You can never go wrong with a shortbread cookie at tea time. Good shortbread almost always uses a 1:2:3 ratio of sugar to butter to flour. We also love to experiment with different flavors depending on the overall menu. These three “flavors” of shortbread cookies are our favorites. This dough can be fussy but well worth the effort. Alternatively, make sure to check the secret “lazy” methods in the Notes section. -C&E

Shortbread Cookies: Three Ways

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1/4 t. salt
sanding sugar

Choice of flavor:

• 1 T. dried culinary lavender buds, chopped
• 1 T. fresh or dried rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 T. pulverized dry Earl Grey tea

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
3. Stir in the flour, flavor choice, and salt.
4. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, forming a disk and refrigerate overnight.
5. Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to soften for about 30 minutes. Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thick. Place rolled dough back into freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm up so cookies hold their shape when cut. Remove from freezer and cut out cookies using a 2.5-inch cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. (Scraps should be re-wrapped in plastic wrap and placed back in refrigerator to firm up. Repeat the cutting process.)
6. Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges just have a hint of golden color. Allow them to cool slightly before removing from baking sheet. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:
Yields: 12-14 2.5-inch cookies.

At holiday time, we choose the rosemary flavor of shortbread, and will go for a small Christmas tree shape cookie cutter. We usually will choose a heart shape for the lavender and a teapot shape for the Earl Grey cookies (because of course.)

Secret Lazy Methods! Put all of the ingredients for the cookies into a food processor and pulse until the dough forms a ball. If you want to bypass the rolling and cutting out of cookies, roll up the dough into a log shape with wax paper or plastic wrap, chill, and slice into 1/4-inch rounds to shape the cookies.

Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. These cookies freeze beautifully!

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