Best Soft Shortbread Cookie Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
• Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or leave them ungreased.
• Sift the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt together into a small bowl and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the Butter and Sugar together in a medium-sized mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 1-1/2 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the bowl several times with a rubber spatula.
• Add the dry ingredients on low speed and continue to blend for 10 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, 2 to 2-1/2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
• Add the Chocolate Chips and Nuts with several turns of the mixer, then complete the mixing by hand with a wooden spoon.
• Measure out generous rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and roll them into balls with your hands.
• Place the balls 1-1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets and press them down lightly to form a flat bottom (cookie should be about 1/2-inch thick).
• Bake the cookies until they are crunchy and golden, about 1 hour. To test for doneness, remove one cookie from the sheet and cut it in half. There should be no doughy strip in the center. Allow the cookies to cool on a rack.
• Makes 15 - 17 cookies.

Steps:

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a food processor, beat together butter and brown sugar until creamy.
• Add flour, ground pecans, vanilla and salt and beat just until it forms a smooth dough.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow it to firm up just enough to shape.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
• By hand, roll dough into 1-inch balls.
• Place them on the prepared cookie sheet and flatten very slightly (to about 1/2-inch thickness) with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the glass (If you have a cookie stamp, you can use it to flatten the cookies instead of the glass).
• Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until set and very lightly browned on the bottom.
• Remove from pan and let cool on a rack.

Steps:

• In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cornstarch and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Roll dough into a 15x2x1-in. rectangle; chill. , Preheat oven to 325°. Cut into 1/4-in. slices; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.