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
Oksana says
@ Marian (Sweetopia):
Thank you Marian, I am so excited about making these cookies that I seem to be missing important bits of information, LOL. My butterflies look good so far. Your sugar cookie recipe is next on my list; although it is pitty I cannot find the Kopykake projector in NZ 🙁 Thank you again for you wonderful site!
Kristen says
Hi Marian!
How many cookies would this recipe make if I was going to make your daisy cookies with it?
Kristen says
Hi Marian (again) 🙂
Also, since these break easily, how thick should I make them to make sure they don’t break?
Emily says
Hello Marian.
I read the comments above and they said that these cookies break easily. Do they usually break when you are trying to ship them, or do they break VERY easily like when you are shaking them with royal icing?
Emily Preston says
In need of help with flamingo cookies. Wondering if you have any suggestions as to what cookie cutter(s) I should use. Thanks!!
Oksana says
Hello Marian, well, the butterflies were a huge success; however, I had SO MUCH icing leftover so I’ve decided to make a batch of sugar cookies to use the icing on. I have to say, I did, too, like sugar cookies the best and even though I totally forgot to omit the baking powder, they did not spread as much as I was afraid they might. I did not use my mixer for the fear of incorporating too much air, instead just used the fork to mix butter and sugar and then my hands to mix in the flour. That and A LOT of chilling I think did the trick. Next time I’ll leave the baking powder alltogether. Wohoo, love your tutorials, recipes, the lot! Thank you.
marian says
Hi @ Oksana: I’m so glad to hear it went well! Yay! Would love to see pics if you’d like to share them on my facebook page. No worries if not. xo
HI @ Kristen: I’ve never made the daisy cookies with this recipe, so am not really sure, but I’ll hazard a guess at maybe 15-20. Buuuut, to be honest, no matter how thick you make them, they are still going to be a crumbly cookie. (see notes in the post where I compare this and sugar cookies pls). I would probably recommend making a sugar cookie dough for the daisy cookies. xo
Hi @ Emily: I guess what I’m trying to convey in the notes in the post where I say they break easy and I would use sugar cookies when shipping, is that the tasty melt-in-your mouth texture, means that they can crumble easy. Not a great cookie to ship etc. and when shaking with the royal icing on top, they’re not bad, but yes, they are more breakable than my sugar cookies. Sorry!
HI @ Emily Preston: I like this site: http://www.coppergifts.com/cookie-cutters/pc/showsearchresults.asp?pageStyle=H&resultCnt=36&keyword=flamingo&type=1&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search
Emily says
Thank you Marian!
I’m making these for fathers day. Just ones with stripes and dots. I have one question though, is it ok to use liquid food coloring?
Emily says
For royal icing. 🙂
Marian (Sweetopia) says
Hi @ Emily: I stay away from it as the liquid changes the consistency of the icing (more runny), but, if you want to use it, I would suggest making the icing, *not* thinning it to the right consistency right away, coloring it, and then thinning to decorating consistency. (there’s a youtube video i’ve made on it in case you want to check it out).
Have fun!
Emily says
Thank you! I hope these turn out good. I have a tendency to bake things that taste good but don’t look quite right. 🙂
Donika@momwhats4dinner says
My daughter would love if I made these for her! Unfortunately I do not have the talent to make such things! Wonderful job they look too good to eat! 🙂
Camelia Galletas says
Hola from Mexico Marian!!
These are incredible!! Congratulations. I read on these posts that you were going to post a video tutorial on your you tube channel, but I can´t find it. I have so many questions….did you use a Kopykake projector? I do not have one, so what would you reccomend I use instead? Gracias!!!:)
marian says
Thank you, @ Emily, @ Donika@momwhats4dinner! You’d be surprised what you can do with a few tips and tricks and a bit of practice. Take heart!
Hi @ Camelia Galletas: I’m sorry, I don’t have the video made yet. I did use a kopykake projector. If you don’t have one, check out the bottom of the Kopykake projector tutorial i have (in the tutorial cookie section), to see the alternatives. Good luck! xoxo
Guillermina says
Hi Marian !
I love your blog!
You’re an artist!
I’ve recently discovered this amazing world!
I’ll definetely try this recipe!
A big hug from Buenos Aires, Argentina 🙂
marian says
Hello @ Guillermina: Thank you! A big hug right back at you! xo
Lala says
Hi!
