Classic Shortbread Cookies

Printed from: www.grandmotherskitchen.net

Ingredients

Makes: 24 cookies

1 cup butter at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

confectioners' sugar - Optional for dusting on baked cookie

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until pale.

4. Add the flour a little at a time and the salt and beat in until you get a crumbly dough texture.

5. Transfer the dough to a counter working surface. Lightly flour the surface.

6. We like working on a Sil-Pad. It is a nice surface that you can roll out on plus you can make gentle cuts into it with a knife. We always wash our mat after using, hang it to dry and roll it up for safe keeping

7. Use your hands to gently incorporate into a dough that you can roll out with a rolling pin.

8. Roll gently and evenly and use your hands and a small knife to push the outer edges and to form a rectangle shape.

9. Roll the dough to 1/2 inch in thickness. Keep working the edges in while you roll make the rectangle shape.

10. Once you get the desired shape and thickness, use a small sharp knife to mark where you will make your cuts then proceed and cut the cookies out. We made ours about 2-inches long and 1-inch wide and we got 24 all together.

11. Cut off the ragged edges as you cut your cookie shapes. Collect the discarded dough and when you are done, roll it into one half inch thick piece and cut it into smaller pieces.You can bake these pieces at the same time as you are baking your cookies. If you have room put them onto the main sheet and if not put them on a small baking pan.

12. Use a fork to poke two sets of holes in the top of each cookie and arrange them onto the baking sheet. Leave about half an inch between the cookies.

13. Continue the process until you have all the cookies ready and placed on the baking sheet.

14. Bake for 15-20 minutes on the middle rack until golden brown on the bottom and top.

15. Remove to a cooling pad.

16. While the cookies are still warm, take a small sharp knife and cut around each of the cookies. When they bake they swell up, touching each other and need be cut apart. Let them sit in the pan for 5 minutes to cool then transfer out of the pan onto a cooling rack.

17. Leave them sit until completely cooled. Dust with confectioners' sugar if you like.

18. Place the cooled cookies either into a decorative cookie can if you have one or you can use any container with a lid.

ENJOY!

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