Butter cookies that never fail

May 31, 2022 0 Comments

This recipe gives you shortbread cookies that are crumbly and melt in your mouth. It requires you to make a dough and refrigerate it at least an hour before baking, so allow plenty of time to bake these cookies.

First, prepare the dough. Ingredients you will need:

1 cup unsalted butter (not margarine), softened to room temperature

½ cup powdered sugar (icing)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside. In a bowl, beat the butter for about a minute with an electric or hand mixer. Add the sugar and beat until smooth, about 1.5 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, then gently add the flour mixture until just incorporated. Don’t over mix. Flatten the dough into a disc shape, wrap it in plastic. Chill the dough for 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut them into circles or shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place on prepared baking sheets and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

(If you find your cookies lose their shape during baking, try placing the entire baking sheet with the cut dough in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes before baking. This will ensure the cookies hold their shape as they bake.)

Cool on a rack and store in airtight containers. Cookies can also be frozen.

There are many options for topping shortbread cookies. Some popular options include powdered sugar, sugar sprinkles, or even dipping the ends in melted chocolate.

The great thing about shortbread dough is that it’s delicious on its own or with added flavors. Try adding chocolate chips, espresso powder, cinnamon, or finely chopped orange or lemon zest. Each of these can add a nice side to the flavor of plain panettone.

The secret to this cookie recipe is the cornstarch. In any cookie recipe, you can replace a portion of the flour with cornstarch to give the cookie a crumbly texture. If you’re looking for a crispier texture, replace ¼ cup of the flour with rice flour. Also, be sure to buy pure vanilla extract, rather than imitation vanilla (which is made from synthetic vanilla and has a more bitter taste). Trust me, you can taste the difference!

Particularly with cookies, using higher quality ingredients will give you a better tasting product in the end. Look for high-quality butter (grade AA is the highest grade of butter, and therefore the highest quality).

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