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thyme & lemon – sweet & savory
The basic flavours of lemon & thyme are combined in shortbread: once adding sugar to get sweet shortbread, once adding cheese for a savory shortbread.
Prep Time20 minutes
ingredients:
for the sweet shortbread:
  • 150 g all-purpose flour
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 125 g butter
  • zest of 1/2 an organic lemon
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp salt
for the savory shortbread:
  • 150 g all-purpose flour
  • 50 g freshly grated pecorino
  • 125 g butter
  • zest of 1/2 an organic lemon
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp finely ground white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
how to:
  • Grate lemon zest.
  • Grate pecorino.
for the sweet shortbread:
  • Mix flour, sugar, dried thyme, 1/2 of the lemon zest & salt.
  • Add butter cut into cubes.
  • Knead everything w/ your hands until smooth.
  • Form somewhat like a roll, wrap in cling film & roll over the surface until even (length approximately 20 cm).
  • Store in the fridge (fresh department of about 0 degrees C!) for about 30 min.
for the savory shortbread:
  • Mix flour, grated pecorino, dried thyme, 1/2 of the lemon zest, pepper & salt.
  • Add butter cut into cubes.
  • Knead everything w/ your hands until smooth.
  • Form somewhat like a roll, wrap in cling film & roll over the surface until even (length approximately 25 cm).
  • Store in the fridge (fresh department of about 0° C!) for about 30 min.
for both:
  • Preheat the oven to 160° C w/ fan.
  • Line 2 baking trays w/ baking parchment.
  • Unwrap one of the dough rolls & cut into slices of about 5 mm.
  • Arrange on the baking tray (5 x 4 resp. 4 x 3).
  • Bake in the oven for about 14-15 min.
  • Unwrap the next dough roll & cut into slices of about 5 mm.
  • Arrange on the baking tray (5 x 4 resp. 4 x 3).
  • Bake in the oven for about 14-15 min.
  • Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Prep Time: Cooling time for the dough is not included.
Cooling time: It’s about 30 min in the fresh department of about 0° C; it’s about 1 h (minimum!) in the rest of the fridge.
Cook Time: It’s 2x up to 15 min if you bake twice. If you’ve got 3 baking trays you may be able to arrange the shortbread cookies (sweet & savoury) for one baking batch...
Pecorino: I used fresh pecorino which I grated by myself (not so finely grated as you may buy in your trusted food store).
Butter: The butter should be ice-cold.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks - if anybody can resist so long...).