Hello friends! I have a new recipe for you today that is bursting with lemon and is perfect for Spring. This classic lemon bar recipe is a family favorite. 

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The post Classic Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Happy December friends! It’s been a hectic few weeks for me since Thanksgiving so I haven’t had time to stop in and check on you guys. Luckily for you, I have a healthy archive of holiday desserts and recipes that I see you have all been enjoying. Before we packed up and moved our family from NY to Maryland (more on that later), I was able to bake a few holiday recipes in anticipation of my kitchen lockdown. These spiced shortbread cookies were one of those recipes and I am very happy to share them with you. They are buttery, soft and perfectly spiced to make any holiday cookie box happy.

Holiday cookies are a must on every baking list this time of the year. They bring joy, happiness, and warmth to every home and make for great edible gift ideas too. It’s also an annual tradition with my niece (and now son) to bake holiday cookies together.

These spiced shortbread cookies were on my baking list last year. I made them, loved them, shared them with family and friends but I never got around to sharing the recipe with you. So this year, I remade them and decided to add a twist to them by dipping them in chocolate and adding my favorite toppings. This is a great activity for kids as they can decorate their cookies as desired. I used chopped nuts (pecans and pistachios), shredded coconut flakes and sprinkles. But you can do your family’s favorite toppings to complete the look of these cookies. You can also leave them plain as they are just as delicious.

You really can’t go wrong with buttery shortbread cookies this holiday season. The warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom make this recipe extra special! 

I hope you can take some time this season to slow down, spend quality time with friends and family and enjoy some holiday baking.  As we get settled into a new house, city, and community, I’ll be digging into my holiday baking repertoire to continue some of holiday season traditions.

In case you need more inspiration, here are a few of my favorite holiday cookies in addition to these spiced shortbread cookies:

• Mexican Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

Enjoy!

Print

Yield: ~30 cookies

Spiced Shortbread Cookies

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Chill Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• a pinch of cloves
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For Dipping:

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• 2 ounces dark chocolate or white chocolate
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

For Toppings:

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• chopped pistachios
• chopped pecans
• dried rose petals

Instructions

1. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in another large bowl using an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Beat in the vanilla extract.
4. In two to three additions, add in the dry ingredients until incorporated and the dough forms.
5. Turn the dough onto a plastic wrap and bring together the dough.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
7. When ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
9. Roll out the dough to 2-inch thickness. Use any cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
10. Bake cookies until lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
11. Let cool on the cooling rack completely.
12. For dipping: combine the chocolate and coconut oil and melt in a microwave-safe bowl. Dip cooled cookies in the melted chocolate and top with desired toppings.

Notes

• Shortbread Cookie base adapted from Bake from Scratch

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I’ve been meaning to make shortbread cookies for two years now. My good intentions have gone unanswered until this weekend when I made these shortbread thumbprint cookies. I figured this year my cookie boxes should finally include them in addition to my annual homemade peppermint marshmallows. I filled these cookies with three different ways; peppermint chocolate, dulce leche and classic cookies.

These are actually the first shortbread cookies I’ve made for the blog. I’ve tried a few recipes here and there but I am always going for the complicated flavored ones. I wanted something simple and classic for these cookies so I went in search for an easy recipe that I can fill with different fillings.

The recipe below is a new creation that combines a few recipes that I found. While researching, I found that shortbread recipes fall into two camps; cornstarch vs. no cornstarch OR extract flavorings vs. no extracts. I tested it both ways and I decided I love the melt-in-your-mouth level of adding cornstarch to the cookie dough and I added a little bit of almond extract to it too. So while this isn’t entirely an elaborate recipe, the simplicity of it makes it possible for you to get creative with your filling.

For my fillings, I went with the classic chocolate kisses drizzled with chocolate ganache.

Dulce Leche filling which will be great with some coarse salt on top.

Finally, peppermint chocolate with chocolate drizzles.

All equally amazing and impossible to pick a favorite. I know the variety will be great for your cookie boxes and if you are anything like me, you are still sending out cookies this week. So add one or three of these to your boxes.

Happy cookie baking!

Print

Yield: ~ 3 dozen cookies

Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies (Three Ways)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes

Total Time 42 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

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• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

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• 2 ounces chocolate, melted with 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• crushed peppermint candies
• 3 tablespoons dulce leche, softened
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
• 12 hershey chocolate kisses

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on medium speed.

Slowly add in the flour and cornstarch until incorporated. Beat for another 2-3 minutes on medium speed until whipped. Beat in the vanilla extract, almond extract and salt.

With your hands lightly coated in cornstarch, scoop out 1/2 tablespoon dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Place the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet.

Bake for 20-22 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom. Half way through baking, remove the cookies from oven and using your thumb, press into the middle of the cookies to form an indent. Continue baking for the rest of the time.

Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.

For Peppermint Chocolate Options:

1. Using a piping bag, add some melted chocolate into the center of the thumbprint cookies. Top with crushed peppermint candies

For Dulce Leche Options

1. Warm up the dulce leche slightly in a microwave (about 10-15 seconds). Fill up the center of the cookies with the dulce leche. Drizzle leftover dulce leche over the cookies and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

For the Kisses Option:

1. Immediately out of the oven, place a Hershey Kiss in each cookie.

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The post Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies (Three Ways) appeared first on A Classic Twist.