Sweet and Salty Herbed Shortbread

- Merrill

Several weeks ago, Amanda and I received a delicious assortment of goodies from Maggie Battista (alias eatboutique) that included an addictive sweet and savory shortbread with herbs in it. Neither of us could get enough of the buttery, fragrant cookies -- we had to ration out the package so that we wouldn’t eat it all at once.

Then a week or two later, I was at my friend Sara's for dinner, and she set out a little plate of homemade sage shortbread rounds for dessert. Inspired by this coincidence, I decided to include my own version of Sara's crumbly, sage-infused treats in a column on Summer Berry Desserts I was working on for the Boston-based magazine The Herb Quarterly.

Below is an adapted recipe that calls for the addition of any fresh herb of your choosing. I'd probably recommend using hardier varieties like sage, rosemary and thyme over herbs like tarragon or basil that bruise easily. But why not experiment? If you find a winning combination, please let me know in the comments section below.

Sweet and Salty Herbed Shortbread

Makes about 27 pieces

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, etc.)
• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature