Time: 1 hour 4 minutes
Complexity: easily
Quantity: 65 pcs.

Classic shortbread cookies are made with four basic ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, and vanilla. These cookies are incredibly tender and crumbly, melting in your mouth. But you can diversify their flavor by adding another flavoring of your choice to the dough. Or bake cookies in three different variations. For masala-flavored cookies, add Indian masala chai—a spiced black tea. It will impart a unique, spicy aroma. And for nutty cookies, add toasted pecan pieces to the dough. All three varieties are so delicious, they'll quickly disappear from the table.

Ingredients:

Classic 4-ingredient version

• 2 cups of flour
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 220 g butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon of water

Masala-flavoured shortbread cookies

• 2 tablespoons loose leaf masala tea, or from about 6 tea bags

Toasted Pecan Shortbread Cookies

• 0.5 cups toasted and chopped pecans
• Additional powdered sugar for sprinkling the finished cookies

Substituting ingredients
Measuring containers used

1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Recipes with similar ingredients

flour, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, butter, masala tea, pecans

We recommend

Preparation:

Step 1

• Classic 4-ingredient version:

  
  Preheat oven to 190°C.
Step 2
• In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and powdered sugar. Add the vanilla, butter, and 1 teaspoon of water. Mix to form a dough. Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a log approximately 6 cm in diameter and 12 cm long. Twist each end of the wrap tightly in opposite directions. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
Step 3
• Slice the log into 0.8 cm-thick discs. Place them 2 inches apart on nonstick baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mats. Bake until the edges are light brown, about 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Step 4

• Options:

  
  

  Masala Flavored Shortbread Cookies:

  
  In a food processor, puree the tea with flour and salt until the tea is evenly distributed throughout the flour. Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, and 1 teaspoon of water. Continue as directed in the recipe above.
Step 5

• Toasted Pecan Shortbread Cookies:

  
  Stir chopped pecans into the dough and form into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 0.8 cm. (If the dough is too difficult to roll out or begins to crack, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes until pliable.) Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into rectangles approximately 2 x 7 cm. Place on the prepared baking sheets and bake as directed above. Sift the powdered sugar through a fine-mesh sieve over the slightly cooled cookies.
  
  

  Note

  
  Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze the dough log for up to 1 month. To ensure the cookies turn out delicious, use only the freshest ingredients.

Votes: 2