inagarten
Shortbread Cookies
The
recipes and text are from The
Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, by Ina Garten. Excerpted
by permission from Clarkson N. Potter Publishers, a division
of Random House, Inc. 1999, Photographs by Melanie
Acevedo
Adapted by StarChefs
These shortbread cookies come from the brilliant Eli Zabar
of E.A.T., the Vinegar Factory, and Across the Street in
New York City. They are the quintessence of shortbread and
have been my all-time favorite cookie since the first time
I tried one, over fifteen years ago. We also use the dough
for lots of variations on this recipe - "Linzer Cookies
(page 178), Pecan Shortbread (page 181), and even Raspberry
Tart (page 182).
Note:
I find the edges of shortbread are ever so slightly sharper
if you chill the cookies for ten minutes before you bake
them. Shortbread can also be cut into shapes and refrigerated
for a week and then baked the day you serve them.
Yield:
24 cookies
- ¾
pound unsalted butter at room temperature
-
1 cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
-
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-
3 ½ cup all-purpose flour
-
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees.
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 ½ inch thick and cut with your choice of
cutter. Place the cut-outs 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.
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