New!! Oatmeal Shortbread
by Lucy Natkiel

Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

This shortbread has a rich, almost chewy texture.

½ cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsifted all purpose flour
2/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not “instant”)

Cream the butter Cream in the brown sugar and vanilla, then 1 cup of the flour, the cinnamon and the rolled oats. You will have to use your hands to work in all of the dry ingredients. Flour a work surface with the 2 Tablespoons of flour and knead the dough until it forms a firm, cohesive ball. It should not be crumbly.

Lightly spray your shortbread pan with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Place the ball of dough in the center of the pan, and using the heals of your hands, firmly press it into the pan. The dough will be stiff. Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan in a 325 oven for 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife, and flip the pan over onto a wooden or plastic cutting board. If the shortbread doesn’t come right out, hold the pan upside down about 2 – 3 inches over the cutting board and drop it face down. The shortbread should drop right out. Cut into serving pieces with a thin sharp knife while still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

New!! Raspberry Shortbead by Lucy Natkiel

Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

This shortbread is just beautiful. Two layers of pale, buttery shortbread sandwich a dark red stripe of jam. You can make it several ways, depending on the flavors you wish to combine. I usually use Classic Shortbread, but you can use Chocolate Shortbread, Ginger, or Almond. They all are delicious.

1 recipe shortbread dough, chilled 20 minutes(see Below)
¼ cup excellent quality raspberry jam
Lightly spray your shortbread pan with a non-stick cooking oil spray. Divide the dough in half, and press one half into the bottom of the shortbread pan. It will form a thin layer. Be sure to have a bit dough curve up the sides of the pan just a little, to hold in the jam.

Slowly melt the jam in a small pan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Spread the melted jam over the dough in the shortbread pan.

Now roll out the second half of the dough on a piece of lightly floured waxed paper until it is roughly the size and shape of the shortbread pan. Carefully place the rolled dough on top of the layer of jam and peal off the waxed paper. Seal the edges as best you can. It doesn’t have to be neat. Prick the entire surface with a fork, being sure to go all of the way through all 3 layers..

Bake in a 325 oven for 40-45 minutes, or until light brown.

Run the point of a knife around the edges of the shortbread as soon as you take it from the oven. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Again, run a knife around the edge of the shortbread, this time to loosen it., then flip the pan over onto a wooden or plastic cutting board. If the shortbread doesn’t come right out, hold the pan upside down about 2 – 3 inches over the cutting board and drop it face down. The shortbread should drop right out. Cut into serving pieces with a thin sharp knife while still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

Classic Shortbread

Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

Tools:
Shortbread Pan
Wooden Cutting Board

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (unsifted)

Preheat Oven 325 degrees.it in the sink or Using the back of a large spoon, cream the butter until it is light. Cream in the powered sugar, then the vanilla. Now work in the flour. Knead the dough on an unfloured board until nice and smooth. Spray the shortbread pan very lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Put the ball of dough in the middle of the pan, and working out from the center, firmly press the dough into the pan. Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan for about 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Be sure that the middle is thoroughly cooked and doesn't look slightly opaque or the shortbread might stick in the pan.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife and flip the pan over onto a wood cutting board. If the shortbread does not come right out, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of the pan against the board. This should loosen the shortbread and it should drop out. Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing dishwasher.

Roll-out Cookies

Tools:
Cooling Grid
Cookie Sheets
Cookie Cutters

Be sure to visit our cookie cutter - general shop.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix baking powder and flour in a seperate bowl and add, one cup at a time, to the sugar mixture. Be sure to mix after each addition. The dough will be very stiff. Blend last flour by hand (if dough becomes too stiff, add water, a tsp at a time). DO NOT chill dough. Divide dough into 2 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Dip cutters in flour before each use. Bake cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet on top rack of oven for 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Dough can be tinted prior to baking using icing color. May also add 3 oz melted, unsweetened chocolate into the dough to make chocolate cookies. Bake as directed. Yield: 20-24 average size cookies

You can back with sanding sugars on top of your cookies or add a royal icing after they are cool and decorate.

Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies will be mildly crunchy around the edge, softer in the center, and very mildly spiced; oats are the star. They'll be 1/4" thick and 2 1/2" to 3" wide when scooped in 1 1/4" balls. Yields: 22 cookies without raisins, 24 cookies with raisins.

Be sure to visit our cookie accessories shop.

Tools:
Cookie Sheets
Cooling Racks

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1-1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup golden raisins, optional

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, light-colored preferred.
2) Beat together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vinegar till fairly smooth; a few tiny bits of butter may still show.
3) Beat in the egg, again beating till smooth.
4) Add the baking soda and flour, beating till well incorporated.
5) Add the oats (and raisins), stirring to combine.
6) Drop the dough in 1 1/4" balls onto the prepared baking sheets; if you're measuring, this is about 2 level tablespoons (using a tablespoon measure, not a dinner spoon). Space the cookies 2" apart; they'll spread.
7) Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, reversing the pans halfway through (top rack to bottom, bottom to top). For softer cookies, bake the lesser amount of time; for crunchier, the longer amount. At 12 minutes, a few of the cookies on the edge should just barely be showing a pale brown around their edges. At 14 minutes, they should be starting to color all over.
8) Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool right on the pan.

Tips from our bakers
• Be sure to use quick oats from a canister: not instant breakfast oatmeal, not old-fashioned oats. Quick oats will yield the correct texture and spread.
• While it's easier to beat butter that's at cool room temperature, it's not necessary to wait for it to warm up if you've taken it straight from the fridge. You'll just need to beat it a bit longer.
• For round, symmetrical cookies, be sure to leave 2" between them on all sides. This is sufficient room that they won't spread and touch one another.
• If your baking sheets are dark/black, shorten the baking time by a minute or so. If you use air-insulated cookie sheets (which we don't recommend), increase the baking time by a couple of minutes.

Homemade Holiday Salt Dough Ornaments

If you're looking for a clever way to interact with your childrem, engage them in a holiday craft project that they can enjoy! Making homemade holiday ornaments can become an annual family tradition. An easy way to craft ornaments that will last through the years is to use a simple receipe for salt dough. Not only is salt dough inexpensive and easy to make, you probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen pantry. A perfect way to spend a snowy afternoon or evening in front of the fireplace, whip up a batch of salt dough using this simple recipe. Mold it into favorite holiday shapes ( stars, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, menorahs and more), ands let the kids decorate to their heart's content.

Tools:
Cookie Cutters
Cookie Sheets or Microwave Safe Plate
Cooling Grid

Ingredients:
4 cup flour
1 cup salt
1-1/2 cups hot water
Holiday Cookie Cutters
Decorations: glitter, paint, beads, ribbon, glue, etc.

Knead the dough and roll it out to desired thickness to cut out shapes with cookie cutters (just like if you were making sugar cookies). Use a straw to poke a hole in the top of each ornament to create a spot to thread ribbon through for hanging. Place them on a microwave-safe plate & microwave on high for about two minutes. Or preheat your oven to 325 F and place ornaments on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the ornaments dry and harden in the oven for one hour to 1-1/2 hours. Paint and decorate as desired. Most of all, be creative, and have a lot of fun!!!

Classic Spritz Cookies

Classic Spritz Cookies are an easy way to add variety to a tray of cookies. A cookie press lets you change disks to produce many different shapes. Serve them plain, sprinkled with decorations or sugars, frosted or dipped in melted candy!

Tools:
Cookie Press
Cookie Sheet
Cooling Grid

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon no-color almond extract
Food Coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat until combined. Do not chill. Fill cookie press with dough and with desired disks, press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet on cooling rack. Remove from sheet; cool completely. Yields 7-8 dozen

Almond Paste Ingredients: Selected Blanched Almonds, Sugar, Water, Potassium Sorbate (a preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavors. These ingredients are ground and cooked to a smooth paste

Chocolate Spritz Cookie

Cookie presses require the right consistency of dough to produce those pretty shapes. Our Chocolate Spritz Cookies recipe lets you fill and press without problems.

