This is honestly the most wonderful time of the year. I'm getting real festive! So guess what I've been doing? BAKING HOLIDAY COOKIES!
Shortbread is a classic. This recipe is so simple, but it's simplicity at its best. It's the perfect, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth kind of cookie, and you can do almost anything you want with it. Cut it with a gingerbread man, love heart cookie cutters; well, anything you desire. But what makes it even cuter, is if you cut a smaller part in the middle, and sandwich it and put the filling with some jam or buttercream.
Happy holidays!
Shortbread cookies
Adapted from Joy of baking
Ingredients
2 cups (260 g) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners' or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
1. In a bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.
2. In an electric mixer (I did it manually), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, and beat until smooth and well combined. Put the vanilla extract, and then pour in the flour mixture, just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour, or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle. Cut into rounds, or other shapes with different cookie cutters. Place on the prepared baking sheets, and place in the refrigerate for another 15 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
* I rolled the dough out into quite big shapes, so it took a lot longer to bake. Just be caution not to over-bake them. They should have a bit of browning, but not too much!
* For a chocolate dipped shortbread variation, melt some chocolate (any) in a heatproof bowl, and then drizzle or dip the shortbread with the chocolate and place on baking paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, or when the chocolate is set.
What are your favourite holiday cookies?
Shortbread is a classic. This recipe is so simple, but it's simplicity at its best. It's the perfect, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth kind of cookie, and you can do almost anything you want with it. Cut it with a gingerbread man, love heart cookie cutters; well, anything you desire. But what makes it even cuter, is if you cut a smaller part in the middle, and sandwich it and put the filling with some jam or buttercream.
These make excellent holiday gifts, and the decorations are always the fun bit. What I like to do, is I like to melt some dark chocolate, and then dip my shortbread and sprinkle it with some chopped up pistachios. Feel free to sub in any nuts, or even sprinkles or candy! But I like how the saltiness of the pistachios cuts through with the dark chocolate, and then there you have your shortbread. I made these with dark chocolate last week, but this week, I ran out of dark chocolate, so I only had milk chocolate.
Happy holidays!
Shortbread cookies
Adapted from Joy of baking
Ingredients
2 cups (260 g) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners' or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
1. In a bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.
2. In an electric mixer (I did it manually), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, and beat until smooth and well combined. Put the vanilla extract, and then pour in the flour mixture, just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour, or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle. Cut into rounds, or other shapes with different cookie cutters. Place on the prepared baking sheets, and place in the refrigerate for another 15 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
* I rolled the dough out into quite big shapes, so it took a lot longer to bake. Just be caution not to over-bake them. They should have a bit of browning, but not too much!
* For a chocolate dipped shortbread variation, melt some chocolate (any) in a heatproof bowl, and then drizzle or dip the shortbread with the chocolate and place on baking paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, or when the chocolate is set.
What are your favourite holiday cookies?
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