If you read this blog with any regularity, you might have noticed that I have an incurable sweet tooth. The holiday season gives me a marvelous excuse to make (and devour) a new dessert almost every day. I love shortbread, and I've been trying to find a recipe that I'm really crazy about. While I've made some shortbread recipes that are yummy (like my winter white amaretto shortbread), lately I've been craving a shortbread that's especially flaky and crisp. This recipe is exactly that.
You can make this into any shape you'd like, of course. I selected some snowflake cookie cutters to accompany the wintry weather. I tried to introduce you to the Durutti Column's music in previous posts, but it turns out that some of their cold-weather tracks are even more beautiful than I could imagine. Here is their haunting "Snowflakes," to match the aesthetics of these shortbread cookies.
Ingredients:
--2 sticks + 6 tbsp. unsalted butter (keep this very cold like you would for a pie crust)
--2 tbsp. dark rum
--1 tbsp. vanilla
--1 c. turbinado sugar
--1 c. cornstarch
--2 c. all-purpose flour, + extra for rolling
--1 tsp. salt
--decorative sugar crystals
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, sift flour, cornstarch, and salt. Using a food processor or using a pastry cutter, add butter, sugar, vanilla, and rum. If you're using a food processor, pulse the ingredients until they begin to form a ball, just like a pie crust. (If you're using a pastry cutter, it'll take a little more time, but cut the ingredients until a dry, crumbly dough begins to form.)
Separate the dough into quarters. On a large floured surface, shape the first dough quarter into a ball and roll out until it's about 1/4 to 1/2" thick. Using a floured cookie cutter, cut any shapes you like. Repeat with remaining dough, incorporating the scraps as you go. (You'll end up with about 3 dozen cookies or so, depending on the size of your cookie cutter, when all is said and done.)
Arrange the cookies about 1/2" apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with decorative sugar crystals (I used silver and gold).
Bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 12-14 minutes, or just until the cookie edges are ever so slightly golden. If the tops become golden, they're overdone. Remove from oven and allow to cool. And these look great in holiday gift bags!
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