3 Shortbread Recipes Way Better Than Storebought

By: A Guest Writer

Here at Plum Deluxe, we like to enjoy our beverages, whether that means coffee, tea, wine, or milk (or, alright, anything quaffable). And, of course, by now you should know we rarely imbibe without some sort of cookie nearby.

Today, we’d like to dedicate some love to shortbread, that melt-in-your-mouth buttery cookie that goes perfectly with almost any beverage -- and any situation. Here are three recipes we think will fuel your own shortbread addiction.

Ceylon Shortbread Circles

from Andy Hayes
When I lived in Scotland, Ceylon black tea (from Sri Lanka) was very popular and it became one of my favorite little luxuries, enjoyed with a slice of homemade shortbread. This recipe combines two of my favorite things; normally shortbread baked with tea uses Earl Gray, but you can use whatever you want. I'm using Mindful Morning Blend, which has a vanilla orange flavor. Choose your favorite, but I encourage you to use good, loose leaf tea -- the flavors will come through so beautifully.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Mindful Morning blend tea
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

Preparation:

Use a clean coffee grinder to crush your loose tea leaves; you don't want them pulverized, just lightly crushed. If you don't have a grinder, you can run them briefly through your food processor, or just use a knife.
Combine the tea, flour, and salt in a food processor, and pulse until the tea is evenly distributed. Add the sugar, vanilla, and butter; continue to pulse until the mixture starts to form a dough.
Drop the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, being sure to smooth out any unmixed portions; roll it into a log about 2.5 inches in diameter. Work quickly as the butter will start to warm from your hands. Wrap the plastic wrap ends tightly and put in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
Before removing dough from refrigerator, preheat oven to 375 F.
Slice the dough into 1/2-inch thick circles. Place circles on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, keeping them evenly spaced. Bake until edges are browned, around 12 minutes.
Cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then move to wire racks to cool. Best enjoyed still warm with a cup of tea or glass of red wine.

Brown Butter Cookies

from Sandy Smith
Adapted from Gourmet magazine, June 1961

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (I used salted)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (I used 1 tablespoon fine sugar with 1
teaspoon pure Madagascar vanilla extract added)
2 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Blanched almonds halves or sliced almonds to decorate

Preparation:

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter on low heat, stirring occasionally, until browned. Stir in sugar and vanilla sugar and remove from heat. Let cool.
Combine flour and baking powder and beat in cooled butter mixture to form a smooth dough.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll small balls of dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place dough balls about an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press each ball of dough down using the tines of a fork. Top with half of a blanched almond or an almond slice.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until edges just start to turn golden. Remove from baking sheet after 1 minutes and let cool on wire racks.

Raspberry Lemon Cookies

from Margo Millure
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raspberry jam or jelly
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to blend.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in two additions and beat just until moist clumps form. Gather the dough together into a ball.
Pinch off the dough to form 1-inch balls. Place on the baking sheets, spacing one inch apart. Use a floured 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to create depressions in the center of each ball. Fill each indentation with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Photo Credits: Andy Hayes, Sandy Smith, and Margo Millure.