[1]
On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine shortbread cookies,
Eight gingerbread people [2],
Seven layer cookies [3],
Six Snickerdoodles [4],
Five Sugar Cookies [5],
Four Viennese Crescents [6],
Three Candy Cane cookies [7],
Two Toffee Squares [8],
And a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree [9].
These elegant, buttery cookies are surprisingly simple to make.
Shortbread
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour (unsifted)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Using the back of a large spoon, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy.
- Cream in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla.
- Work in the flour.
- Knead the dough on an unfloured board until smooth.
- Spray the shortbread pan (try this reindeer design [10]
) very lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray.
- Put the ball of dough in the middle of the pan, and working out from the center, firmly press the dough into the pan.
- Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan for about 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Be sure that the middle is thoroughly cooked and doesn’t look slightly opaque or the shortbread might stick in the pan.
- Let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
- Loosen the edges with a knife and flip the pan over onto a wooden cutting board.
- Tip: If the shortbread does not come right out, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of the pan against the board. This should loosen the shortbread and it should drop out.
- Cut the shortbread while it is still warm.
After your shortbread has cooled, store in sealed containers or festive striped boxes [11]
Resources:
Alpine Flower shortbread pan [15]
Recipe source: Shortbread Pans [17] – see their website for more shortbread recipes
Photo credit: Linzers in London [18]