Vanilla Shortbread Cookies

Vanilla Shortbread Cookies - made dough October 13, 2018 from The Semisweet Sisters

Classic, purist, vanilla cookie eaters: pull up a mixing bowl and grab the butter. But make sure it’s fresh butter and not something that’s been lurking in your refrigerator for months on end. Because when you have a cookie with so few ingredients, you’re going to really taste the pure simple taste of those ingredients and they should be good. Not to mention, who wants to eat old butter?

This is the kind of cookie my nephew, Vanilla King, would prefer in his Vanilla King heyday. It’s literally a plain shortbread cookie. But oh so good. If you’ve ever had a Mexican Wedding Cake, you know how melt-y soft they are with a rich mouthfeel? Imagine these cookies are like that but without the nuts and powdered sugar coating.

Bake until the edges are a light golden brown and the middles are just barely past the raw stage. The edges will be light with a little crisp and the middle will be soft and chewy. If you bake them a little longer, more of the cookie will be light-airy-crisp but I prefer the middle part of the cookie to have some chewiness.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Mix butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy. Stir in flour and mix just until combined.
2. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls and pat slightly into thick discs. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight. 
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space dough discs and bake 12-15 minutes.