There are two things in the kitchen I have a morbid fear of – box graters and rolling out cookie dough. This recipe for shortbread doesn’t involve a box grater but it does involve rolling the dough out.
Ina isn’t afraid of those things, so she rolled her dough out and cut it into sweet little hearts.
I was afraid of that, so I just rolled mine into little balls and coated them with sugar. They were still wonderful, even if they weren’t as pretty as Ina’s.
PrintIna’s Shortbread
Ingredients
Scale
- 3/4 C unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 C sugar, plus extra for rolling the dough
- 1 t pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 C all purpose flour
- 1/4 t salt
Instructions
- Mix together the butter and 1 C sugar until they are just barely mixed
- Add vanilla and mix another minute
- In a medium bowl sift the flour and salt together
- Add slowly to the butter mixture on low speed until the dough just starts coming together
- Dump onto a flour covered surface and shape into a flat disk
- Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes
- Roll the dough out and cut into shapes or use my method and form it into small balls then roll in raw sugar and flatten slightly with a fork
- Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through
I give you, my friends, rich shortbread cookies for the kitchen cowards of the world!
Ta Da!
I am a shortbread fanatic! I could eat the entire batch! When Mum made shortbread, she pressed the dough into a square cake pan and baked it until it was golden, then she cut it into squares. Whenever I eat some, I think of her. Great post!!!!
As a 3rd-generation Scot, my very favorite cookie is shortbread and I use this recipe almost exclusively. It rolls out and cuts out beautifully and doesn’t take too long IF you don’t use twenty different cutters. I typically do one or two shapes I love. It’s a very forgiving recipe! The other thing that’s cool is that these cookies keep forever because there aren’t eggs in them. A perfect Colorado cookie:) Stay warm. I”m guessing your’e getting snow today. We’re waiting for it here. Happy Ina Friday.
I saved this recipe to try, thanks!
Hi RMW,
Rolling them into a ball has an advantage too. It will be a little more tender on the inside than it will on the outside. That’s also nice.
This sounds like such a wonderful, simple shortbread recipe! When I was a kid, shortbread just seemed so plain and boring to me, but now I love it. Also, I’m like you- absolutely will not roll out dough of any kind if I can get around it.
Shortbread is one of my favorites. Might be the butter? Hmmm. I scrolled down and saw your poblano omelet and it looks delicious too. I love poblano peppers.
See you next month!
Mary
Doesn’t make any difference how you cut them…they’d still taste divine. Her shortbread cookies are marvelous..love her recipes.
I love the buttery texture of shortbread, I’ve got my tea all ready! And I’m with you on the box graters…they are nasty things 🙂
I can eat shortbread cookies any time. And these were one of the first cookies I baked at high altitude! Delicious!
Ummm I love shortbread and maybe about time to bake my own 🙂
I hope you are having a fabulous weekend!
I love shortbread cookies and I’m sure Ina’s recipe is the best. Now get out that box grater and grate something! 🙂
My favorite cookies are shortbreads, and these look so inviting. Especially as I have a cup of aromatic tea in hand…..bring on those calories!! Yummm!!
I’ve got a fear of box graters too! Mainly because I always remove a bit of my knuckle on them. These look really lovely RMW! Thankfully I don’t have a fear or rolling dough 🙂
These look so yummy!
This is a good recipe. The one of the Food Network has a misprint- 3/4 lbs of butter, not 3/4 C of butter.
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Hi Margaret,
It’s one of my very favorite recipes!
RMW
I wish I had read this sooner! I doubled the recipe and used 1 1/2 c of butter and mixed and mixed and mixed and it wouldn’t come together at all. Definitely needs 1 1/2 POUNDS of butter. Shoot – what a waste of ingredients!
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