Tools:
Cookie Press
Cookie Sheet
Cooling Grid

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture gradually and beat well. Shape dough into small log and place in cookie press. Press cookie onto cool ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool. Store in airtight container at cool room temperature for several weeks or freeze for two months. Yields: 5 dozen cookies. Each cookie serves 1.

Macaroons

Ingredients:

1 lb Almond Paste
5 Egg Whites
1/2 lb Powder Sugar
1/2 lb Granulated Sugar

Work the paste with one fourth of the egg whites until no lumps remain. Gradually add another fourth of the egg white and half of the granulated sugar. When this is worked, add half of the remaining egg white with the balance of the sugar. Add the rest of the egg whites and work smooth. The consistency of the mixture should be such that when the macaroons are dropped they will not run.

Drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees (F) for 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Cool, and if necessary, wet the parchment paper on the bottom to gently remove them.

Almond Paste Ingredients: Selected Blanched Almonds, Sugar, Water, Potassium Sorbate (a preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavors. These ingredients are ground and cooked to a smooth paste

Orange Flower Cookie

Use This Recipe with Brown Bag Cookie Molds. Be sure to visit our cookie shop.

Fresh, light and fragment with the smell of fresh oranges, these delectable cookie are sure to become one of your favorites.

Tools:
Shaped Cookie Molds
Wire Cooling Racks

Ingredients:
½ cup softened butter
¾ cup sugar
1 "large" egg (NOT "extra large" or "jumbo")
1 Tablespoon orange rind, grated fine
1 Tablespoon orange liqueur, preferably or 1 Tablespoon orange juice
2 cups All-Purpose Flour (dip your measuring cup into the bag, scoop up flour, then level the cup with the back of a knife)
¼ teaspoon salt
large pinch grated nutmeg

Preheat Oven 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together until they are light, either by hand or with a mixer set on the slowest speed. Stir in the egg, the grated rind and the orange liqueur. Now mix the salt and the nutmeg with the flour. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Knead the dough for a minute on an unfloured surface until it is smooth, then refrigerate for 20 minutes before forming the cookies as directed This recipe is formulated to work with cookie molds. Bake the cookies on the top rack in a 350 degree oven until the edges are browned and the detail of the cookie looks a little toasty. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Hints for Baking Cookies:


When you bake your cookies, be sure to use an ordinary, ungreased baking sheet. The double layered, insulated cookie sheets produce cookies that are cake-ier and that lack detail.

Be sure you chill the dough. This makes it much easier to handle. The one exception is the Chocolate Cookie recipe. Don't chill it. This is particularly true of the recipe given in the older recipe booklets which call for melted chocolate as an ingredient, rather than coco powder. If you chill this recipe, the dough becomes crumbly. It still bakes up into great tasting rolled cookies, but it will fall apart if you try to make molded cookies.

Using a pastry brush and just a tiny bit of cooking oil lightly oil the mold. Be sure to oil the mold very lightly. I even take a paper towel and wipe out as much of the oil as I can before I flour the mold and tap it to remove the excess. All you want is a thin film of oil. Remember, it is the flour that is acting as the separater, not the oil. If you have too much oil on the mold, it will act as glue, and your dough will definitely stick.

If your dough does stick, clean it out of the mold. Use a dry, stiff brush to scrub it all out, then re-flour your mold, but don't re-oil it first. The oil from the shortening in the dough will leave enough oil on the mold to hold a film of flour. You will re-flour your mold before each cookie, but you will not re-oil it during a baking session.

Don't be timid about bopping the edge of the mold. Once you flour your mold and pat in the dough, hold the mold perpendicular to a wooden or plastic cutting board (I prefer plastic), and rap it sharply several times to release the dough. The mold should not break if you are holding it perpendicular to the cutting board. Un-mold the cookie onto your baking sheet, re-flour the mold, and repeat.

