I have yummy news! I’m ready to share another recipe with you… A recipe I like to use as cookie decorating base… Melt-in-your-mouth, delicious, buttery shortbread.
The taste difference between it and my sugar cookie recipe is subtle, but this one definitely tastes like a traditional shortbread, and *gasp* has one whole cup of cornstarch in it! I couldn’t believe it when I first made it, and was a little doubtful about how successful the recipe would be, but it turns out that the cornstarch in this version of shortbread is what helps give the cookie a ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ sensation. Thanks to my dear friend Kim whom I adore, for sharing her family’s recipe with me… She’s not on-line, but she’s crazy about baking too, and we’ve experienced many sweet adventures together.
The original shortbread isn’t made with cornstarch and has quite an interesting history, b.t.w., and as it’s often served with tea, I thought it would be fun to make a few Alice in Wonderland decorated cookies with it.
Once Upon A Cookie
Kind of fitting with the whole tea time thing, are these Alice in Wonderland cookies. I can’t wait to make a whole series of other Alice characters, but for now I’m excited to be starting a series of just princess cookies copied from this piece of art. {Thank you, suisei-ojii-sama!} It’s the beginning of another theme I’m looking forward to playing around with… Cookies based on fairy tales, fables and nursery rhymes. There are so many inspirational images and characters out there, I’m looking forward to getting going on these! Besides making a fairytale or fable princess cookie or two each month, I’d like to also do a more extensive collection here and there, like Jack and Jill nursery rhyme cookies.
Do you have a fairytale, fable or nursery rhyme favorite? Which would you like to see cookies made of? Do you have any beautiful images of your favorites you’d like to share?
I haven’t forgotten about the travel theme either… Thanks so much for your amazing suggestions! I have so many great ideas now, thanks to you!
And before I share the yum, yum, yum shortbread cookie recipe, if you’re here trying to decide which recipe you’d like to try for your decorated cookies, I thought I’d do a little comparison between two similar recipes for you, shortbread and sugar cookies.
Cookie Recipe Comparison – Shortbread and Sugar Cookies
I noticed a few key differences between this shortbread and my sugar cookie recipe, which I’ll share with you in case you’d like to make them too:
- The texture of the shortbread dough after mixing is smooth and easy to
eatwork with. The sugar cookie recipe is a stickier dough, and needs to be rolled between parchment and chilled to be able to work with. The taste is worth it though! Both taste scrumptious, in my humble opinion, but the shortbread cookie is easier to make and work with. - The shortbread melt-in-your mouth taste is yummy, but it means the cookies break easier, unfortunately. They’re fine to serve in a bakery, for a function, give to friends etc., but if I were shipping cookies, I would choose the sugar cookie recipe.
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it out:
Shortbread Cookie {Recipe}
Sweet of the Month & Other Sweet Tidbits
A few sweet morsels of information I’d love to share with you:
- The Alice cookie shape was made by hand cutting the dough with a paring knife. Easy enough to do if you’re only doing a few cookies, but a heads-up in case you don’t already know, time-consuming if you’re doing a lot of them. There’s got to be a cutter out there you could use though (drop me a line please if you see one), or even just pipe her on a rectangular cookie.
- I used a Kopykake projector to help me pipe Alice’s shape.
- Click here for the royal icing recipe I used.
- Wouldn’t these adorable Alice in Wonderland printables from The TomKat Studio be perfect for a Wonderland party?! I’m thinking that when I make Alice cookies again (with more of the characters and images), I’ll need to attach these sweet tags from TomKat’s shop to the cookie bags.
- If you’d like to make these Alice cookies as a gift, but don’t have the time to make too many, wouldn’t these be a nice added touch? Just had to share with you!
- A new Sweet of the Month is up! I’ve changed it to monthly in order to give you more time to vote and more time to prepare if you’re interested in entering. You can find more information on the Sweet of the Month in the FAQ section and can vote for your favorite sweets HERE until February 18th, and if you’d like to enter into the next contest, watch out for a post announcing the dates. I’m thinking maybe we’ll make the next one a Spring/Easter theme.
Drop me a line below, do you have a fairytale, fable or nursery rhyme favorite? Which would you like to see cookies made of? Do you have any beautiful images of your favorites you’d like to share?
Have fun baking!
xo,
Marian
Hi @ Ann: It would be difficult for me to tell if I haven’t seen you making it… maybe your measurements were off (regardless of sifting before or after). They ARE fragile cookies (i mention the ‘melt-in-your-mouth sensation and their fragility above), but the cookies should not be too fragile to decorate. Hmmm. If you can think of anything else to help me narrow it down for you, please share. Thanks!
I just tried the recipes yesterday and they taste very good. Thank you so much for the recipes.
I didn’t intend to make icing on it so I used HRM cookie cutters to cut the dough out. I found it very hard to make the cutting easy, the dough is completely stick into the cookie cutter. I did refrigerated them before cutting. Do you think this recipe is suitable more for the simple cookie cutter?
As your cookies look so fantastic, may I know how thick your dough was? I had it 1/4 inch and they got brown edges in less than 10 mins.
I found that the cookies also spread a bit which makes them not very nice shape. How should I avoid that from happening?
I am a newbie on cookies and I hope I can make some nice ones for the holiday. I enjoy your blog so much.
Thanks!
HI @ Sabrina: I feel silly asking, but what is a HRM cutter?
My cookie thickness varies according to my mood
but really, about 3/4 of a cm thick. Are you using a thick baking sheet? I like using a thicker one.
