Stamped Brown Sugar Shortbread (recipe 3)

Stamped Brown Sugar Shortbread - made March 13, 2021 from Kelly Neil

Recipe alert - make this. So far it's the best of the ones I've tried, in having dough that's easy to work with to pattern, in keeping the impressions during baking and, best of all, in taste and texture. This was delicious.

I veered slightly away from embossed rolling pins (for now) as I discovered, thanks to a blog post (which I'll cover in the next embossed cookie post), the art of cookie stamping via mooncake molds.

If you find cookie stamps a little expensive (the good ones always are), try the much cheaper alternative of using mooncake molds. Super pretty impressions and the molds make them a great size for a cookie as well as keep the cookie tidily in shape since it's literally a spring-loaded cookie (or mooncake) mold.

I inadvertently made them a little thicker than a normal cookie as it was hard to judge from the size of the dough ball how thick the cookie will turn out once you press the mold down. But the cookie was so good, it turns out they're perfect when they're a little thick.

 

And look how well the impressions stayed. Not gonna lie, that made me happy. Like I said, it doesn't take much these days, lol.  

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour 

1. Place granulated sugar in a shallow bowl.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar until well combined, 2-4 minutes. Add vanilla and mix to combine.
3. Whisk together salt and flour in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing after each addition, until combined and no flour streaks remain.
4. Portion into 24 dough balls. Roll each ball into granulated sugar, coating completely. Press each ball with cookie stamp. Chill and freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space stamped cookies. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool cookies completely on wire rack.