I was wondering how long does these cookie last for? I want to make these for a friend, but he’s overseas! >< thanks
marian says
Hi @ Lala: Absolutely! There’s a post called “How long do decorated cookies stay fresh?”, in my cookie tutorial section. xo
merlen says
hi i love all the cookies u do.I was going to ask u can u make royal icing taste like cherry strawberry or other flavors? 🙂
marian says
HI @ merlen: It’s as easy as adding either the juice (cherry or strawberry juice etc.) or an extract of any flavoring. If the extracts or juice color your icing, and let’s say you need white, you can actually color icing white with white food gel coloring. Hope that helps!
merlen says
thanks so much marian i am going to do that. I really appreciate it 😀
lili says
hi.i made these cookie.i just wanted to know can i add a bit milk & lemon juice and cardamom to make it more Delicious??i had a problem to.when i bake them cookies surface completely bake but the inside is undone!whats the problem?& they dont get like ur cookis.i mean they have small bubbles!!!
marian says
No problem, @ merlen!
@ lili: I think adding a small amount of milk, lemon juice and cardamom will be no problem. As for the baking surface and the inside not being done yet, every oven is different, so if your cookie sides are done, and the inside is not, you may just need to bake them longer. And if the sides are then too dark for you, you may need to bake them at a slightly lower temperature (try 10 degrees lower at first… you may have to experiment a bit, as every oven is different). If you do have bubbles, you can gently press them down with a flat spatula as soon as they come out of the oven. Hope that helps you!
Lili says
Really Thanks a lot . I’ll try it again 😉
Lili says
& you think which recipie is better?with cornstarch or the first one?Specially in test.
I mean which one is more delicious ?
Judy says
Can you help me find the baking time for the cookies? When I tried to print the recipe if stopped at Step 7 – pre heat the oven.
Thanks
marian says
HI @ Judy: Sorry it’s a bit confusing, the baking time is in the notes. xo
Juli says
I made this shortbread cookie dough and I tell ya, its just AWSOME! Its all I use for cookies now….I love this recipe and have made it so much, I dont use the instructions anymore..LOL
Marian (Sweetopia) says
That’s awesome, @ Juli: I’m so glad you like it!
kami says
Thanks so much for all of your wonderful tutorials! You’re really an inspiration!
I have two quick question for you – for this recipe, do you use all-purpose flour or a different kind and do you use butter with or without salt?
Thanks so much!
marian says
HI @ kami: No problem; all purpose flour and unsalted butter. xo
Anne says
Love you blog! going to try to make the shortbread recipe for my cousins bridal shower…just 2 quick questions: 1. Approx how thick should the dough be rolled out for the cookies….I think I prefer a slightly thicker cookie. and 2. i read in the icing tutorial that you color your icing the day before, and let the color set for a day…how do you store the icing while its setting and what do you have to do after the 24 hours to make sure its ready to be piped? Thanks so much!!
Anne says
one more question….approx how many cookies will this recipe make? I know it will depend on the size of the cookie, but the size of the Alice cookies would be a good guage (I have a 4.5 in cookie cutter). Thanks!!
Nikita says
Hi! I read the instructions and I wanted to ask, you refrigerate the dough twice and then preheat the oven.. I’m unclear here.. What exactly do you do after the dough is ready?
Marian (Sweetopia) says
@ Nikita: The next instructions are in the ‘notes’ section (column beside where you were reading).
arah angelica says
my goodness! I’m loving this website all the more!! <3
Felicia Farmer says
Absolutely the prettiest cookie that I’ve ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle says
I used the shortbread cookie recipe, they taste divine! I had an issue though, some of them had small bumps and bulges on the top so I couldn’t use them. Any idea for correcting that, I would love to keep using this recipe.
marian says
Hi @ Michelle, It sounds like there may have been lots of air in the dough. Try and just incorporate the ingredients and then stop mixing. I haven’t had the issue, so it’s a guess. Hope that helps!
Ann says
Omg!!!! I just made these and they are to die for!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! The BEST butter recipe ever;) xxxx
Ann says
Omg!!!! I just made these and they are to die for!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! The BEST butter recipe ever;) xxx
shalom says
You have a type: “I would chose the sugar cookie” should be “choose”
Jasmine says
These look absolutely amazing! I’ve never heard of using cornstarch (such a large amount at that) in shortbread cookies, but nevertheless I am always up for trying something new! I definitely plan on trying this recipe for a few dozen Halloween (hello kitty, ghost, etc) for the children I work with. Is there a specific amount of cookies this dough produce or is it just based on the size cookie cutter?