Description
Made with a savory shortbread cookie dough, these easy parmesan cookies are crunchy, buttery, and flavored with fresh herbs for a light snack! Totally gluten-free too.
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free flour blend does not already include it)
- 3/4 cups butter, softened
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fresh herbs (optional, for decoration)
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients to Form Dough: In a large bowl, place the gluten-free measure-for-measure flour, xanthan gum (if using), softened butter, grated parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, egg and salt and mix thoroughly either by hand or with an electric mixer. The dough will take a minute or two to start to form into a ball, just keep mixing.
- Chill Dough: Once the dough starts coming together, remove it from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Roll Out Chilled Dough: Once chilled, remove and place the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll it into a thin layer, about ¼-inch thick.
- Cut Dough: Using a cookie cutter of choice (about 2” in diameter), cut circles out of the dough. Place the cookies on a baking tray. Re-roll the remaining dough until the dough is all used up and cut into cookies.
- Decorate Cookie Dough with Herbs: Take the fresh herbs and center 1 leaf of parsley, cilantro, basil, etc in the middle of each piece of cookie dough. Gently press the herb into the cookie. (If the herbs do not stick, use a small amount of water and brush the top of the cookie dough and then press the herb on top and it will help the herb stick to the cookie dough).
- Bake Until Golden: Place the tray of cookies in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, the edges should be slightly golden, but do not overbake.
- Cool Before Enjoying: Remove and let cool on a cooling rack before eating or storing.
Notes
Gluten-Free Flour: I recommend using a good-quality gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend (a 1:1 gluten-free substitute for regular wheat flour) that is made up of lighter flours/starches (such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch or potato starch). I do NOT recommend using a gluten-free flour blend that is made up of heavier flours (such as garbanzo bean flour).
Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours and helps the ingredients to better bind together. If your gluten-free flour blend does not already include xanthan gum, make sure to add it in.
Butter: Since this is a recipe for savory cookies, regular salted butter is fine. If you are lactose-intolerant, you may use salted dairy-free butter instead.
Parmesan Cheese: Since this is a recipe for parmesan cookies, grated parmesan cheese is a key ingredient. Alternatively, you may use grated grana padano cheese instead. If you are lactose-intolerant, you may substitute it with dairy-free parmesan cheese instead.
Fresh Thyme: I like flavoring these savory parmesan herb cookies with fresh thyme, for finely chopped fresh rosemary will work too.
Egg: The egg helps to better bind the ingredients together, so make sure to add it in.
Fresh Herbs: I like using fresh herbs (such as basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley) as a decorative touch, but this is completely optional.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Chilling Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
