Shortbread Cookies

Don’t you love a good treat to go with your afternoon cup of coffee or tea? Well, if you’re still in search for that perfect treat, I have good news, I’m sharing this must-try recipe: Shortbread cookies. I actually made this batch for our Easter brunch, I made them the day before but it can be done a few days ahead or even weeks since they freeze well. They are great for gatherings, the perfect end to a good meal.

These cookies are buttery and crumbly with just the right amount of sweetness. They have lots of lemon zest which brightens them up. This is a great basic shortbread recipe that can be flavored with so many things like lavender, spices such as cardamon (which I do a lot). You can also dip them in chocolate, because let’s face it,  chocolate makes everything that much better, don’t you agree? 

Ingredients:
(makes about 48 pieces, 
depending on how big you cut it)

⅔ cup of sugar plus more for sprinkling
3 sticks of unsalted butter (12oz), softened

the zest of 3 lemons

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2  ½ cups flour

½ cup cornstarch

1 pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 325 ˚F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, set aside. In a bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt, set aside. Cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Gradually add the flour mixture. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, pat it evenly and bake it for 50 minutes or until the top is lightly golden. 30 minutes into the cooking time, take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle it with sugar. Return the pan into the oven to complete its cooking time. While still hot, cut it into bite size pieces and poke holes with a fork, be very careful as the cookies are very fragile and can break easily. As they cool down, they will harden. Let it cool completely before taking them out of the pan.