Monsoon season is upon us and I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it but to sit and watch the rain over a nice cup of hot tea and a plate of cookies.  Some of you are probably thinking that it’s too hot for tea, but I drink green tea each and every day, throughout all four seasons.  I decided to make these cookies after listening to The Splendid Table this weekend.  This week’s episode featured chef and author Sally Schneider who demonstrated making herb salt, which I definitely plan to make soon.  But what really caught my attention was when she started talking about adding the herb salt to chocolate cake and butter cookies!  I rarely make cookies, but one of my favorite cookies is shortbread.  I love that it’s not too sweet and has a texture that stands up to a cup of coffee or tea.  I adapted Ina Garten’s basic shortbread cookie recipe and added lemon zest and Herbes de Provence to the dough.  It resulted in a cookie that was subtly sweet with floral and herb notes that was crisp enough to dunk in your coffee–almost like a biscotti!

It is easiest to make this dough in a stand mixer.  I have to give special thanks to my friend and neighbor, Kim, who allowed me to borrow her KitchenAid Mixer for this project!   I really need to get one of these! 

3 sticks butter, softened (I used 2 sticks of salted butter and 1 stick of unsalted butter)

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

zest of one lemon

1 1/2 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence*

1/4 teaspoon salt

*Be careful to read the label on the herbs and make sure that it doesn’t contain garlic, as some Herbes de Provence mixtures do.  That would make for a very weird tasting cookie!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together. If the dough is too dry (as mine was) add water a little at a time until the dough comes together.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape it into a log.  You can also shape it into a disk if you plan to roll it out and use a cookie cutter.

Place the dough in the refridgerator for at least thirty minutes. Then slice the dough into rounds and place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

I sprinkled the tops of my cookies with a mixture of turbinado sugar and finely chopped fresh rosemary, but this is completely optional.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies just begin to turn golden brown.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.