Vanilla Shortbread Cookies

These buttery Vanilla Shortbread Cookies are crisp, tender, and wonderfully simple to make. Made with everyday pantry staples and a touch of vanilla, they’re the perfect old-fashioned treat with a cup of coffee or hot tea.

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword shortbread-cookies-recipe, shortbread-recipes, vanilla-shortbread-cookies

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 18

Cooling time 1

Total Time 1 28

Servings cookies

Calories 216kcal

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter softened
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp sugar in the raw or coarse sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla for 2 minutes, or until fluffy.
Lower speed of mixer adding flour 1/2 cup at a time. Beat on medium speed until fully combined and a soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto plastic wrap. Knead gently just until smooth. Form into a disc and chill for 30 minutes.
On a non stick surface roll dough into roughly an 8x8-square, 1/3-1/2 inch thick. (Pro Tip: Lay a piece of wax paper on top to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.)
Cut into 2 -inch squares. Place onto pan, at least 1 inch apart. Sprinkle tops with coarse sugar. (You can also cut into rectangles or use cookie cutters to make into any shape you wish.)
Bake for 22-25 minutes until the bottoms are very lightly golden brown. Cool on the pan for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Baker Note: The baking time for these cookies is based on chilled dough cut 1/3-1/2 inch thick. If the cookies are rolled thinner, the baking time may need to be reduced.

Notes

Room Temperature Butter - It's important to begin with softened butter so that it incorporates more easily with the sugar.
Unsalted Butter - You can use unsalted butter. when doing so, sift 1/4 teaspoon of salt with the flour.
Nuts - You could add chopped toasted pecans, almonds or walnuts.
Vanilla Beans - You can use the tip of a knife to scrape whole vanilla beans and add the dough to the to amp up the vanilla flavor. Add 1 teaspoon or adjust the amount according to your preference.
Flavorings - You could add almond extract, lemon extract or any other flavor that you enjoy.
Citrus Zest - You can change the flavor profile using lemon zest, lime zest or ornange zest for a pop of citrus.

Nutrition