How to Make Delicious Graham Cracker Shortbread Cookies
In her first video, Rowan cooks up shortbread cookies 3 amazing ways!
Things to know:
What is the difference between a shortbread cookie and a regular cookie?
Shortbread is a specific type of rich, crumbly cookie defined by its high butter content and simple recipe (flour, butter, sugar), lacking eggs and leavening for a melt-in-your-mouth texture, while “cookies” is a broad category that includes many variations (like sugar cookies, chocolate chip) often using eggs, leavening, and different ratios for softer, chewier, or crisper results. The main difference: shortbread is dense and crumbly due to fat, while many cookies are lighter and chewier due to eggs and leaveners.
What are common mistakes when making shortbread?
-Overmixing the dough and making it too tough to work with.
-Adding too much flour to the countertop when rolling the dough, causing the dough to dry up.
-Not adding enough coarse sugar to the top of the sugar cookies.
What is the best flour for shortbread?
For shortbread, all-purpose flour is the classic base, but adding cornstarch or rice flour creates a more tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture, while pastry flour gives a lighter, flakier result due to its lower protein content. The key is a low-protein flour, so you can substitute a portion of AP flour with cornstarch (for soft) or rice flour (for crisp) for that signature crumbly, buttery feel.
What happens if you don’t chill shortbread before baking?
Chilling the dough before baking will help the shortbread keep their shape while cooking. In the oven, the dough will spread as the butter in the mixture melts, but baking it from chilled helps reduce this effect. It’s most important to do this if you are baking the shortbread in individual cookies.
Is it better to use powdered sugar or granulated sugar for shortbread cookies?
The recipes that used powdered sugar tended to have a softer, more tender bite than those made with granulated sugar. (This is because powdered sugar generally contains cornstarch, a thickener which helps contribute to a thicker/softer texture.)
Ingredients:
12 T unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 cup sugar
2.5 t pure vanilla extract
1.5 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 t kosher salt
Tips
Make s’more cookies by dipping in melted chocolate (1 cup chocolate + 2 tsp shortening), let cool then add marshmallow fluff. Cool the cookies dipped in chocolate in fridge for about 20 min before fluff.
Preparation
1. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and 2.5 tsp vanilla extract until creamed.
2. Add sugar and salt; mix until combined.
3. Scrape bowl down; add flour and graham cracker crumbs slowly while on low. Scrape bowl once more and mix until combined.
4. Shape the dough into a rectangular prism, wrap in plastic and chill until firm (at least an hour).
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Use a sharp knife to cut 1/2in thick slices.
6. Place slices, spaced half an inch apart, onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
7. Use a fork or skewer to indent a pattern onto the top.
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.
9. Transfer to a wire sheet to cool. ENJOY!
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