Brown Sugar Lemon Spice Shortbread

This is a small-batch recipe. I use it when my husband decides he needs something to sustain his engergy in a hectic week. I like it because there won't be a lot of leftover cookies to tempt him too much! It is easy to throw together and the long baking time leaves you to the rest of your dinner prep work without worry.

 

Brown Sugar Lemon Spice Shortbread

 

1 cup butter - margarine will definitely not work!

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cup all-purpose flour

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

 

Beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the spices, zest, vanilla and beat to combine. Stir in the flour to form a dough.

 

There are two ways to prepre the cookies. You can either scoop out tablespoons of dough into rounded balls and press them down with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar or you can divide the dough into two or three larger balls, press out into about a 1/2 thick circle.

 

Either way, bake for approximately 25-40 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. They should be golden around the edges. Let cool on baking sheet and carefully transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

 

These go great with an iced tea, glass or cold milk,

 

 

I can always make these easy little cookies with the ingredients in my pantry. They're rich, crisp, and so simple to make.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (NO substitutes), softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add brown sugar and mix well. Then add flour and mix just until a dough forms. Divide dough into 2 balls and pat each into a 1/2" thick 7" round on an ungreased cookie sheet. Prick each with fork. Bake at 300 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove to wire rack to cool. Cut each round into eight wedges to serve. 16 cookies

User Reviews

Making Shortbread at Home . . .

One of my favorite cookies is Shortbread. It is a comfort cookie that goes with everything from hot tea to cocoa. You can dress them up or just enjoy a piece of buttery goodness and forget, for the moment, that calories even exist in the world. There are many recipes around but the basic one always suits me the best. I never add vanilla extract because, then, it wouldn't be exactly like Shortbread!

Shortbread
3/4 cup butter, softened (not melted!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Blend the butter and sugar together thoroughly. Work in the dry ingredients either with your fingers or with a pastry cutter. It should come together into a workable dough. Chill while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or use vegetable oil spray. I like using parchment for these cookies as it absorbs some of the butter fat and gives a nice, brown underside without burning.

Roll out dough to about 1/2-inch thick and cut with your favorite, small cookie cutters or just use a glass and make circles. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top just starts to get a golden tinge. You don't want brown cookies as they will be dried out.

Ideas . . .
Make circle cookies and when they are baked and cooled, dip each cookie half way into melted chocolate. Let set on waxed paper.

When the half-dipped cookies are set, drizzle white icing to make a contrasting design.

Before baking, brush tops of cookies with beaten egg white and sprinkle with colorful sugar or chopped nuts.

Use dough for a pie crust for a pre-baked crust for a pudding-type pie or fresh strawberry pie

Plain and simple . . . Shortbread Sugar Cookies

I love to make detailed, fancy cookies but when it comes down to eating cookies, I prefer a tasty but more plain variety. This is one of my very favorite cookies to made and eat. It is especially nice as they bake fairly quickly so you can bake them on a warm, summer day without heating up the kitchen for TOO long. Goes great with cold or hot tea!

Shortbread Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup granulated sugar
½ pound softened butter

Place all the dry ingredients in mixing bowl and blend well. Cut in the butter with the mixer or do it by hand with a pastry blender.

Knead the dough by hand for just a moment and form it into a circle 3/4-inch thick on a lightly greased baking sheet. Flute the edges of the pastry. Prick the whole circle with a fork. Bake in preheated 325-degree overn for ½ hour or until it just turns a light golden brown. When cool, the cookie can be cut or simply broken up into pieces, Scottish style.

You can make smaller cookies, just allow for less baking time as they will cook more quickly.