Shortbread biscuits with rosemary salt

Ingredients

• 225 g plain flour
• 150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 75 g caster sugar
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tsp Xalte Rosemary salt, plus a pinch to finish

Method

1. 1Check that the butter is soft: when you press it with a finger it should give without effort. If it is hard, cut it into cubes and leave it out of the fridge for 30 minutes before you start.
2. 2Put the butter, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl and beat them with a wooden spoon or an electric whisk for 2 or 3 minutes, until you have a pale, smooth cream.
3. 3Add the flour and the 1/2 tsp of Xalte Rosemary salt and mix first with the spoon and then with your hands, only until the dough comes together in a ball with no traces of flour. Do not overwork it, or the biscuits will turn out hard.
4. 4Put the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll it out with a rolling pin to 1 cm thick. Slide it onto a tray with the paper and chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes, so it firms up and cuts cleanly.
5. 5Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160 °C with top and bottom heat and line a baking tray with baking paper.
6. 6Peel off the top sheet of paper and cut the dough with a knife into rectangles of about 3 x 6 cm, or into rounds with a cutter; you will get about 20 biscuits. Place them on the tray 2 cm apart, prick each one twice with a fork and put a pinch of Xalte Rosemary salt on each.
7. 7Bake on the middle shelf for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden and the centre is still pale. They should not take on much colour.
8. 8Leave them to cool on the tray for 15 minutes without touching them, because they are fragile while hot and break easily. Once cold and firm, move them to a plate or store them in an airtight tin.