Delicious vanilla easy shortbread cookies
Shortbread cookies pop up every Christmas at my house. I suppose my Scottish ancestry is to blame for that, but I’m certainly not complaining. Shortbread is one of those delicious cookie recipes that is sinfully unhealthy but too irresistible to have “just one more…” Often associated with European baking, shortbread is entirely Scottish in origin. It has become popular throughout the EU and North America now, but the finest recipes are still baked and exported from Scotland. Walkers, for example, is the largest “big-box” manufacturer of the buttery delicacy in the world, and still follows the original formula from its inception. Exported around the world, Walkers Scottish shortbread is often the most attempted recipe to try and duplicate – though it’s very difficult to nail the intricacies perfectly. Shortbread in itself isn’t a difficult dish to bake, it’s one of the most simple in fact. Roughly 1 part sugar to 2 parts butter results in fine cookies. The buttery goodness is the cause for the crumbly texture and casually speaking, the more crumbly the cookie the more butter in the recipe (and usually the tastier the cookie too). This recipe isn’t as traditional as Walkers own, but still delicious in its own right. Try it yourself for Christmas or any time of year – shortbread makes an excellent gift also.
Easy Shortbread Cookies – Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Almond Extract
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 5 maraschino cherries, each cut into 8 pieces
Easy Shortbread Cookies – Process
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour and nutmeg in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter, shortening, sugar and extracts in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Dough should be slightly moist. If dough looks dry, sprinkle with water and work into dough. If dough is sticky, sprinkle with additional flour.
Spoon dough by teaspoons and shape into balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Gently flatten each ball with palm of hand. Press a cherry piece in the center of each cookie.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
Serve and Enjoy!
