I love my Homemade Vanilla Shortbread Wedges #shortbread. When I saw this recipe, I made a few small changes adopting it as my own. With a few small changes, this type of cookie has to be my favorite. Let me start at the beginning.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 20 to 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yields: 8 servings
Equipment: Stand Mixer or a hand-held electric mixer, non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom, rimmed baking sheet pan, off-set spatula, mesh sieve with a handle, large mixing bowl
Ingredients:
2 sticks of softened unsalted butter plus extra butter to grease tart pan
1 cup of vanilla-flavored granulated sugar (reserve a 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top), substitute granulated sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt
garnish with a sprig of fresh mint
Directions:
Note: Reserve the butter wrappers.
In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, place room temperature softened butter, vanilla, and granulated sugar. Cream the butter, for a couple of minutes, until all the ingredients are combined.
Next, sift the all-purpose flour and Kosher salt into a bowl. Slowly add the sifted flour to the creamed butter, a little at a time, until all the flour has been added.
The dough is sticky and that’s what you want. Use a removable bottom tart pan. Before I add the shortbread batter to the pan, I use the excess butter that’s on the wrappers to grease the tart pan.
Once it’s combined, transfer the shortbread dough to a buttered tart pan. Using an off-set spatula, spread the dough out using an offset spatula.
Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, smooth out the dough all over the top and around the sides. Refrigerate the dough for a 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
After 30 minutes, remove the plastic wrap. Using a fork, crimp all around the outside edges of the shortbread. Next, sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the dough. I’m using vanilla sugar for the top.
Place the tart pan on top of a rimmed baking sheet pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown.
I like my #shortbreadcookies to be on the soft side, so between 20 to 25 minutes is perfect for me. If you prefer a crunchier shortbread, bake for the whole 25 minutes.
When the shortbread cookie is finished baking allow to cool completely. Then remove the bottom of the tart pan and slice into 8 equal slices.
Tip: Once you used the caviar (seeds) from a vanilla pod, don’t throw the pod away. To make vanilla sugar, place a seeded vanilla pod right into your sugar container. Your granulated sugar will be forever be perfumed with vanilla flavor.
Serve the Homemade Vanilla Shortbread Wedges with a sprig of fresh mint and a cold glass of milk.
