For many of us, Thanksgiving isn’t complete without turkey, sweet potatoes and pie, or crudité to start the meal. Dorie Greenspan, author of the new cookbook “Dorie’s Cookies,” is making a pitch for savory cookies. Give your guests a little something to nibble on before the main event with these savory rosemary-Parmesan cookies. Flaky, nutty and full of flavor, they’re the perfect accompaniment to a crisp glass of white wine or a flute of champagne.
Rosemary-Parmesan shortbread cookies
For a more crumbly texture, Greenspan recommends not grating your cheese too fine.
Yield: Makes about 60 cookies
Ingredients
3 tbsps granulated sugar
2 tbsps fresh rosemary, minced
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup pecans, toasted
⅓ cup Parmesan, grated and lightly packed
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
A rolling pin
A cookie cutter, 1½-inch diameter
Parchment paper
Instructions
Season the sugar: Working in a small bowl, rub the sugar and rosemary together with your fingertips until the sugar turns moist, aromatic and maybe even tinged green.
Prepare the dough: Combine the flour, pecans, Parmesan, salt and rosemary-sugar in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add in the pieces of cold butter and pulse until the mixture turns crumbly. Slowly and gradually pulse in the beaten egg yolk, then continue to pulse the mixture until it turns to a moist dough that forms clumps and curds.
Roll the dough: Turn the dough out and divide it in half. Pat each half into a disk. Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to a ¼-inch thickness. Repeat with the other half. Without removing the parchment paper, slide both disks onto a baking sheet — you can stack them — and freeze for at least 1 hour.
Position your oven rack to the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Have your cookie cutter on-hand.
Cut the cookies: Working with one slab of dough at a time, peel away the top sheet of parchment paper. Use the cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can, transferring them to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Leave about 1 inch between the cookies. Combine the scraps from both portions of dough and re-roll them. Freeze and repeat the process with the remaining dough, always making certain that you start with a cool baking sheet.
Bake the cookies in the oven at 350ºF for about 15 minutes, rotating your baking sheet 180º halfway through, or once they turn golden and have set. Once done, let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Bake the remaining cookies.
To store: If wrapped well, the rolled-out dough can be frozen and stored for up to 2 months. Simply cut out the dough and bake directly from the freezer. Baked cookies can be kept in a covered container for up to 1 week at room temperature.