’s anything wrong with a basic shortbread cookie), and they’re super shareable. If you want to bring something to your next dinner party or holiday gathering, we suggest baking up a batch of these cookies.