A flexible, lightly sweet shortbread recipe amenable to any number of inclusions and flavor combinations: you’re almost guaranteed a delicious result with all the butter.
Instagram
3-5
dozen (depending on diameter)15
minutes25
minutesThis recipe is based on King Arthur Flour’s Fruit and Nut Refrigerator Cookies.
Ingredients
- Mixing Bowl
85g confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon salt, extra-fine preferred
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract, or almond extract
4 drops orange oil (optional)
1 ½ tablespoons of earl grey tea, finely ground (optional)
1 tablespoon orange zest (optional)
- Dry Ingredients
177g all-purpose flour
- Inclusions (see “notes”)
50g dried apricots, chopped
50g dried cherries
45g blanched slivered almonds, toasted
45g raw pistachios, toasted
- Equipment Used
Stand mixer
Parchment paper or plastic wrap
Serrated knife
Full-size baking sheet
Rubber spatula
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl using a hand mixer), beat together the sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, orange oil, tea, and orange zest.
- Add flour and inclusions, and stir until just combined.
Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a log about 2″ in diameter (recommend this method). - Wrap the logs in parchment paper or plastic wrap; chill for at least 2 hours, or freeze for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line baking sheet with parchment, and set aside.
- Remove one log of dough at a time, unwrap, and cut into ¼”-thick slices. Place the slices on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the cookies feel firm when gently pressed in the center. They won’t brown much; the long, slow bake is designed to prevent them from darkening.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. When completely cool, wrap airtight and store at room temperature; freeze for longer storage.
Notes
- This recipe can be made with some or none of the fruit and nut inclusions. I recommend sticking to an approximate weight of 100g fruit and 90g nuts, if including, but feel free to play with ratios.