Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

An easy and delicious shortbread cookie, perfect for any time of the year.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

Chill Time 1

Calories 1545kcal

Author Jenna Shaughnessy

Ingredients

Shortbread Cookies

¾ cup butter unsalted, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup freeze dried strawberries crushed so that no large pieces remain

Strawberry Glaze

¾ cup confectioners sugar
2 strawberries large, hulled, finely diced and mashed
1 tsp butter unsalted, melted

Instructions

For the shortbread cookie

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and cream for about 2 - 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy, and pale in color. Scrape down the sides and bottom the bowl half way through. Add in the vanilla and mix again.
Sift the flour and add the salt and then mix on low speed until they are combined and the dough starts to form clumps and pull away from the sides of the bowl (20 seconds to 1 minute).
With your hands, squeeze the shortbread dough together into a ball. Place onto some plastic wrap, flatten into a disc and put it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Once chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Try not to overwork the doughboy kneading it. Just press it gently together each time.
Once the dough is rolled out, use a 3 inch round or scalloped cookie cutter to cut out approximately 8-10 cookies. Place on the prepared baking tray.
Refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes minimum.
Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just starting to turn golden.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Glaze

Add powdered sugar, melted butter and mashed strawberries to a bowl.
Whisk together until fully combined. Add milk until desired thickness is achieved. If glaze is too runny, add more powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time to thicken it up.
Spoon over the cooled cookies, about 2 tsps per cookie. Allow the glaze to harden.

Notes

These cookies need room temperature butter. If you try to use cold butter, the butter and sugar will not cream together completely. The creaming process is what gives these cookies their fine crumb.

If your dough is not pulling away from the bowl after you sift in the flour and salt, simply add in small amounts of flour until it does start to pull away.

Once the glaze has hardened, you can keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.

Nutrition