Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies Recipes

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, light brown sugar, and dark brown sugar together on medium-high speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
• On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until the dough comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, divide into two. Shape each half into an 8-inch log, about 2.5 inches in diameter. Tightly wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 5 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
• Remove logs from the refrigerator and roll into coarse sugar, if desired. It's added only for a little crunch! Slice each log into 12 equally thick cookies and place cookies on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
• Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 1 week.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In large mixer bowl, beat margarine and sugar until creamy. Add vanilla; then gradually beat in flour, blending thoroughly.
• Gather dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (1 hour) or for up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• On lightly floured board, roll out dough to 1/4" thick. Cut, place on lightly greased sheets. Bake 35-40 minutes or until firm to the touch (press very lightly to test). Transfer to racks and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in flour and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pat into a 1/3-in.-thick rectangle measuring 11 in. x 8 in. , Cut into 2-in. x 1-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. , Bake at 300° for 25 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

GLAZED BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Gradually stir in flour and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Roll dough to 1/3-in. thickness. Cut with floured 3-in. shaped cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely., For icing, in a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, 5 tablespoons water and meringue powder; beat on low speed just until blended. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, 4-5 minutes. Thin with remaining water to desired consistency. Tint 1 cup of icing with food coloring; transfer to a pastry bag. Leave remaining icing white or tint a second color; transfer to a shallow dish. Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp cloth. If necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture., Dip a cookie into icing in dish; remove excess. Drizzle with icing in pastry bag. Use a toothpick to swirl the 2 colors together. Repeat with remaining cookies and icing. Let stand at room temperature until frosting is dry and firm, several hours. Store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until the butter and sugar are combined so you don't whip a lot of air into it. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.
• Scoop out 1-ounce pieces of dough (about a tablespoon), roll each one into a ball, then roll it into a 2 1/2-inch-long log. Place the logs 2 inches apart on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies start to brown around the edges and spring back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool on the pans.
• For the coating, place the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture vigorously and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted.
• Drag half of the rounded top of each cookie through the chocolate and place it, chocolate side up, on a piece of parchment paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the pecans. Repeat with all the cookies. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the chocolate to firm.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
• Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 10 by 14 1/2-inch sheet pan (with sides) with parchment or waxed paper.
• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until soft and smooth. Add the brown sugar and mix until incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and cornstarch. Add to the butter mixture and mix at low speed just until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it 5 to 10 times, just to smooth the dough.
• Reflour your work surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to fit the sheet pan. To transfer to the sheet pan, roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, lift it up, and unroll into the pan. Using light strokes of the rolling pin, roll the dough evenly into the corners and edges of the pan, and roll out any bumps. (Or, press the rolled-out dough thoroughly into the pan with your fingers.) Prick the shortbread all over with a fork to prevent any buckling or shrinking.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, rotate the pan and knock it once against the oven rack, to ensure even cooking and a flat surface. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until very lightly browned.
• Immediately sprinkle the granulated sugar evenly over the surface. Let cool 10 minutes, then cut into 1 1/2 by 3-inch bars. Let cool completely in the pan, then store in an airtight container.

BROWN-SUGAR AND PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Add pecans. Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture; mix until just combined.
• Turn dough out onto work surface and form into two flat squares; wrap with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks set in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
• Place a nonstick baking mat on work surface. Place one square chilled dough on baking mat; top with a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll out dough between baking mat and plastic wrap until it is 3/8-inch-thick. Transfer to freezer to chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Repeat process with remaining dough.
• Using a 2 1/4-inch square cutter, cut out dough and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Carefully prick each cookie with a skewer, gently pushing through the dough until it reaches the baking sheet.
• Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake, about 10 minutes. Halfway through baking, repeat pricking process and rotate baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Cookies should be very pale and not take on too much color. Transfer cookies to rack to cool.

BROWN SUGAR-PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and clove.
• Using a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add the pecans and mix just until combined.
• Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Cover with another sheet of plastic and shape into a square. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough between the plastic to 1/4-inch thick, and into a 9 1/2 x 11-inch rectangle. Refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours, or up to 2 days.
• Position two oven racks so they divide the oven into thirds. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Discard the plastic sheets from the dough. Trim the edges to form a 9 x 10.5/2-inch rectangle, then cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Place the squares on the baking sheets, then, with a fork, pierce each cookie twice all the way through. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 9 minutes. If desired, dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar while still hot. Transfer to a rack to cool.