Melt in the Mouth Stamped Shortbread Cookies (recipe 7)

Melt in the Mouth Stamped Shortbread Cookies - made dough July 9, 2021 from Veena Azmanov 

Yes, I got new cookie stamps....again. Like the others I've recently blogged about, this set also comes from Nordic Ware. I swear I'm not affiliated with the company nor am I trying to pimp their products for any reasons than lookie, how pretty....

But they are pretty, right? If I was an actual cookie decorator, I could even get fancy with piping some icing along the patterns to really make them pop. Like following the swirls in the pattern above and putting a silver-colored dragee in the center. I saw that on another website and thought that would be pretty. You could even vary the color of the icing piping to suit the season or holiday: red and green for Christmas, blue and white for Hanukkah, orange, red and yellow for autumn, pastels for Easter and so on.

Alas, I'm not a fancy cookie decorator so I'm going to just rely on the stamped pattern. Which is the point of cookie stamps - you can make pretty cookies with relatively little effort. What I'm learned from stamping so far is to chill the dough slightly just until it's cool but not cold. You want it still pliable and not too cold or it'll be harder to make clean impressions when stamping. Portion the dough into balls, roll the balls in granulated sugar (not flour), center the ball as much as possible with the stamp and press evenly. Tada - pretty cookies.

sandwiched with cookie butter

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

granulated sugar for rolling

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar until well combined and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined.
3. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions, beating after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Cover and chill dough for 1-2 hours. When dough is chilled, portion into golf-ball-size dough balls. Place granulated sugar in shallow bowl and roll dough balls, coating completely before stamping with cookie stamps. 
5. Cover stamped cookies and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space frozen stamped cookies on baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown brown. Let rest on baking sheets for 3-4 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely.