Basic Shortbread- Delicious Results

The pure joy of comfort, baked treats. The most simplest form of a cookie is a shortbread.

Originated from Scotland this classic cookie is made with three ingredients: one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour.

A true, classic shortbread cookie should be crispy around the edges with a melt in your mouth, buttery, texture.

This recipe is for anyone who just loves to bake with minimal skill required. No mixers, or fancy ingredients needed. Just throw everything in a bowl and mix.

When I was six years old, I would always help my mom make these cookies. She would let me roll the cookie dough and cut it into different shapes. If it was Christmas we would cut the cookie dough into stars. If the cookies were for a birthday party I would cut the dough into hearts.

As a kid I felt really proud. I got to create cookies with my two hands. My favorite part of making the cookies was decorating. I got to use colorful sprinkles. My sister would always dip her cookies in dark chocolate.

This recipe is versatile. It can be transformed into different flavors, colors, shapes etc.

SKIP TO RECIPE

SHORTBREAD VARIATIONS

COOKIE	VARIATION	ADD IN INGREDIENTS	SHAPE
	Raspberry Jam Thumbprint	Raspberry Jam	Scoop dough into balls. Make an indent in the middle of the dough Fill the indent with jam & bake
	Peanutbutter Thumbprint	Peanut butter Crushed Peanuts Egg white (whisked) Melted dark chocolate	​Scoop dough into balls. Roll into whisked egg white. Roll balls into crushed peanuts Make an indent in the middle of the dough. Fill with peanut butter & bake. Drizzle dark chocolate on cooled cookies.
	Chocolate Hazelnut Sandwhich	Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Sliced Almonds Icing Sugar	Roll shortbread dough 1/2 cm. Cut into circles. With half of the cookies, cut an inner circle. This will be the top of the sandwich cookie. Sprinkle sliced almonds on half the cookies. Bake at 335F. Cool, and sandwich cookies with chocolate hazelnut spread. Top with icing sugar
	Almond Moons	Slices almonds Egg whites (whisked)	Scoop dough into balls. With each scoop form a crescent shape, forming a moon. Place cookie on a lined sheet tray, brush with egg white. Place sliced almonds on each cookie. Bake at 345F.
	Cinnamon Roll	Cinnamon Brown sugar Egg (whisked)	​Roll dough into 1/2 cm thick. Spread egg wash on rolled out cookie dough. Mix brown sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture all over the dough. Roll up the cookie dough, tightly. Refrigerate dough for 1hour. Slice log into 1cm thick slice, place on cookie sheet and bake at 345F.

BAKEWARE

Having the appropriate bakeware for cookies is essential into creating a delicious treat. A sheet pan or cookie sheet must have the right metal thickness to distribute heat evenly to your cookies. The thickness of the metal cannot be too thin or cookies will over bake and be extra crunchy. The metal cannot be too heavy either, because who wants to wait an hour for a cookie! Not only that, the longer the cookie takes to bake the more butter will release, equaling one FLAT COOKIE! Baker Mary likes to bake her cookies on a Crown Cookware Cookie Magic Sheet for a couple of reasons:

• The gauge is 16, which is the perfect thickness of metal.

• Crown Cookware manufactures their products with pure food-grade aluminum. BONUS: They are a Canadian manufacturer!

• Their baking trays has no crazy coatings on it, I only like to bake with products that are non-toxic. Over time coatings on cookie sheets can peel, and chip into the baked treats. DANGEROUS: can cause health problems in the future.

• Each aluminum pan features a flat surface with two tapered raised edges for extra stability and easy handling and cleaning.

• The two tapered raised edges make it easier to cool and remove cookies from the baking pan. The cookies and baked goods SLIDE RIGHT OFF!

The trick to perfectly, baked cookies is the temperature of your oven. You want to bake your cookies at 345F. You want to take your cookies out of the oven five minutes before they are finished baking. Cookies continue to bake on the baking tray out of the oven. You want to achieve crispy edges, that melts in your mouth.

"Make sure to cool your HOT cookies on a cooling rack or baker's rack. This stops the baking process. Cooling cookies on a wire rack ensures perfectly, baked cookies with crispy bottoms, instead of a soggy treat."

Baker Mary

Another trick is to refrigerate your pre-rolled out cookies on the tray for at least 2 hours before baking. Refrigerating your cookie dough helps maintain the cookies' shape when it hits the hot oven. It will spread less during the baking process.

Create multiple varieties of shortbread cookies. Cut in any shape you like. Decorate with royal icing, sprinkles or dip in chocolate for the chocoholics.

RECIPE- Yields 25 cookies or 1.5(lb.) Cookie Dough

INGREDIENTS

• 1C flour All Purpose

• ½ C Cornstarch

• ½ C Icing Sugar

• Salt 1 tsp

• Softened Butter ¾ cup

• Vanilla Extract( 2 Tbsp.)

• Lemon Zest (1Tbsp)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 345F.

2. Mix flour, icing sugar, lemon zest, salt and cornstarch in a bowl.

3. Add softened butter to the mixture and vanilla extract. Mix until a dough forms. Do not over work the dough. The dough should be smooth.

4. Roll dough into 1/4inch thick. Dust the counter with all purpose flour before rolling. This prevents the dough from sticking to the counter. ***If cookie dough is too soft, refrigerate for 1hour.***

5. Cut cookie dough into shapes that your heart desires.

6. Place cookies on a Crown Cookware Cookie Magic Sheet. For easy clean-up use parchment paper on the sheet. But it is not needed for this recipe.

7. Add sprinkles or sanding sugar on each cookie prior to baking. You can leave it plain for a traditional shortbread.

8. Bake for 10minutes at 345F or until the shortbread is golden brown around the edges. Do not over bake. Cookies will continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes out of the oven.

9. Cool on a Crown Cookware Stainless-Steel Rack for 15 minutes.

10. Enjoy!

Check out the full video on Crown Cookware's Instagram! Baking easy shortbread in 10 minutes with President, Master Craftsman David Paul Vella. and Baker Mary during the magical holidays. *** (VIDEO LINK CLICK) ***

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