Crunchy, buttery, pine nut-studded cookies with the fresh scent of lemon and rosemary.

This is a classic butter cookie recipe, but with some of the flour swapped out for cornmeal to add a bit of texture.  Lemon and fresh rosemary compliment each other in this cookie.  The dough for these cookies comes together quickly.  After some chill-out time in the fridge, just slice and bake for a fabulous cookie with a sophisticated flavor.

Lemon Rosemary Butter Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
5.5 oz (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
6.5 oz (1 1/3 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 oz (1/2 cup) cornmeal, fine grind
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, fine mince (detail photo below)
2 tsp. fresh lemon zest, fine mince (detail photo below)
1/2 cup raw pine nuts

Cream together the butter, sugar, and egg yolk until light.  Add all other ingredients except the pine nuts and mix on low until combined.  Use a spatula to gently mix in the pine nuts by hand to avoid breaking them.

Roll the dough into a log, approximately 2.5 inches in diameter.  Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, or until firm. (Make ahead note:  you can freeze the dough log, and slice and bake the cookies when you want them.  Be sure to wrap well in plastic wrap before freezing.)

Heat oven to 375.  Remove the dough log from the fridge.  Using a sharp knife, slice rounds of dough about 1/4 inch thick.  The key is to keep all the cookies the same thickness so that they bake evenly.
Space the rounds about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until edges begin to turn light brown.  Remove from pan while hot and let cool on a cooling rack.  Store any uneaten cookies air-tight for best texture.