I lived in Chicago my entire life until last year when my family moved to New York.
There are things that you don’t do or see when you live in a major city because you take it for granted. You think, “I don’t need to go up to the top of the Willis Tower. That’s for tourists. It will always be there.” While I managed to visit most famous attractions in Chicago, there is one thing I regret never doing: having afternoon tea at the Drake Hotel.
The Drake Hotel is a gorgeous venue for weddings and, of course, accommodations on the Magnificent Mile. However, it is also the definitive destination for tea in Chicago. Guests are served in an open, elegant room with classy fixtures and swooping draperies. There are smartly dressed people. Sipping tea. And eating crustless finger sandwiches. It sounds old fashioned. It sounds lovely.
For now, I will have to make my own tea cookies and dream about sitting down for tea in Chicago. This Rosemary Shortbread cookie seemed like the perfect accompinament to my cup of Earl Grey last weekend.
Shortbread is, indeed, an old fashioned cookie. According to the English Tea Store, shortbread was once reserved as a luxury for special occasions like Christmas, Hogmanay (Scottish New Year’s Eve), and weddings. Today, it remains an everyday favorite around the world. It consists of three main ingredients: butter, sugar and flour.
To me, the addition of fresh rosemary and the fluted shape (above) turns a simple cookie into something more delicate, sweet and all around just lovely. I love this set of cookie cutters that helped me form these cookies into a fluted shape.
The dough must be chilled for an hour prior to rolling and cutting it into shapes. However, you can leave the dough overnight and attend to it the next day.
The taste of shortbread isn’t for everyone, but it is a perfect pairing for a hot cup of your favorite tea. You can enjoy these and pretend you are sitting in the Palm Room at The Drake.
Lovely, indeed.
- 1½ cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour for dough and ½ cup for rolling dough
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tb Lemon zest (optional)
- In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and ⅔ cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, salt, rosemary and lemon zest.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F). Cover cookie pan with non-stick spray or parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness and cut cookies as desired (with a cutter or in easy shapes). The dough will become softer as it is rolled and warms.
- Align cookies on pan and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the tops.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool on wire racks.