Shortbread cookies

Recipe

Shortbread cookies recipe - Preppy kitchen

How it turned out

Delicious! They are buttery and crumbly. These cookies require minimal ingredients, and are incredibly easy to make.

I whipped up the dough in 10 mins, then wrapped and froze for a few days. When I was ready to make them, I simply let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, then sliced and baked.

What I learned

Go off of indicators, not just timing. The recipe said to bake for 10 mins, but after 10 minutes, they still looked like blocks of dough. I referenced this helpful visual aide and just kept them in the oven until they came out looking just barely brown on top and golden brown on the bottom. It ended up being closer to 20-25 minutes.

Leave lots of space between cookies. I'm not entirely sure why my bake took so long, but I suspect it had something to do with the amount of cookies on the cookie sheet. I used 2 sheets: one that was crammed with cookies spaced out just barely 1" apart. My second sheet had only 5 cookies, with plenty of room around each. The second cookie sheet baked quicker, despite being on the bottom rack. I think next time I'll space all the shortbread out more to speed up the bake time.

Master the classics. This was a very classic shortbread. I toyed with the idea of adding nuts or chocolate, but I decided to start with the basics for my first attempt. Since it was a success, next time I'll get a bit more adventurous.