These gluten-free Rosemary Shortbread Cookies have a buttery texture with hints of rosemary and lemon. They're an easy-to-make cut-out cookie with an irresistible fusion of sweet and savory. Nut-free.
These gluten-free Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies are a delicious mix of sweet and savory! They're soft and tender, yet sturdy enough to use as a cut-out shortbread cookie.
Serve them as part of a sweet cookie assortment, or as a component of a cheeseboard. These savory herb cookies will be equally at home on either one!
🛒 Ingredients
You'll find a complete list of ingredients for these rosemary shortbread cookies in the recipe card below. Here I've included a few notes about possible ingredient substitutions.
flour: this recipe uses a combination of flours that result in a tender cookie with a crisp bite! It uses oat flour, white rice flour, millet flour, and potato starch. However, you can replace those with an equal amount of a gluten-free flour blend.
sweeteners: I used granulated Monkfruit with erythritol to reduce the sugar content of these cookies. You can substitute regular granulated sugar if you like. This recipe also requires a small amount of honey.
butter: you can substitute dairy-free butter. Both types need to be at room temperature for proper blending.
lemon zest: I suggest using organic lemons whenever a recipe calls for lemon zest.
rosemary: fresh. Dried rosemary will not yield the same result.
These rosemary cookies are easy to prepare. Allow a chilling time of an hour or more.
🔪 Instructions
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk or pulse until well combined.
- Add butter, honey, lemon zest, and rosemary and beat until well combined, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
- Turn dough out on to a sheet of plastic wrap and form a disc about one inch thick. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 355°F. when ready to bake and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a silicone pastry mat or on a surface lightly floured with oat flour, roll out dough to ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters or a lid to cut shapes of your choice.
- Use a lifter to transfer the cookies to the lined baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Let stand on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
👍🏼Helpful Tips
It's important to soften butter when baking. When you're creaming butter, it traps air, which leads to lighter, fluffier baked goods. Softened butter will combine easily with sugar or another sweetener, leading to a more uniformly textured batter with no lumps.
Make sure the butter is at room temperature before you begin. Using a microwave for this job can result in a quick disaster of melted butter! The microwave method rarely works for me as it tends to soften butter unevenly.
Use this simple hack to soften butter instead. Heat two cups of water in the microwave for a few minutes or until it's very hot. Meanwhile, cut your butter into cubes and place it in a glass bowl. Remove the water from the microwave and replace it with the bowl of butter. Immediately close the door, but don't turn on the microwave. The steam and radiant heat will help soften the butter in about 10 minutes so that you can successfully cream it with sugar.
Garnish your cookie plate with fresh rosemary sprigs. These savoury herb cookies look beautiful when arranged with a few sprigs of rosemary. These sprigs will give your friends a hint of what to expect when they bite into one! They'll be pleasantly surprised!
🔁 Possible Variations
Use your favourite gluten-free flour blend instead of the flours listed above. However, the texture of these shortbread cookies may be different, depending on the brand you use.
🥶 Storage and freezing instructions
Store these rosemary butter cookies in a covered container at room temperature for a few days, or wrap in plastic wrap, place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Add to a cookie tray and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs. These herbed shortbread cookies make a delicious addition to a cheese board or grazing board with other savoury items, even though they are slightly sweet.
Package these in clear cellophane bags or glass jars tied with a pretty ribbon and give them as gifts! And if you love that Homemade cookie stamp, attach it to your gift, too!
Need more inspiration for homemade gifts from your kitchen? You'll find more ideas in this roundup of Homemade Gifts from the Kitchen.
🗒 More gluten-free cookie recipes
- Orange-Cardamom Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
- Keto Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Crispy Salted Coconut Cookies
- Cranberry Pecan White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Easiest 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies - Keto
- Gluten-Free Almond Shortbread Cookie Balls
- Cranberry White Chocolate Macaroons
Looking for new ideas for holiday cookies all in one collection? See 20 Gluten-free Holiday Cookies and Bars.
When you make these rosemary shortbread cookies, please leave a comment and a rating. I love to hear how my recipes turn out for you. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter and have new recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
More gluten-free cookies and bars
📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Rosemary Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
- ½ cup white rice flour
- ½ cup millet flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon Monkfruit sweetener with erythritol OR granulated sugar
- ¾ cup butter, or dairy-free butter
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk or pulse until well combined.
- Add butter, honey, lemon zest, and rosemary and beat until well combined, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
- Turn dough out on to a sheet of plastic wrap and form a disc about one inch thick. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 355°F. when ready to bake and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a silicone pastry mat or on a surface lightly floured with oat flour, roll out dough to ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters or a lid to cut shapes of your choice.
- Use a lifter to transfer the cookies to the lined baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Let stand on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from Rosemary Shortbread Cookies published in Simply Gluten-Free November/December 2020.
Dani
These are delicious--you would never know they're gluten-free. I made these yesterday and plan to package some of them for neighbor gifts, as you suggested. 5stars!
Flavour & Savour
You have lucky neighbors! Thanks for the 5 stars!