More shortbread testing: Lemon Rosemary and Chai Spice

I love the simplicity of shortbread. It's butter, sugar, flour and whatever add-ins you want. No chemical leaveners and for such a small cookie, it packs a real flavor punch.

I compared two shortbread base recipes.  Here's the breakdown:

Chai Spice



Base recipe: 1 cup butter,  1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp confectioners sugar and 2 cups flour.  I made my own Chai spice blend - cardamon, ginger, cinnamon, fennel seed, star anise, a little bit of cloves,  black peppercorns and black tea and used a food processor to make the dough.

I didn't care for the texture at all. It was too dry and sandy.

 Lemon Rosemary



Base recipe: 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 3/4 cups flour.  Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar till light.  Add the flour, lemon zest and fresh rosemary.  Mix just until a dough forms.

I much prefer the texture of this shortbread. I think the combo of using granulated sugar vs confectioners sugar and a little less flour is a winner.