Scottish Shortbread for Molded Cookies from Mary Jane Miller Koch (Stamped Cookies #35)

Scottish Shortbread - made dough January 13, 2024 from Mary Jane Miller Koch (member of Facebook group Molded Cookies of the World - Artisan Bakers and Confections)

2 cups butter (I used Kerrygold butter)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon butter flavoring (I used LorAnn's butter emulsion)

1 teaspoon almond flavoring (I used vanilla extract) 

2 large eggs

5 cups all-purpose flour

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, granulated sugar, butter flavoring and vanilla extract.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated.
3. Stir in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, on low speed, mixing until just combined after each addition.
4. Cover dough and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. Stamp or mold cookies. Refrigerate stamped or molded cookies, covered, for 1 hour then freeze for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space cookies. Bake 12-18 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for several minutes then transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

I love the Facebook group I'm part of called "Molded Cookies of the World". People share their stamped/molded cookie bakes and are very generous with sharing recipes and the creative ideas they have for using their cookie stamps.

Case in point these cookies. One member showed his idea of using the Nordic Ware stamp in the geocast set then stamping out the center with a heart cut out. He used strawberry (or raspberry?) jam as the filling so the centers were ruby red, perfect for Valentine's Day. Since I don't like jams or jellies, I went with my standby of cookie butter. I would never have come up with the idea of doing the heart cutout so I'm grateful when other people share their creativity. I love how these turned out aesthetically.

I'm even more grateful for the recipe as the cookies themselves tasted really good. Sometimes it's tricky to come up with a cookie that keeps the stamped designs faithfully and tastes good. Some of them taste bland because they have so much flour and cornstarch. Not so with this cookie. It's buttery and flavorful, doesn't spread too much and keeps the stamped design. I loved it. You do need to chill it slightly to help with rolling out the dough and stamping out the design. Once I stamped them, I froze the cookies overnight before I baked them, which also keeps the impressions. I used Kerrygold butter as well to enhance the buttery flavor.