Before you spend hours on Pinterest searching for the world’s best Christmas cookie recipe, let me save you the hassle. I already know what it is. The flavor is out of this world, and when it comes to decorating, you can go all out!
If you’ll stick with me for the next five minutes, I’ll bet you’ll agree.
The World’s Best Christmas Cookie is Hiding In Plain Sight
When it comes to food, I am a purist. So, you’ve got a dill pickle pizza with homemade dilly ranch sauce on your menu? I don’t want to hear about it if your plain cheese pizza isn’t banging. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my kitchen and eating out, it’s this – gimmicks do not make great food. The basics made well are where it’s at.
Humans have been baking for around 14,000 years, so it’s unlikely that the world’s best Christmas cookie will be the newest recipe on TikTok this year. It’s more likely that it already exists, and I’m here to tell you it does. I bake it by the hundreds every single Christmas, and I’ll bet you’ve made it before, too.
It’s the humble shortbread cookie.
Wait! Don’t click away; hear me out. There’s something wonderful about a perfect, golden shortbread cookie. It’s such a simple thing, but a really good shortbread is an experience. When you bite into it, there’s a lot going on. First, there’s the crunch as the cookie crumbles in your mouth when you bite it. Then you get that lovely grainy texture rolling across your tongue. Right about then, the cookie begins to dissolve in warm sweetness from the combination of butter and sugar blended harmoniously together.
Is your mouth watering, too? See what I mean?
This holiday season, instead of baking eight types of cookies that involve thirty separate ingredients, three different oven temperatures, a food processor, a marble rolling pin and a partridge in a pear tree, I invite you to join me in baking only shortbread.
Well, that sounds pretty boring, Tracey.
Stay with me here.
Aside from being the perfect cookie, did I mention that shortbread is incredibly customizable? It’s the ideal cookie recipe to make ahead and freeze the dough. And have I told you yet that you only need four ingredients? That’s right, just four.
The Decorating is Where It’s At
Part of what makes Christmas cookies fun to make is the decorating, and you can have your cookie and eat it too with shortbread. Christmas sprinkles and colored sugar? Sprinkle to your heart’s content. Icing? Because shortbread isn’t overly sweet, it’s a great base cookie for icing, and yes, you can use cookie cutters.
Shortbread is superb the way it is, but there are so many things you can add to the dough to change up the flavor. (I’ve got a great list of mix-ins coming up.) And they’re wonderful for dipping into chocolate. With just one classic recipe, you can make hundreds of different Christmas cookies.
Easy Peasy, Make Christmas Baking Breezy
What if you’re not Betty Crocker? What if the idea of spending the day in the kitchen baking cookies sounds more like torture than a fun holiday tradition? Lucky for you, shortbread is easy and quick to make. (If you want cookies that get rave reviews and look like you spent ages on them, keep reading. I’ve got the perfect “fancy” Christmas cookie hack for you.)
The Classic Shortbread Recipe
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter until smooth. Add confectioner’s sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Mix flour and salt well, then add to the first mixture, combining thoroughly.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until 1/4-inch thick, then cut into 2×2 squares. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool on rack. Makes about 24 cookies.
Yes, it’s that simple.
But let’s complicate things a tiny bit for the sake of some holiday fun. Here are some great add-ins that will make your shortbread extraordinary. Pick one and add it when you’re creaming the butter.
Shortbread Dough Add-ins
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fresh orange zest
- 1 tbsp dried lavender
- 1 tsp dried rosemary (I know, but trust me, it’s divine)
- ¼ cup crushed candy cane or Starlight mints
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1tbsp poppy seeds (the lemon zest goes great with these)
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts, slivered almonds or pistachios
- ¼ cup chopped dried cranberries
- ¼ cup of shredded coconut
- The list goes on…
Tips, Tricks & Variations
There are so many ways you can dress up shortbread or keep it simple for Christmas. Here are a few tips, tricks, and variations of the classic shortbread you can try.
- Kerrygold – Yup, I know it’s spendy. But it makes amazing shortbread, and remember, you only need four ingredients in total here. Take what you’re saving on ingredients and buy good butter ‘cause we’re baking the world’s best Christmas cookies this year!
- Need a lot of cookies? – Make up batches of shortbread dough and freeze it ahead of time. Really, you should do this anyway because you never know when the mood for a great cookie will strike you.
- Protect your dough – Roll your shortbread dough into a log and then wrap it snuggly in saran wrap or wax paper (I’m trying to limit my single-use plastic). Wrap it in a second layer, then wrap it in aluminum foil. Don’t forget to write what it is and the date. It will keep for three months frozen.
- Skip the rolling pin – Roll the shortbread dough into a round log about 2″ in diameter and roughly 12″ long. Use a sharp, cold knife to slice off ¼” thick rounds. This is much easier and gives you cookies with a more rustic shape. Alternatively, drop the log on your counter, flip it over and drop it on the opposite side, then on the remaining round sides to create square-shaped cookies.
- Christmas colors – Add red or green food coloring when creaming the butter for some fun Christmas-colored shortbread.
- Poke them – Make thumbprint cookies by gently pressing your thumb in the center of each cookie; add ½ tsp of jam or candied fruits before baking.
- Don’t manhandle – Shortbread doesn’t do well being overhandled. If you want to use cookie cutters, only roll it out once or twice. Simple shapes are best: hearts, circles, diamonds, trees, etc. Take the remaining dough, smoosh it into a ball, roll it into a log and cut it into rounds.
- Golden brown. Check your shortbread often as it gets close to being done. It should be a lovely pale gold with the edges just slightly browned.
- Make it stick – When using colored sugar, use a pastry brush and apply a thin egg wash (whisk together one whole egg and a tbsp of water) to each cookie before sprinkling the sugar on. Add sugar before you put the cookies on the baking sheet. If sugar gets on the baking sheet it will burn and set off the smoke detector. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I have no personal experience here. Stop looking at me like that.
- Cool it, ya filthy animal – If you plan to dip or drizzle chocolate on your cookies, wait until they have cooled completely.
- Get dippin’ – Dip cookies in melted tempered chocolate, then dip them in sprinkles, nonpareils or crushed candy canes for a truly decadent cookie. Place the dipped cookies on parchment paper to allow them to set up.
Easy & Elegant Christmas Cookies
Remember those super fancy-looking cookies I mentioned? Here you go. Once your cookies have cooled drizzle them with melted, tempered chocolate, then sprinkle on crushed candy canes for beautiful Christmas cookies that look like they came from a trendy bakery.
So what do you think? Are you with me on Team Shortbread? With one humble little cookie, you can fill an entire Christmas cookie tray with countless variations.
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