Holiday Shortbread Cookies

(341)
Prep Time:
10 mins
Total Time:
55 mins
Yield:
24

What's great about basic buttery shortbread cookies is how you can add flavors to them. Or just leave them as is.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

  • ¾ cup confectioners' sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt

  • 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

  • cup coarse or sanding sugar (optional), for decorating

Directions

  1. In a food processor, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt; process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until combined. Form dough into an 8-inch-long round or square log; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dip edges in sugar if desired and transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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Cook's Notes

Give these cookies festive flair. Add 3/4 cup chopped mix-ins, such as dried fruit, nuts, or bittersweet chocolate, along with the flour in step 1.

Variations

To make these chocolate, use 1/3 cup cocoa powder in place of 1/3 cup flour; add 6 ounces of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate to the dough.

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