Irish Shortbread Cookie Recipe

THE SECRETS TO MAKING GREAT COOKIES EVERY TIME

Cookies are small, have few ingredients, and bake quickly so there is no room for error. It is important to use the right ingredients, equipment, method and recipe. Do this and cookies become easy and perfect every time.

USE THE BEST INGREDIENTS

Using the brands we have listed will ensure that you make great cookies every time. These brands not only taste better, but production of each is tightly controlled so the product is consistent. The size of the sugar crystal, the amount of protein in the flour, the shape of the salt – all these things will affect the way the cookies bake. Cookies are so small that little differences in the ingredients can lead to a big difference in the cookies. Some of these brands cost more than other available products, but it’s worth it. For some, we include a link to their official websites so you can buy direct and in bulk and often reduce the price.

• FLOUR
  • ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – KING ARTHUR UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – has a slightly higher protein amount than Gold Medal – 11.7 percent protein. It is good for baking cookies, especially those that are a little more hearty and need some substance. King Arthur is an employee-owned company that responsibly sources the wheat for their flours, and it pays off in the taste and quality. They have a “never bleached” guarantee, which means their flours don’t have an off taste or unpredictable results that can be caused by bleaching. They also carefully calibrate the protein content, which means the flour gives you the same results, every time you bake.
  • WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR – KING ARTHUR WHOLE WHEAT REGENERATIVELY GROWN CLIMATE BLEND FLOUR – is a whole wheat flour that can be added to cookies to make them a little more robust and flavorful. It is grown by farmers using regenerative agriculture, so it has the potential of reversing the effects of climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil.
  • LOWER PROTEIN ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – GOLD MEDAL UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – has a lower protein amount than King Arthur all-purpose flour – 10.5 percent protein. This is a good flour for baking some cookies, since it makes them more tender. In addition, the company ensures that the protein content is carefully calibrated, so you get consistent results. Also, it is important to use the unbleached flour, since bleaching can give cookies an off taste or have unpredictable results.

• SUGAR –
  • GRANULATED SUGAR – WHOLESOME REGENERATIVE ORGANIC SUGAR – produced using regenerative agriculture from sugar cane fields that are green cut and are not burned or treated with herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. Burning sugar cane fields contributes to air pollution and climate change, and is a major cause of the destruction of the rainforest. Buying sugar from fields that are green cut helps prevent this destruction. The sugar also has a better taste because of how it is produced. It is more expensive than buying the standard brands, but the difference is only a few cents per recipe, so it’s worth it. We also save money by buying this in bulk direct from the company and storing it in jars in the pantry.
  • HOMEMADE BROWN SUGAR – If a recipe calls for brown sugar, we use white, granulated Wholesome Regenerative Organic Sugar and add a small amount of sorghum syrup to the recipe instead. Brown sugar is just white, granulated sugar with molasses added. Sorghum syrup tastes very similar to molasses. We actually prefer the milder taste of the sorghum syrup. This saves money, since brown sugar is usually more expensive than white sugar, and it saves storage. We don’t make brown sugar by mixing the sorghum syrup and sugar because they don’t mix well, and the syrup is easy to add to a recipe. Also important, sorghum does not come from sugar cane. It is grown more sustainably in colder climates without burning and without cutting down tropical rainforests.
  • HOMEMADE SUPERFINE SUGAR – Superfine sugar, also known as caster sugar or baker’s sugar, is just white, granulated sugar that has been ground fine so that it dissolves quickly. It is often much more expensive than granulated sugar, so instead of buying super fine sugar, we make it ourselves and save money. We put the Wholesome Regenerative Organic Sugar in the food processor and grind it fine, which takes about a minute, and store it in jars in the pantry.
  • POWDERED SUGAR – Powdered sugar, or confectioner’s sugar is just white, granulated sugar ground to a fine powder with some cornstarch added to keep it from clumping. We tried to make it ourselves, but could not grind it fine enough or evenly, so we buy Wholesome Organic.
  • HOMEMADE PEARL SUGAR – Pearl sugar is a specialty sugar with large, white crunchy crystals. It is used in Swedish desserts and Belgium liege waffles. It is much more expensive than granulated sugar, so instead of buying it, we make it ourselves and save money.
• SUNFLOWER OIL – La Tourangelle Organic Regenerative Sunflower Oil is a great substitute for butter. The flavor works well in cookies, and the oil gives the cookies a fudgy center and crisp edges. It is healthier and less expensive than butter, as well as better for the environment. Oil contains no water, and butter does, so a substitution would be about 3 parts oil for 4 parts butter. Cold pressed or expeller pressed means that chemicals and high heat were not used to produce the oil, so the health benefits of the oil are retained.
• BUTTER – HORIZON ORGANIC BUTTER – Horizon Organics is not only producing organic dairy products, but is committed to sustainability and 60 percent of their milk is produced using regenerative agriculture. Many of the recipes call for browned butter, which we make ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator.
• VANILLA – BAKER’S IMITATION VANILLA FLAVORING – this is much less expensive than vanilla extract. It actually has better vanilla flavor in baked goods, because the flavor withstands the high heat of baking better than vanilla from vanilla beans. Additionally, no rain forests are destroyed to produce it.
• CHOCOLATE – VALRHONA CHOCOLATE – Using a high quality chocolate makes a really big difference. We use Valrhona because of the quality and because it’s an ethical choice. But Valrhona also produces chocolate that was grown sustainably and often using regenerative practices. Most of Valrhona’s products are also gluten free and kosher.

