Sunday, December 11, 2011

Quest For the Best {Shortbread Cookie Recipe}



Today I'm playing co-host for the Christmas Cookie Countdown at My Reflection of Something

Each day a new cookie.  Each day a new co-host.
Of course, what's the fun if you can't play along, too?

If you have a fabulous cookie recipe, link up at the bottom of this post-- just be sure to follow the guidelines.

: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :



I grew up making shortbread cookies.  It was one of my mom's standard Christmas cookie recipes. They only required three ingredients-- ingredients that we always had on hand.  Sugar.  Butter.  Flour.  Can't get any easier than that, right?  Yet, somehow, when I brought this recipe into my own kitchen after I got married, I could never, ever get it right.  The cookies always turned out either too crumbly and dry or too soft and doughy. 

But I have kids, and kids love to dip their fingers in sprinkles so every year we'd try again and meet with only moderate success. 

Last year, we tentatively tried a new recipe that was attached to a cookie cutter Maddie received as a gift, and what do you know?  Success!!  These cookies call for a few more ingredients than my mom's cookies so I guess technically they don't qualify for the shortbread category, but they also have no leavening agent so they aren't sugar cookies either.  We'll just call them keepers. 






Kristin's Keeper Christmas Cookies


1½ cups (3 sticks) butter
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups flour
½  teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed.  Add the eggs and vanilla.  Beat until well blended.  Add flour and salt.  Blend on low speed until just combined.  (Do not overmix.)  Gather dough into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 1 hour until firm. 

On floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut dough with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Decorate with sprinkles or colored sugar.  Bake for 13-15 minutes. 






Sharing the love...

also linking up at The Larson Lingo for her Cookie Exchange!)
and,
my sister, Kati, is  co-host for the Christmas Cookie Countdown on Thursday 
(and she is a fabulous baker) so there's even more incentive to follow along with the countdown! 


Christmas Cookie Countdown


3 comments:

  1. Okay now, this is just too weird! The recipe I am doing on Thursday is for shortbread cookies.

    I guess Irving Berlin knew what he was talking about when he wrote the line: We think and we act as one. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing with love
    http://pugliapulia.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks so much for linking up to my exchange! These look delicious!

    ReplyDelete

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