bake: brown sugar shortbread
I hope some of you were able to try the brown sugar cookie recipe from last week, because it really is divine! And since it's fall (though you couldn't tell by the record highs we've had in southern California this week), I wanted to share yet another autumn appropriate, brown sugar fave--brown sugar shortbread. When you think of shortbread, dry, bland, and crumbly cookies tend to come to mind. Not these cookies! These are rich, buttery, (and chewy or crispy, depending on which baking method you choose), and have just the right amount of salt to complement the sweet.
And I should also mention they’re easy. While last week's recipe was a bit time consuming (but totally worth it!) with the rolling and flattening and baking, this shortbread is simple and has only four ingredients: butter, brown sugar, salt, and flour. And as a bonus, you can choose if you want crispy or chewy cookies. Since the recipe makes enough dough for two pans of cookies, you can even try out both textures. I prefer them chewy, but I've made them both ways and they are both always a huge hit.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar (If you only have dark available, don’t worry, it works just fine)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups flour
Preparation
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a stand mixer or medium bowl with electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar and salt until creamy, about 2 minutes, being careful not to overmix. Gradually beat in the flour, working in the last one-half cup with your hands if necessary (the dough will be stiff). Divide the dough in half.
- To make chewy wedge-shaped cookies, butter 2 (8-inch) metal cake pans and line with parchment. Butter the parchment and press each half of the dough into a pan. Smooth the top with the bottom of a buttered measuring cup. Prick the dough with a fork in a decorative concentric circle pattern. Refrigerate the pans, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- To make crispy bar cookies, shape each dough half into a 10-by-4-inch rectangle on a lightly floured board. Run a blunt knife or your fingers along the edges to straighten them (it doesn’t have to be perfect). Carefully lift each rectangle onto a buttered baking sheet, lifting both edges with your hands. With a blunt knife, score each one once lengthwise without cutting all the way through. Score crosswise 11 times to make 24 rectangles. Prick each one several times with a fork. Refrigerate the sheets, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Tips and Hints!
· Baking the cookies in a cake pan allows the dough to retain more moisture, giving the cookies a chewy texture. Baking the cookies on an open, flat sheet makes the cookies crispy.
· It is very important to cut the cookies while still warm, otherwise they will crumble.
Brown Sugar Shortbread from L.A. Times
Labels: Column - Bake, friends and company, kitchen |
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4 comments:
That looks super good! I made 2 batches of the brown sugar cookies for our trip and we LOVED them! Thanks for the recipe, friend!
omg, that looks incredibly delicious, actually beyond delicious, I want one now!!
Hi Ana! So happy you loved the brown sugar cookies, they are seriously addictive!
Yum, and that would make the perfect combo with a cup of coffee:-) xx
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