Photo from Penguin Random House

Rosemary-Lemon Shortbread is excerpted from Good & Sweet © 2022 by Levy, Brian. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.

Makes sixteen 3-inch wedges or 2-inch squares

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease two 6-inch round metal pans or one 8-inch square metal pan and line the pan(s) with parchment.

In a stand mixer (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the softened butter with the rosemary and lemon zest on medium-high speed until it’s creamy.

In a food processor, combine the flour, cornstarch, freeze-dried corn, date sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to break up the corn, then continue to process for about 1 minute to pulverize everything to a fine powder.

Scoop half the dry ingredients into the butter and mix just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and pulse just until it forms an even, loose, sandy texture.

Empty the dough into your parchment-lined pan(s) and press it very hard (use your body weight) with your fingers and the heel of your hand to form a level surface. Use a fork to gently score cut lines that divide the dough into 16 cookies (8 wedges each if you are using round pans; 16 squares if you are using a square pan).

Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Just after taking the shortbread out of the oven, with the shortbread still in the pan(s), use a sharp knife to slice along the scored lines. Let cool completely before serving (they are even better after a couple of hours) and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

NOTE: As a substitute for the 70 grams of freeze-dried sweet corn, you can use 6 Tbsp (52 g) corn flour + 2 Tbsp (18 g) date sugar.  

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