These easy 6-ingredient brown sugar shortbread cookies are a candy, flavorful tackle conventional shortbread. Made in 1 bowl with out eggs or leavening, this buttery shortbread is mushy but dense with crisp, crumbly edges. We’ll use the straightforward slice-and-bake methodology, which helps assure thick cookies. No rolling pin required!
Brown Sugar Shortbread Is Again & Higher
I used to have a recipe for brown sugar shortbread cookies on my website, however eliminated it as a result of readers have been reporting that their cookies all the time overspread. However there should have been one thing about these cookies that many appreciated, as a result of it’s the most incessantly requested “outdated recipe” I get requested for!
So my crew and I made a decision to present the recipe one other attempt, and see if we might resolve the overspreading drawback and enhance this recipe. After just a few check batches, we decided that decreasing the quantities of butter and sugar made the most important distinction. I’m pleased to report that this recipe for brown sugar shortbread cookies is BACK, and actually higher than ever!
Why You’ll Be Glad This Cookie Recipe Is Making a Comeback
- A 1-bowl cookie recipe
- Solely 6 elements whole
- Brown sugar taste with a shortbread texture
- Thick, dense, and buttery with crisp/crumbly edges
- Coated in sparkly, candy, crunchy coarse sugar
- Straightforward slice-and-bake fashion
- Nice make-ahead cookie recipe
Simply 5 Elements for Brown Sugar Shortbread Dough
Shortbread cookies don’t require eggs or leavening brokers, which makes the ingredient record tremendous quick! All you want for the dough is:
- Butter: Make sure that to start out with correct room-temperature butter. Whereas a standard shortbread has twice as a lot butter because it has sugar, these are brown sugar shortbread cookies, so the flavour emphasis is extra on the brown sugar. Count on a sweeter cookie than these shortbread wedge cookies.
- Brown Sugar: You should use mild or darkish brown sugar, or a mixture of each.
- Vanilla Extract: Be happy to make use of do-it-yourself vanilla extract right here!
- Flour: All-purpose flour offers the cookies’ construction.
- Salt: A bit salt balances out the candy.
You’ll additionally want a coarse sugar, resembling coarse glowing sugar or turbinado sugar (like Sugar within the Uncooked), to roll the cookie dough logs in. This provides the perimeters of your cookies a stunning sparkle, in addition to a candy crunch.
The way to Make Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
Make the cookie dough in 1 bowl. Beat butter and sugar collectively till very creamy. Beat within the vanilla, then add the dry elements. The dough will probably be very crumbly, and you’ll most likely want to complete bringing it collectively along with your fingers.
That is what it is going to appear like:
Pour it out onto a piece floor, and squeeze the dough collectively along with your fingers till it types a thick dough. If it’s nonetheless too crumbly and never sticking collectively, attempt getting your fingers moist or sprinkling just a few drops of water onto the dough. That ought to do the trick!
Roll into logs. Divide the dough in half on a floured work floor. Do your greatest to roll every half right into a log.
Roll the logs into coarse sugar. This sparkly coating makes for fairly cookies, but additionally offers essentially the most incredible candy crunch—you’ll love the feel addition! You should use coarse glowing sugar or one thing like Sugar In The Uncooked.
Chill the logs. Wrap every log in plastic wrap, then chill for at the least 4 hours. An extended chill time is necessary for these “icebox”-style cookies.
Slice & bake. Slice every log into about 12 cookies, prepare on cookie sheets, and bake.
A Nice Make-Forward Cookie Recipe
Slice-and-bake, aka icebox, cookies are significantly suited to creating forward of time as a result of the dough logs want to sit back for at the least 4 hours minimal, however may also hand around in the fridge for as much as 5 days.
So make the dough prematurely, after which while you’re prepared for fresh-baked cookies, merely pull one of many dough logs out, slice, and bake!
Planning to make plenty of cookies on the holidays, and need to get forward? Make a number of batches of slice-and-bake cookie dough and freeze the dough logs for as much as 3 months. I’ve a full tutorial, together with a video, on the way to freeze cookie dough with all the small print.
Extra Icebox-Type Cookies to Slice & Bake
You may browse all of my shortbread & icebox cookie recipes right here.
Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
Prep Time: 4 hours, half-hour (consists of dough chilling)
Cook dinner Time: quarter-hour
Complete Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: 24 cookies
Class: Cookies
Methodology: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
These easy 6-ingredient brown sugar shortbread cookies are a candy, flavorful tackle conventional shortbread. Made in 1 bowl with out eggs or leavening, this buttery shortbread is mushy but dense with crisp, crumbly edges. Cautious to not over-bake these. No rolling pin required!
Directions
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar collectively on medium-high velocity till fully easy and creamy. Add the vanilla and beat till mixed.
- Add the flour and salt and beat on low velocity till integrated. Flip the mixer as much as medium-high velocity and beat till the dough comes collectively. If the dough is just too crumbly and gained’t come collectively after a pair minutes of beating, cease the mixer, pour the dough crumbles on a piece floor, and use your fingers to convey it collectively. (I typically have to do that, so don’t fear.) You may also attempt sprinkling the dough with just a few drops of water after which beat once more; or get your fingers moist, then press the dough clumps collectively tightly till it types one giant clump of thick dough.
- With calmly floured fingers, divide the dough in two. (If you wish to be exact, the dough ought to weigh about 650g, so every half will probably be about 325g.) Roll and form each bit of dough into an 8-inch log.
- For Rolling: Pour coarse sugar onto a big plate. Separately, roll the logs within the sugar till the outside is totally coated.
- Tightly wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill within the fridge for at the least 4 hours and as much as 5 days. Chilling is necessary for this cookie dough. I all the time chill mine in a single day.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (At all times really helpful for cookies.) Put aside.
- Take away logs from the fridge. Slice every log into 12 equally thick cookies and place cookies on baking sheets about 2 inches aside. Bake the cookies for 14–16 minutes, or till set and calmly browned across the edges. Don’t over-bake. Permit to chill for five minutes on the baking sheet, then switch to cooling rack to chill fully.
- Cowl and retailer leftover cookies at room temperature for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward Directions: Baked cookies freeze properly as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge and convey to room temperature, if desired, earlier than serving. You may make/assemble the cookie dough logs and chill within the fridge for as much as 5 days (see step 5). Cookie dough logs freeze properly too, as much as 3 months. Permit the logs to thaw in a single day within the fridge, then proceed with step 6. See The way to Freeze Cookie Dough in the event you’d prefer to see a video tutorial for freezing varied sorts of doughs.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Coarse Glowing Sugar | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Outdated Model: The outdated recipe known as for: 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup (2 sticks; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 1 cup (200g) packed mild brown sugar; 1/3 cup (67g) packed darkish brown sugar; 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; non-compulsory: 2/3 cup (135g) coarse sugar, for rolling. Identical baking directions. The cookies often over-spread, so I up to date the quantities of elements.
- Be sure you take a look at my prime 5 cookie baking ideas AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.
