Sugared Shortbread Recipes

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Cream butter, Diamond Crystal® Kosher Salt and dark brown sugar in a bowl for 5 minutes with an electric mixer on high speed. Add flour and mix on low speed until just combined.
• Scrape dough onto a sheet of parchment paper; shape into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap with the parchment paper. Refrigerate until chilled completely, about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil cookie sheets.
• Remove dough from parchment and roll in demerara sugar to coat. Slice into rounds 1/4 inch thick and place on cookie sheets.
• Sprinkle each cookie with additional demerara sugar and a pinch of Diamond Crystal® Coarse Sea Salt.
• Bake until very lightly browned and firm to the touch, about 8 to 10 minutes.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in flour and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pat into a 1/3-in.-thick rectangle measuring 11 in. x 8 in. , Cut into 2-in. x 1-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. , Bake at 300° for 25 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

SUGARED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar and salt. Stir in the butter. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with sugar while warm and slice; cool completely.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until the butter and sugar are combined so you don't whip a lot of air into it. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.
• Scoop out 1-ounce pieces of dough (about a tablespoon), roll each one into a ball, then roll it into a 2 1/2-inch-long log. Place the logs 2 inches apart on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies start to brown around the edges and spring back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool on the pans.
• For the coating, place the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture vigorously and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted.
• Drag half of the rounded top of each cookie through the chocolate and place it, chocolate side up, on a piece of parchment paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the pecans. Repeat with all the cookies. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the chocolate to firm.

SCOTTISH BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar.
• Add 3-3/4 cups flour; mix well.
• Sprinkle a board with some of the remaining flour.
• Place butter/sugar/flour mixture on the floured board. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour to make a soft, non-sticky dough.
• Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into three-inch by one-inch strips.
• Place strips one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Use a fork on a slight angle and prick each strip six times.
• Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add 3-3/4 cups flour; mix well. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead for 5 minutes, adding enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Roll to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut into 3x1-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with fork. Bake until cookies are lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Cool.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you want to make yourself a guide, use a 6-inch round cake pan or bowl to trace two circles onto the parchment, then turn the parchment over (so the ink won't touch the dough). Or just wing it.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the butter and brown sugar on medium-low speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape the bowl well. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed just until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal portions (about 306 grams each) and shape into disks. Place one disk on one half of the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to flatten the dough into a 6-inch round. Repeat with the second disk, leaving 1/2 inch of space between the rounds. If using, brush a coat of egg wash onto the surface of each round.
• Use a sharp knife to score each round gently into 8 wedges--press down just enough to barely cut into the dough, to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Bake until the edges of the shortbread are just beginning to turn golden and the surface appears set, 12 to 14 minutes.
• Cool the shortbread completely on the baking sheet, then cut along the score lines into wedges.

BROWN-SUGAR CHOCOLATE-CHUNK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Beat together butter, sugars, and salt on medium speed until creamy and combined, 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add flour, and beat to combine. Beat in chocolate. Divide dough into two pieces, each about 1 pound. Roll into logs (each about 8 1/2 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter).
• Wrap logs in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Dough can be made to this point, well wrapped, and frozen for up to 1 month. (It can also be sliced and re-formed into logs before freezing; see cook's note.)
• Remove from refrigerator or freezer (if frozen, let stand 10 minutes to soften). Brush with egg white and roll in sanding sugar to coat. Use a serrated knife and a back-and-forth motion to cut logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices (if any crack around larger chunks of chocolate, just press back together).
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until golden on edges, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool on pans on wire racks 10 minutes, then transfer to racks and let cool completely, about 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze up to 1 month.

SUGAR-DUSTED VANILLA SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Tip the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the bowl, then whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks and whizz to a smooth dough.
• With your hands, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a sausage shape about 25cm/9in long and 5cm/2½in in diameter. Wrap the roll and chill for at least 1 hour. (The roll can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. To use, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for one hour at room temperature so that the dough is soft enough to be sliced into biscuits.)
• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into slices, each a generous 5mm/¼in thick, then arrange them on the greased baking sheets, spacing the biscuits slightly apart so they have a bit of room to spread as they cook.
• Bake for 20 minutes until the biscuits are just turning pale golden around the edges, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust generously with icing sugar. The biscuits will keep fresh for up to one week stored in an airtight tin.

BROWN SUGAR SPICED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture is like fine crumbs. Pack the crumbs into a ball, then knead by hand until smooth. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 8 inch circle. Place the circle on a baking sheet, and slice into 16 wedges. Leave the circle intact.
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the center has set. Cut the circle into wedges again while it is still warm, and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

SUGARED FLOWER SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Remove the stalks and any leaves from small flowers like violas or pansies, and carefully pull apart the roses to separate the petals. Place a sheet of baking parchment on your work surface. Sprinkle the caster sugar over a saucer, then lightly whisk the egg white in a small bowl. Holding a flower or petal with tweezers, use a small paintbrush to paint both sides with egg white. Spoon the sugar over, then shake off the excess and place on the parchment. Repeat with the remaining petals or flowers. Leave to dry for 3 hrs, or overnight if you can. Will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 month, but their colour may start to fade after a few weeks.
• Tip the flour into a large bowl and add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a damp, crumby texture. Pour in the sugar and gently mix in with your fingertips. Whisk the vanilla, rosewater and egg yolks together in a small bowl with a fork, then drizzle the mixture over the buttery flour. Mix again, squashing the crumbs together to form a dough. If the mixture is a little crumbly, drizzle over 1-2 tsp cold water, then mix again. Tip onto your work surface and knead very briefly until the dough looks even, with no streaks of egg. Wrap in cling film, pat into a round disc and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Remove the dough from the fridge - if it's very firm, leave it at room temperature for 15 mins to soften. Lightly dust the work surface with flour, unwrap the dough and roll it to the thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp out 8cm disks with the fluted side of a biscuit cutter and transfer them to the baking trays. Bake for 10-12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through cooking. Once lightly golden and firm, remove the biscuits from the oven. Leave to cool on the trays for 10 mins or until stable enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick icing. Divide the icing between as many bowls as the number of colours you'd like to use, and dye each one a pastel shade with a drop of food colouring. Transfer half of one of the icings to a disposable piping bag fitted with a fine writing nozzle. Pipe a ring around the outside of the biscuit and set aside to dry. Continue until you've iced a third of the biscuits (if you're using three colours), then move on to the next colour, transferring any leftover icing back to its original bowl. Leave the biscuits to dry for 10-15 mins.
• Add 2-3 tsp water to each icing to make it a little runnier. Spoon the icing onto the biscuits, matching the colour to the rings. Encourage the icing to flood the surface by easing it to the edges with your spoon - don't be too generous with the icing as it may overspill when you add the flowers and petals. You can now dust the surface of each biscuit with a little shimmer dust, if you like, then top with the flowers. Leave the biscuits to set for at least 1 hr before wrapping in tissue paper in a pretty box. Will keep for up to 1 week.