Rosemary Shortbread
I’ve come to the conclusion that tattooed baristas along with body piercings are the ones who really make great cappuccinos! TIBS, Just Us, Smiling Goat, Culture Espresso Bar, Joe to name a few all make some of the best cappuccinos I have ever tasted outside of Italy! Making flawless coffee is an art in itself and perhaps the tattooed baristas already have a handle on art through the images on their bodies (making a statement?). I don’t know but what a delight when I am introduced to a new coffee shop and I see the staff with tattoos! A few weeks ago my husband told me of a new place to enjoy coffee and he was waxing lyrical about it. The cappuccino at Blue Bottle Coffee was everything I had hoped it would be. Yes, I am a coffee lunatic! The shop in the basement of Rockefeller Center (opened March 2012) offers a small selection of pastries and one that I had to try was rosemary shortbread. The slight hint of salt and savory taste of rosemary had my taste buds howling for more.
Makes 18 or so bars
adapted from Melissa Clark
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 teaspoon honey
Preheat oven to 325ºf. In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, rosemary and salt. Add butter and honey, and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some crumbs start to come together, but don’t over process. Dough should not be smooth.
Press dough into an ungreased (or parchment paper-lined for easy removal) 8 or 9-inch-square baking 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.
The Culinary Chase’s Note: Texture-wise these bars would remind you of a brownie. Before placing shortbread in the oven, I sprinkled a tinsey bit of sea salt over the top. Sweet and savory flavors mingling so well with one another that it was impossible to only have one! Enjoy!