Rosemary Raisin Cocktail Shortbread

Place the raisins (or dried fruit of choice) in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes, until they are plump. Drain, and then pat dry with paper towel. Chop the raisins (or other fruit) into smaller pieces, then set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, rub the rosemary leaves into the sugar with your fingers. Add the the butter and beat until creamy. Beat in the egg yolk. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and beat until smooth.

Add the salt and flour and beat until the dough is just beginning to form, but there are still a few streaks of flour left. Add the raisins, then use a large spatula to fold them into the dough until all parts of the dough are moist.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and gently knead a bit more. Press the dough into two flat disks, then place each disk between two sheets of wax paper. Working in turns, roll each disk out to about about 1/4 inch in thickness. Use the wax paper and lift each sheet of dough onto a baking sheet that will fit into your freezer/refrigerator. Refrigerate or freeze the rolled out dough for an hour or two, until quite firm.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a Siplat. Remove the dough sheets from the fridge and remove the top sheet of wax paper. From here, you can either use a small round cookie cutter, or cut dough into squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Re-roll the dough scraps and continue cutting cookies as you go. Place the cookies a bit apart from each other on the prepared baking sheet(s). Sprinkle with a few flakes of sea salt, if using. (Adding the salt will definitely put these in the savory camp, but I love them this way.)

Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes, until they are lightly golden brown on the edges. Remove baking sheets from the oven and set on a rack. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These keep very well in an airtight container and they taste even better if given a day to age before using.

Sources: Food 52 (Fig and Rosemary Cocktail Cookies) and Dorie Greenspan (Apricot-Tarragon Cocktail Cookies).