Long before there was Coldplay, David Gray, the Dave Matthews Band, the Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Dan and Shay, and Ed Sheeran, there were the Beatles. I was nine years old when they first landed in the states and ten years old when they flew into Chicago. In what was a rather out of the ordinary detour home after an afternoon at the home of some relatives, my father pulled into Midway Airport and parked the car. We all got out and joined the throngs of people standing at the fence waiting for a plane to arrive (those were the days before TSA and any sort of security) . How my father knew the Beatles were landing that afternoon I have no idea. Quite possibly he heard it on the radio. Why he actually dragged us all out of the car to get a glimpse of them getting off the plane is an even bigger mystery. Yet, this slightly surreal day has been permanently etched into my memory. For my tenth birthday, my cousin Billy, took me to see the Beatles movie "Help". In retrospect, I can't help but wonder if he was the only boy in the theatre as all I remember were the hundreds of other girls standing and screaming throughout the entire movie. This is not an exaggeration. To this day, all I can recall about the movie is the screaming. Whatever possessed young girls like me to scream at a movie screen is yet another one of life's mysteries. Apparently all of the screaming got out of my system by the time I went to my first real concert at age fifteen. No, it wasn't the Beatles, it was a Carole King and James Taylor concert. And that was yet another surreal experience, but I will save that story for another time.
This past weekend we went to see the movie "Yesterday". For those of you who haven't yet seen it or even read about it, all I will say about it is the music of the Beatles is a major theme (no spoilers here). But if you love the music of the Beatles, love a feel good movie, and/or are a hopeless romantic, you absolutely have to see this movie. It's been more than forty-eight hours since I left the theatre and I still can't stop smiling every time I think about it.
There were few other things bringing a smile to my face this past weekend. One of those being this insanely delicious Sea Salted Rosemary Shortbread. Admittedly I am partial to the flavor and texture of most shortbreads. However, when I came across this recipe I hesitated in making them. Thank goodness that hesitation didn't turn into a permanent hold. Because when I tasted them, I screamed. Seems that youthful screaming at the movie theatre has been replaced with screaming when tasting something amazing. This melt in your mouth Sea Salted Rosemary Shortbread is buttery, salty, and herby. While these are technically a shortbread (due in part to the absence of eggs), I would put them into the 'cracker' category as they would send any cheese board over the top! (See notes below for other pairing suggestions.)
The sweet, salty Sea Salted Rosemary Shortbread is made with only six ingredients. Confectionary sugar, kosher salt, flaky sea salt, all-purpose (unbleached) flour, finely minced fresh rosemary, and unsalted butter. Using a European butter made a huge difference in the shortbread's flavor and texture. In other words, these shortbread will only be scream worthy if you use an unsalted European butter.
The dough comes together easily when using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. The texture of this dough had very similar qualities to the dough for Amy's Shortbread Cookies. It was a soft, supple, very easy to roll out dough. The original recipe called for chilling the dough for 40 minutes in the refrigerator, however, I found I could roll out the dough immediately after it all come together in the mixer. If for any reason your dough seems to soft or sticky to roll out, then wrap it in plastic wrap to give it a quick chill.
With the Fourth of July holiday right around the corner, I decided to cut the rolled out dough into stars rather than squares. Because stars have a rather timeless quality to them, all future batches may end up staying star shaped. Use any 2" to 2 1/2" cookie cutter shape you have when rolling out the cookies to 1/4" thickness. A fluted edge cookie cutter would make for a nice finishing touch, an almost store bought look. As important as the shape of the shortbread might be, their flaky sea salt finish is even more so. One bite of this incredibly flavorful shortbread and you might find it hard not to say 'Wow'!
The shortbread bakes up in 16-18 minutes in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven. Rotating your baking sheet halfway through the baking process helps to ensure the shortbread bakes evenly. When done, the edges of the shortbread will be a beautiful light golden brown.
Seriously, this Sea Salted Rosemary Shortbread is unlike any shortbread or cracker you could buy from a bakery or grocery store. If you love the flavor of rosemary, you absolutely have to make them. Your world without this shortbread would like a world without the Beatles.
Once baked, the shortbread will be good for up to a week if stored in a tightly sealed container. Although I doubt they will last that long.
Ever since making the English Oat Crackers, I have become a big fan of homemade 'crackers' on a cheese platter. Not even the high end expensive packages of crackers come close to ones homemade. The Sea Salted Rosemary Shortbread are destined to become a cheese board necessity around here. And even though I have been told not to bring anything up to the lake this week (but who listens), I am bringing up a tin of them, along with some homemade Cherry Tomato Jam, and the fixings for the Jarlsberg Cheese Spread. Our Fourth of July pre-fireworks wine and cheese course is going to be memorably EPIC! Now I just have to decide which wine to bring to my sister the wine connoisseur. Oh, the pressure makes me just want to shout!
Sea Salted Rosemary Shortbread (an ever so slight alteration to the Salted Rosemary Shortbread recipe from Lisa Ludwinski's "Sister Pie" cookbook)
Ingredients
2 cups (260 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted European style butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectionary sugar
2 scant Tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary
Flaky Sea Salt, for finishing (I use Maldon Sea Salt)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, confectionary sugar, and rosemary (approximately 2-3 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the mixture is fully blended.
4. Add in the flour mixture. Mix until combined and dough begins to come together.
5. Divide the dough in half. Place one half of the dough in the refrigerator while you roll out the other half.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/4" thickness. Cut into 2" shapes using a cookie cutter of choice. Sprinkle with a flaky sea salt.
7. Transfer cookie cutouts to a baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes rotating the pan midway through the baking process. Shortbread is done when the edges are slightly golden. Note: Begin checking for doneness as early as 15 minutes.
8. Remove baking pan from oven. Let cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
9. Roll out and bake remaining dough. Cut into shapes, sprinkles with flaky sea salt and bake.
10. Store shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Notes: (1) For the best flavor and texture use an unsalted European butter. I used Kerrygold. (2) Serve shortbread on a cheese board; with some Cherry Tomato Jam and Jarlsberg Cheese Spread, or just enjoy them all by themselves. (3) The original recipe recommended wrapping the dough in plastic wrap and chilling for 40 minutes before rolling out. My dough was ready to roll out immediately. I refrigerated half of the dough while I worked with the other half.