Shortbread Cookies – One of my Holiday Traditions
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These rich buttery shortbread cookies have become a family tradition.
They’re something that I make every year. It’s the one cookie that my even my coworkers start asking me for – around Thanksgiving I start getting the questions: “Are you bringing in the shortbread cookies again this year?” Of course I am, because I have to make them, and I can’t eat them alone!
I keep saying I’m ‘not really a baker,’ but here I go again with another something to bake. It just so happens that I started this blogging thing smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, and the holidays always seem to require a lot of baking, so I’m just rolling with it!
This blog is about my real life, and what I really cook in my real life. I would love to attest that I only eat grass-fed meat and organic veggies 24/7, but the reality is that I cook what I love to eat. Living life to the fullest is always about compromises, so when I do eat something decadent and sinful, it’s going to be worth it! Any splurge is gonna be something made from scratch with high-quality ingredients. Everything that you choose to include in your life should be something that adds value, either to your overall health and/or happiness. These shortbread cookies fit the bill.
Some words that I try to live by.
Surround yourself with people that inspire you. Love the people that love you back just as hard. Eat food that you love and that nourishes your body and your soul, indulge in the sinful treats sometimes, and when you do… enjoy it completely! Don’t ruin it by making yourself feel guilty – life is too short for that nonsense.
These words to live by are what this shortbread recipe is all about. This recipe is completely decadent – it is rich, buttery and melts-in-your-mouth tasty. Add some dark chocolate and you have a masterpiece!
This shortbread recipe yields cookies that have just enough flour to hold the butter and sugar in place, and not one pinch more. Shortbread is all about the butter so make sure you use amazingly tasty butter, unsalted of course. I usually use an unsalted European style butter in this recipe; European butter has a higher butterfat content than regular “American” butter, and also a more complex flavor due to mild fermentation that occurs in the production process. It makes the difference between good versus awesome shortbread cookies!
Do you need a few other magnificently delicious cookie recipes?
Fluer de sel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cascade Beach Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups European unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean, scraping from inside preferably Tahitian
- 3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
Other Variations
- turbinado sugar roll exterior of logs before refrigerating
- 24 oz chocolate chips dark or bittersweet
Instructions
Cookies
- Combine butter, sugar and salt, and cream on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract and the scrapings of the vanilla bean. Scrape down the bowl.
- Turn the mixer off and add the flour. Turn the machine to low and mix until the flour is completely incorporated.
- Remove the dough from the bowl. Working on parchment or wax paper, form dough into 4 logs, each 10 inches long and 1 ¼ inches in diameter (roll logs in turbinado sugar at this time, if using). Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight (or at least 4 hours).
- Slice logs into ¼ inch slices. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 325℉, 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Chocolate
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Alternatively you can melt chips in the microwave: Microwave on high for 2 min, stir, then microwave 1 min at a time until thoroughly melted.
- Dip one end of the cooled cookies in chocolate. Set on wax or parchment paper and let chocolate harden.
[…] the end, I went back to using the same base that I use for my chocolate dipped shortbread cookies. I had to adjust things a little to get the right texture and consistency. Thankfully, these turned […]