To prevent spreading, here is a post for you:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
Hope that helps! xo
@ marian: Thank you for your tip. HRM cookie cutters are those vintage red plastic cookie with some pattern inside. I am thinking maybe it’s plastic which makes it hard to cut the dough even I did flour them.
Thanks for you tips on avoiding spreading. I will bake again soon.
Hi again @ Sabrina, yes, those are tough to get dough out of.
Have fun baking!
Hi,
I was wondering if there’s a chocolate version of those shortbread cookies?
Thanks.
Hi @ Lots: Not yet
I’ve been trying different versions but haven’t found ‘the one’ yet.
Hi marian,
I was just wondering how many cookies this would make? I plan on doing some christmas theme ones so maybe christmas trees or gingerbread men
Hi Marian,
As I am about to make another batch for these cookie, how long can I store the dough? Can I make the dough a couple days ahead and bake them later? What’s the best way of storing them?
Hi Marian,
I’m baking up these cookies right now and just tasted a bit of one. Delicious! I hope when they cool more they’ll be a little sturdier. They do seem delicate. If they are still a little delicate for my touch, (I do have a light hand) what would you suggest? Should I add more of one of the ingredients or less of another?
Thank you for your blog. I love to connect with others that have the same passion as I do.
Oops, @ J.tran: how did I miss this question!? I would say about 30 average-sized cookies. Hope you had fun baking!
Hi @ Sabrina: In the fridge, a few days, in the freezer, 3-6 months. I store mine wrapped in saran wrap and between two sheets of parchment, resting on a baking sheet. (I already roll it pretty flat right after making it).
@ Jayne: Yes, I compared my sugar cookie dough to this one above, and would suggest, if you like a sturdier dough to go with the sugar cookies. This one has such a lovely melt-in-your-mouth sensation… i’m not sure how to change the ingredients without losing that. xo
Marian, I love your cookies. I just did a practice Alice cookie using a christmas tree cookie cutter and pushed in the top to get the shape. Worked great!!
Brilliant idea, @ Clarisse! Thanks for sharing and for coming here to comment. xo
Can I use a cast iron cookie mold for this recipe? Will they come out of a the deep heart shaped molds intact?
@ Barbara R: I haven’t tried it, sorry, so can’t advise. xo
I tried cast iron heart molds with this recipe and they worked beautifully. I was a little worried about turning the mold over and dropping it on a wooden cutting board to dislodge the hearts. I thought that might chip the heart point but doing this after letting it cool for 10 minutes made them come out intact.
I pressed the dough into each mold only 1″ deep – about halfway up. The cookies will not be as smooth on top as rolled ones but if you need a completely flat surface to frost, just turn them over and decorate the bottoms instead!
@ Barbara R:
That’s great to know @ Barbara R.! Thanks for coming back and letting us know. xo
I’m planning to use this recipe for cookie pops and cover them with white chocolate for valentine’s day..would they break?
Thanks
@ somi:
The thicker you make any cookie, the less it’ll break on a stick, but it’s a fine balance between making them too heavy. This recipe is delicate, and I’ve never tried it as a cookie pop, so if I were you I’d do an experiment batch for fun, and if you don’t have time to play around, chose a different recipe which you know is a ‘sturdy’ cookie. Hope that helps.
Hello, friend I would like to know what kind of flour do you use for ur cookies.
Thanks and have a good day!!
HI @ carol:
I use all purpose flour.
Have a good day too!
How long do I bake the cookies?
@ Jennifer Trim: Please see the Notes on the bottom right of the recipe.
Hi Marian! First of all, let me say I LOVE all your work!!
I am needing to make some dinosaur cookies, and thought I would try this shortbread recipe…it sounds delicious…(plus I love the flavor of a shortbread cookie!) One question….the 3 cups of flour, is that all-purpose flour?
Thanks!
Susan
Hi @ Susan: Yes, that’s correct.
Have fun decorating!
@ Sabrina:
Did you put flour dusting on the cookie cutter? It might help a little. Dip the cutter into “all flour bed” and let the flour create a coating inside and outside walls of the cutter.
Thank you so much for the recipes and info etc. You give on here it’s always useful and very helpful. Your stuff always looks amazing!!! I’m gonna make the cookies today and try your royal icing recipe out as well. Its a lil different from the one i usually make. Can’t wait. Thank you again and God Bless!!
Hi Marian!
First of all, I would like to let you know how much I appreciate you for putting together such a beautiful and helpful website! I absolutely love your cookies and admire your talent! I am new on baking cookies and I was asked to help my son’s school next week by cooking for a bake sale. This weekend I tried your shortbread cookies recipe and it turned out wonderful! Everybody loved it! I put a little bit more of sugar because I like it a little more sweet but it turned out really good. I made about 200 cookies and froze them all. I basically spent my weekend in the kitchen! LOL
Next week I plan to decorate them and I am going to try your Royal Icing recipe. Even though it seems to be very simply to make it, I really would love if you could post a video on how to make the royal icing step by step. It might sound a little bit: really? Come on, just follow the recipe lady! But your have no idea for people like me, that has no experience in baking at all, your videos are like GOLD!! LOL
Anyway, wish me luck and all the best for you! Thank you so much for helping me in my baking adventure!
Claudia
Hi @ brenda Jarmusz: Thanks so much!
HI @ Claudia: I’m glad to hear your 200 cookies turned out well.
I completely understand your feelings about learning better from video. We are renovating our kitchen now, but I plan on doing more videos when it’s done!!