Butter Shortbread With Dancing Deer Recipe Variations

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and cream on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. One by one, add the egg yolks, mixing until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and the scrapings of the vanilla bean. Scrape down the bowl.
• Turn the mixer off and add the flour. Turn the machine to low and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl. Working on parchment or wax paper, form the dough into 4 logs 10 inches long and 1 1/4 inches in diameter, wrap, and chill.
• Allow Butter Shortbread Cookie Dough to soften to room temperature.
• Classic:.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F Place the sugar in a small bowl.
• Cut the log into twenty 12-inch rounds. Dip one cut surface of each of the rounds into the sugar and arrange them 2 inches apart on all sides on a parchment-lined or nonstick cookie sheet or sheets.
• Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
• Five Spice:.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F In a small bowl, combine the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, and sugar.
• Cut the chilled log into twenty 12-inch rounds. Dip one cut surface of each round into the spice mixture and arrange the rounds 2 inches apart on all sides on a parchment-lined or nonstick cookie sheet or sheets.
• Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cookies with a spatula and cool on a wire rack.
• Double Chocolate-Ginger:.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F On a large plate, combine the sugar, cocoa, gingers, and chocolate and mix. Set aside.
• Cut the log into twenty 12-inch rounds. Firmly press one cut surface of each round into the cocoa mixture and arrange the rounds 2 inches apart on all sides on a parchment-lined or nonstick cookie sheet or sheets.
• Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cookies with a spatula and cool on a rack.
• Other Variations:.
• Knead all ingredients into dough.
• Roll dough into a log about 1 ¼ inch thick in diameter (*For Parmesan with Pinenuts, roll dough flat, sprinkle with extra parmesan and roll into a log).
• Slice log into ¼-inch slices or roll out dough ¼ inch thick for cut-outcookies.
• Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cook on a rack.
• Store cooled cookies in airtight containers.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt and stir together with a fork until blended. Set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar, and beat until just blended, 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and beat until blended about 1 minute more.
• Add the flour mixture, and on low-speed, beat until the mixture just begins to form a sticky dough, about 1 minute more. Turn out onto a floured surface, and gently pat together to form a dense ball of dough. Add cranberries and pistachios and knead gently until evenly combined, and shape into a flat round disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
• Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll cookies out to about 1/8 " thick, and cut to desired shape. Transfer to a heavy - duty cookie sheet and bake until just golden around the edges, 15-18 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Beat 7/8 cup butter and confectioners' sugar together with a spoon in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in flour and salt. Press mixture into a 9-inch square baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 14 minutes. Remove to cool 10 for minutes, leaving oven on.
• Beat eggs, brown sugar, 3 tablespoons melted butter, and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Sprinkle raisins over cooled crust; pour egg mixture over raisins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top springs back when touched, about 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don't overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)
• Press dough into an even layer in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan, or a 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch square or pie pan, 45 to 50 minutes for the 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.

Steps:

• Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine flour and salt.
• In a separate bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Add sugar and continue beating until smooth. Stir in vanilla.
• Add flour and salt to mixture and stir until smooth.
• Divide dough into two flat disks roughly an inch thick and wrap in plastic.
• Chill for an hour.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• On a slightly floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness.
• Shape with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets and refrigerate 20 more minutes.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until cookies are firm without browning.
• Cool on a rack.
• Now for the Variations on the Theme:.
• White-Chocolate Dipped:.
• Roll out dough roughly 1/3 of an inch thick. Cut into rounds and place cookies onto prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate and bake as per above instructions. After cooling, melt 6 ounces of white chocolate in a double boiler. Dip cookies into white chocolate and return to rack. Let chocolate set before handling.
• Cranberry Clementine:.
• Prepare one batch of basic shortbead dough, omitting vanilla extract. Work 1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries and 2 tbs grated clementine zest into dough. Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Refrigerate and bake as per above instructions.
• Pecan Macadamia Bites:.
• Add 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans and 1/4 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts to dough. Scoop out tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Flatten each ball between your palms into bite-sized disks about an inch across. Place on prepared cookie sheets, refrigerate and bake as per instructions above. After cooking, dust cookies with icing sugar through a fine wire strainer.
• Sugar Stars:.
• Roll out dough roughly 1/3 of an inch thick. Cut into stars and place cookies onto prepared baking sheets. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush tops of cookies with egg white and sprinkle each cookie with coarse white sugar. Refrigerate and bake as per above instructions.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2-inch round cake or springform pan. Sift together flour and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, cream butter until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 2 minutes more. Add flour mixture, and beat on low, scraping bowl if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed.
• Pat dough into prepared pan. Use a paring knife to score dough into wedges; prick all over in even intervals with a wooden skewer or fork.
• Bake until firm in the center and just starting to color, about 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Cut into wedges. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature 3 weeks.

Steps:

• Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and refrigerate until the butter is firm, approximately 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F and spread the wheat germ onto a half sheet (13 by 18-inch) pan. Toast until slightly aromatic, approximately 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flours, salts, and toasted wheat germ. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and mix on low speed until the dough starts to resemble a coarse meal, 6 to 8 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough just starts to clump around the paddle or to the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. With a plastic bench scraper, bring the dough completely together by hand.
• Place the dough on a surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll the dough back and forth into a cylinder. Using your fingers, pat the dough into a rectangle. Put a sheet of parchment paper the same dimensions as a half sheet pan on the work surface and dust lightly with flour. Put the dough on top.
• Using a rolling pin, begin rolling out the dough. If any cracks form in the dough, stop to push them together. To keep the dough from sticking to the parchment paper, dust the top lightly with flour, cover with another piece of parchment paper, and, sandwiching the dough between both sheets of parchment paper, flip the dough and paper over. Peel off the top layer of parchment paper and continue to roll. Roll the dough into a 10 by 12- or 14-inch rectangle approximately ¼ inch thick. If the surface is uneven, roll a pastry roller across the surface to even it out.
• Ease the dough and parchment paper onto a half sheet pan. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, at least 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a couple of half sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Let the dough sit at room temperature for up to 10 minutes. Invert the dough onto a work surface and peel off the top sheet of parchment paper. Roll a dough docker over the dough or pierce it numerous times with a fork.
• Using a 1 ¾ by 2 ½-inch (or comparable) cookie cutter, cut out the shortbread. Reroll the dough trimmings, chill, and cut out more cookies. If you don't have a comparable cookie cutter, you can cut out the rectangles with a knife.
• Evenly space 12 to 16 shortbreads on the prepared pan. Place the pan in the oven, lower the temperature to 325°F, and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake until the cookies feel firm to the touch and are slightly brown around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let the cookies cool entirely on the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.