To clean your mold at the end of the baking session, scrub it with a vegetable brush in a pan of hot, soapy water, or put it in the dishwasher.

Edible "Painted" Cookies

You will need:
freshly baked cookies, cooled completely (Brown Bag Formed Cookies)
1 egg white
½ cup powdered sugar
set of paste-type food colors
toothpicks
brushes*

In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until it is frothy, then stir in the powdered sugar. Paint the cooled cookies with a thin layer of this icing glaze, using a soft pastry brush. You want a thin but complete coating of glaze on your cookies. This will seal the cookies and form a 'ground' for the painting you will do with the food colors. Let the glaze dry completely.

Using tooth picks, place tiny dabs of food color around the edge of a plain plate. Leave an open space in the center of the plate to mix your colors. (I usually use a white paper plate to make cleaning up easy.) This will be your painter's pallet. Place a glass of water beside your plate of colors.

When your cookies are dry, you can paint them with whatever food colors or mix of colors you want. Be sure to thin the colors with lots of water, as they are very concentrated. You can always make them darker, but you can't make them lighter.

NOTE: Be sure you use a set of brushes that you reserve for food use only. Many water colors and acrylic paints contain toxic ingredients that can become lodged in the metal ferrels that hold the bristles to the handles of brushes. I find that good quality watercolor- type brushes are available at craft stores much more reasonably than similar ones found in art supply stores.

Classic Shortbread

Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

Tools:
Shortbread Pan
Wooden Cutting Board

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (unsifted)

Preheat Oven 325 degrees.it in the sink or Using the back of a large spoon, cream the butter until it is light. Cream in the powered sugar, then the vanilla. Now work in the flour. Knead the dough on an unfloured board until nice and smooth. Spray the shortbread pan very lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Put the ball of dough in the middle of the pan, and working out from the center, firmly press the dough into the pan. Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan for about 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Be sure that the middle is thoroughly cooked and doesn't look slightly opaque or the shortbread might stick in the pan.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife and flip the pan over onto a wood cutting board. If the shortbread does not come right out, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of the pan against the board. This should loosen the shortbread and it should drop out. Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing dishwasher.

Maple Walnut Shortbread

Our Personal Favorite. Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

Please note:
This recipe makes a double batch. You can either bake two pans-full at a time, if you have two pans, or you can make one recipe's worth of dough and use only half of the topping and chopped nuts. The other half of the topping keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Tools:
Shortbread Pan
Wooden Cutting Board

Ingredients:
2 recipes of Classic Shortbread
3/4 cup (6 oz. or 168 g.) light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (2 2/3 fluid oz, or 80 ml.) pure maple syrup
2 Tbs. (a little more than 1/2 oz. or 18 g.) flour
1 yolk from a "medium" or "large" egg (not an "extra large" egg)
2 cups (8 oz. or 226 g.) chopped walnuts

Preheat Oven 325 degrees. Prepare and bake the Classic Shortbread as directed. While it is cooking, mix the light brown sugar, the syrup, the flour, and the egg yolk in a small bowl.

When the shortbread is lightly browned, remove the pans from the oven and spread half of the syrup mixture evenly over the top of each. Sprinkle the chopped nuts all over the syrup mixture, being sure to cover the surface thickly. Gently press the nuts into the topping.

Return the pans to the oven and continue baking an additional 15-20 minutes. It would seem as though you might burn the shortbread underneath the topping if you bake it this much longer, but you won't.

As soon as you remove the pans from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the shortbread. Let the shortbread cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Again, run the knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the shortbread and make sure none of the sugar is holding the cookie in the pan.

Flip the pans over onto a wooden cutting board. If the shortbread doesn't come right out, and it probably won't, hold the pan upside down over the wooden cutting board and firmly tap one edge of it on the board several times until the shortbread releases.

Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm. The nuts and "topping" will now be on the bottom . . . an interesting twist.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher

Almond Shortbread Cookies

These are delicate, elegant cookies, perfect for special celebrations Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop

Tools:
Shortbread Pan
Wooden Cutting Board

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup less 2 Tablespoons unsifted all purpose flour

Preheat Oven 325 degrees. Place the almonds and 1/2 cup of the flour into a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Grind the nuts to a fine meal, using off and on pulses. Add the rest of the flour and pulse to mix.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter. Cream in the powdered sugar and the almond extract. Now, work in the flour-nut mixture. Knead the dough on a very lightly floured surface until it is nice and smooth.

Spray the shortbread pan very lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Put the ball of dough in the middle of the pan, and working out from the center, firmly press the dough into the pan. Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan for about 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Be sure that the middle is thoroughly cooked and doesn't look slightly opaque or the shortbread might stick in the pan.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife and flip the pan over onto a wood cutting board. If the shortbread does not come right out, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of the pan against the board. This should loosen the shortbread and it should drop out. Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing.

Helpful Hints for Making Shortbread

Shortbread is so easy to make, and so utterly delicious. Be sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

The simplicity of the butter, sugar, flour recipe can’t, in my opinion, be beat. To make yours come out perfectly every time, there are just a few simple directives to follow:

Bake your shortbread in the top third of your oven. This way you won’t get too much bottom heat that will cause the bottom of the shortbread to overcook before the top is done.

To make sure that your shortbread releases from the pan cleanly, be sure it is completely cooked in the middle before you remove the pan from the oven. Directions for shortbread baked on a cookie sheet often tell you to cook the shortbread only until the top of the cookies just barely begin to color. This is not the case with shortbread made in one of the Brown Bag Cookie Art Shortbread Pans.

Since you will be cooking your shortbread in the top third of the oven, you will get some top browning as the cookie bakes. The surface of the shortbread should be a toasty light brown when it is cooked. It should never appear raw or slightly opaque in the middle. If it is under-baked in the middle, it will probably stick in the pan when you go to unmold it.

Be sure to let the shortbread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you flip the pan over to unmold it. This gives the delicate cookie a chance to firm up a bit. After cooling for 10 minutes, hold the pan parallel to and 1” above a wooden or plastic cutting board, face down, and unceremoniously drop it. This jars the shortbread, and it drops right out of the pan.

Slice the shortbread into serving pieces using a thin, sharp knife, while it is still hot. If you wait until it cools, it will become flakey and too fragile to cut cleanly.

Molding Chocolate in Your Brown Bag Shortbread Pan

You can use your Shortbread Pan to mold exquisite chocolates. It is very easyBe sure to visit our Shortbread Pan Shop.

.
Place the clean, oil-free, perfectly dry shortbread pan in the freezer to chill for at least an hour.

Melt ¾ or 1 pound of molding chocolate (see note below) , broken into small pieces, in a double boiler over hot water. It is important not to have the water boiling, so keep an eye on it. Stir the chocolate gently as it melts. After the chocolate has melted, allow it to cool until it is just warm, but still fluid, stirring occasionally.

Remove your shortbread pan from the freezer. Quickly pour all of the chocolate into the pan, spreading it evenly to the edges. Return the pan to the freezer. After about 10 minutes, remove the pan from the freezer, turn it over and tap one edge of it on the counter, holding one hand under the chocolate. The finished chocolate will fall right into your palm.

Hold a large, un-serrated kitchen knife under hot running water for a minute. Very carefully start cutting the large chocolate into serving pieces, pressing down ever so gently, so that the heat of the knife does the work. Re-heat the knife before each cut.

A Word About Chocolate:
Molding Chocolate differs from regular chocolate in its fat structure. It is easier to work with, and the finished chocolates don’t have to be refrigerated. You can mold good quality regular chocolate in your pan (NOT chocolate chips – they will stick terribly), but you might have a little more trouble getting it to release. It depends on the particular chocolate. And be sure to refrigerate the finished candies, or they will develop an chalky appearance or “bloom” after about a day.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread:
You can also dip the points of wedge-shaped baked shortbreads into melted chocolate for an extra glamorous dessert. Any of the shortbread varieties taste good with the addition of a little chocolate.