Shortbread Stars Recipes

CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD STARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until blended. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in cranberries., Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 325°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. star-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

SUPER-EASY SHORTBREAD (3 INGREDIENTS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
• Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
• Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
• Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
• Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
• Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!

SHORTBREAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Heat the oven 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Put the flour, butter and sugar into a mixing bowl. Use your hands to combine the ingredients until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then squeeze until it comes together as a dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to ½ cm thick. Cut the dough into fingers and place on a lined baking tray. Use a fork to create imprints, then sprinkle with the remaining caster sugar.
• Chill the dough in the fridge for 20 mins, then bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Remove the shortbread fingers from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for 10 mins.

SHORTBREAD STARS

Steps:

• Cream butter 3-5 min until fluffy.
• add sugar and beat 2 min.
• add vanilla.
• add flour and salt and combine on low speed.
• chill 60 min.
• roll out to 1/4 " thickness and cut into stars.
• bake at 325 for 18-20 min.
• once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD STARS

Steps:

• Butter an 8 1/2-inch cake or springform pan; set aside. Sift together flour and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Cream until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, about 2 minutes more. Add vanilla, if using. Add flour mixture, and combine on low speed, scraping with spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Pat dough into prepared pan. If rolling out dough to cut into shapes, form into a flat disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Puree 1/2 cup blanched almonds; add to creamed butter and sugar with 1 teaspoon almond extract. Roll on lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into star shapes; chill. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until firm and just starting to color, 15 to 20 minutes. Toss cooled shortbread in confectioners' sugar.

COOKIES 'N CREAM SHORTBREAD STARS

Steps:

• Line a 13-by-9-inch sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream at low speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
• Add the 2 1/4 cups flour. Mix at low speed just until it's incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cookie pieces and mix at low until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
• Press the dough into the prepared 13-by-9-inch sheet pan. Get it as smooth as possible and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Line 2 half sheet pans (18-by-13-inch each) with parchment paper.
• Using a 3-inch star-shape cookie cutter, cut out stars from the chilled dough, dipping the cookie cutter in the 3 tablespoons flour in between cuts. Place the stars on each prepared half sheet pan then refrigerate.
• Meanwhile, position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Gently gather the dough scraps and press them back into the 13-by-9 inch sheet pan-however, only press into half of the pan. Then, refrigerate for 30 minutes or wrap with plastic and save for another time, for up to 5 days. Repeat the cutting with the cookie cutter and transfer the stars to the prepared sheet pans.
• Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden around the edges, rotating the sheet pans halfway through baking, 27 to 29 minutes.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely on the sheet pan.
• Combine the white chocolate chips with the vegetable oil in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time until the chips are melted, stirring after each interval. Transfer to a piping bag. Cut a small hole at the tip then pipe the white chocolate onto each cooled cookie.
• Before the white chocolate sets, decorate each cookie with the patriotic sprinkles. Allow the white chocolate to set completely before serving.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD "HOLLYWOOD STARS"

Steps:

• In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cocoa and mix on low speed until just combined.
• Form dough into ball and flatten into disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out dough to 1/4-inch-thick round and cut out cookies with 2-inch star-shaped cutter. Place on baking sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart. If desired, reroll scraps and cut out more cookies.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until slightly firm to touch, about 15 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• In medium bowl, mix together Mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until well blended.
• Turn 1 cookie upside-down and spread with 1 teaspoon filling. Top with a second cookie, right-side up. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.
• In medium bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon of egg white. Mix until consistency is very smooth. Pour icing into pastry bag fitted with #1 round tip. Pipe decorative design onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.