Shortbread Variations Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add the flour, salt, and powdered sugar to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add in the vanilla, the butter and the 1 teaspoon of water. Pulse together just until a dough is formed. Put the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 5 inches long. Tightly twist each end of the wrap in opposite directions. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Arrange on nonstick cookie sheets, parchment lined or silpat lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until the edges are just light brown, about 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans half way through the baking process. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and cool until room temperature. Enjoy!
• Variations:
• Pulse together the tea with the flour and salt in a food processor just until the tea is in small pieces evenly distributed throughout the flour. Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla, the butter and the 1 teaspoon of water. Continue as instructed above.
• Pulse the toasted and chopped pecans into the dough and then shape into a flattened round disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough out to approximately 1/3-inch thick. (If the dough is too hard to roll or begins to crack, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes until pliable.) With a sharp knife, cut the dough into rectangle shapes about 1 by 3-inches. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets and follow the cooking instructions as above. Dust slightly cooled cookies with powdered sugar through a fine mesh strainer.

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:

• 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:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla; add flour and mix well.
• Put through cookie press and form cookies onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.