On my most recent trip to London, my mom and I stayed right next to a Gail’s bakery. While Gail’s is a chain, their baked goods are next level, and there is always something new to try. On our third visit, the baker brought out parmesan shortbread cookies, something I had never seen before, as I was only familiar with sweet shortbread. My mom and I decided to try them, and after one bite, I was hooked. I immediately started imagining all the ways a savory cookie could be elevated. Back home, I experimented with ten different recipes until I finally perfected what I believe is the ultimate parmesan shortbread, a rich, flavorful cookie inspired by Gail’s but might just steal the show.
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Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- Butter incorporation: Be sure to gently press the butter into the flour between your fingers before mixing. This helps distribute the butter evenly in the dough and is key to achieving the shortbread’s signature flaky texture. Do not overmix.
- Salted butter: It’s important to use salted butter. During recipe testing, batches made with unsalted butter did not hold their shape as well, resulting in misshapen shortbread.
- Shaping options: While I shaped the dough into logs to create round shortbread, you can mold the dough into any shape you like. Press it into a square or rectangular pan for square or rectangular shortbread, or roll it out before refrigerating and use cookie cutters for custom shapes.
- Chilling the dough: Do not skip refrigerating. Butter softens at body temperature, which can alter the dough’s consistency. Keeping the butter cold ensures proper distribution during baking, helping the shortbread maintain its shape and texture.
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Garlic Parmesan Shortbread
Serving Size:
2½ dozen
Time:
1 hour
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 Tbsp salted butter
- 312 g all purpose flour
- 40 g grated parmesan
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Roughly chop the butter into cubes and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour.
- Add the butter to the flour and use your fingers to gently press and flatten the cubes, incorporating the butter into the flour. Continue until all the butter is evenly distributed, but still in visible chunks. The dough should not be fully cohesive.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, mix the butter and flour just until combined. The dough should hold together slightly when pressed between your fingers, but not be overly sticky. If it’s too crumbly, add 1/2 Tbsp of butter at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If it’s too wet, add 1 tsp of flour at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Add the Parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and mix until just combined.
- Shape the dough into two logs, about 1½ inches thick, and wrap each in plastic wrap.
- Chill the dough logs in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Line a full-size baking sheet (18″ × 26″) with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough logs from the refrigerator and slice into 1/8-inch rounds.
- Arrange the rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Leave a small gap between each, but there’s no need to space them far apart. The dough holds its shape and spreads minimally in the oven.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges of the shortbread just begin to turn golden. Rotate the pan 180° halfway through baking for even browning.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the shortbread to a cooling rack to reach room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container for future use.
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