Adapted from Bon Appétit, Nov. 2007

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar plus more for dusting

2 tbsp. fresh, finely chopped rosemary, thyme, or sage

1 1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp. coarse kosher salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Additional sprigs of fresh rosemary for packaging

Directions: 

Place flour, 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, chopped herbs, lemon zest, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.  Process mixture for 5 seconds.

Sprinkle pieces of softened butter over flour mixture.  Process, using on-off pulses, until ingredients just come together to form a dough.  Turn mixture out onto counter and gently knead once or twice. Divide mixture into 2 portions and form each portion into a log, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and roll  each one on the counter to make it perfectly round.  Refrigerate logs for at least 30 minutes or overnight. (Once logs have chilled, they may be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 1 month. Transfer frozen logs to refrigerator a day before baking them.)

Line a large baking sheet, or 2 smaller baking sheets, with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap and slice each log into 1/3 to 1/2-inch pieces and place on prepared baking sheet, 1-inch apart.  Place pan(s) on top rack for 10 minutes and rotate to bottom rack for an additional 10 minutes.

Let cookies cool on baking sheet(s) for 5 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Dust cookies with confectioner’s sugar, place on a platter, and garnish with fresh rosemary, thyme or sage sprigs.

Yield: 32-40 cookies.