Lemonbalm Shortbread

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup + 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

1 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh lemon balm (about 2 dozen leaves)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

Instructions:

Rinse the lemon balm well and shake off excess water, then allow to air dry completely. (a salad spinner speeds up the task!). Fresh herbs should never be chopped when wet, so be sure the leaves are 100% dry. Discarding the stems, pile the leaves on top of each other a dozen at a time and roll into a tight “cigar”. Using a sharp knife, slice very thinly. Pile the shredded herbs into a mound and chop them a bit more, until quite fine. Use right away. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, herb, fresh lemon zest, salt and sugar until well mixed. Add the flour and mix well. You may need to use your hands for the final part of mixing. Do not overwork the dough. Roll the smooth dough into a ball and flatten it. Wrap tightly in wax paper and chill for 20 minutes. Roll out the flattened disk on a lightly floured surface and cut batter into shapes using a cookie cutter. Shortbread dough can be finicky to roll out, so you can skip that and form the dough into a log, refrigerate for 2 hours and then simply slice the cookies about ¼ inch thick. Place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes on a rack placed in the top third of the oven. If your oven is on the hot side, check after 6 minutes.

Recipe from Aube Giroux PBS.org/kitchen-vignettes