• DIAMOND CRYSTAL KOSHER SALT – pure salt without additives or iodine taste. The weight and structure of salt varies between brands so it is important to choose a salt and stick with it to be consistent.
• MALDON SEA SALT FLAKES – large, crunchy salt crystals. Used for sprinkling on top of cookies for extra flavor and texture.
  

USE THE BEST EQUIPMENT

• Oven Thermometer – Use an accurate oven thermometer to check the oven temperature before putting the cookies in. The temperature of ovens vary, and may not be the temperature on the dial.
• Instant read thermometer – Use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature of the butter to make sure it is soft enough, but not too warm.
• timer – baking time is only a few minutes, so there is no room for error. We love the timer on the Apple Watch.
• Accurate measuring spoons – measuring spoons can be very inaccurate, and you will need a set that measures accurately.
• Vollrath Cookie sheets – Medium to heavy-weight, light-colored aluminum cookie sheets – dark or thin sheets may burn the bottom of the cookies
• stand mixer
• food processor
• Silpat silicone baking mat – much less expensive than parchment paper in the long run
• silicone heat resistant spatula for scraping the bowl. All one piece is easier to clean and doesn’t come apart
• thin metal spatula for moving the hot cookies – the thin metal won’t break the cookies
• cooling rack with a gridded frame – Allow the cookies to cool for a minute on the pan, then transfer them to a rack with a grid pattern to keep them from getting too dark on the bottom. The grid prevents the cookies from falling through. The cookies will become more crisp as they cool on the rack.
• digital kitchen scale – Use a digital scale and measure in grams, not pounds and ounces. This is absolutely essential. The inaccuracies from using measuring cups can easily lead to failure when baking. Different brands of flour and sugar will be different when measured with measuring cups, and not all measuring cups are accurate. Measuring by weight is the same every time. It is also much easier – just put the mixing bowl on the scale, zero the scale, add an ingredient, zero the scale again, add the next ingredient, and so on. Measuring in grams is more accurate, and easier, than pounds and ounces. Since it is a smaller measurement, it is more precise. Also, grams are often easy numbers to remember, making it possible to make the cookies without looking at the written recipe and easy to compare recipes. Clean up is easier, since there will be fewer bowls and no measuring cups to wash. And cooking with children is easier because they quickly learn how to add ingredients until the scale reads the correct amount. Also, use the scale to measure each cookie to make sure the cookies are exactly the same size.
• medium wire whisk
• microplane zester and grater
• cookie scoops with squeeze release handles – Using a scoop for some cookies makes forming the cookies fast and easy and will also help maintain the same shape, but the scale will make them the same size.
• fine mesh strainer for sifting

USE THE BEST METHOD

UNDERSTAND THE METHOD – most cookie recipes are made with one of three methods:

1. BATTER – used for drop, rolled, cut out or formed cookies. Batter is made by first whisking (creaming) the butter and sugar, then whisking in the eggs, then carefully stirring in the dry ingredients. 
   • OIL OR MELTED BUTTER – If the batter is made with a liquid oil or melted butter, this is first whisked together with the sugar. Then the eggs and flavorings are whisked in to form an emulsion. A small amount of flour can be added to help keep the ingredients in suspension. Then the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda or powder) are stirred in. This is done gently in order to prevent gluten from forming and making the cookies tough. This is an easy method for making cookies and can be done in a bowl, whisking and stirring by hand. 
   • ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER – If the batter is made with soft butter, the butter and sugar are whisked together (creamed) for several minutes to add air into the batter, which will give the cookies lift. Then the eggs are whisked in to stabilize the emulsion and give the batter even more volume and the cookies more lift. This can be done by hand, but is much easier in a stand mixer, since it takes several minutes of whisking. It is also important that all the ingredients are at room temperature to allow the mixture to hold air and to prevent the mixture from seizing up or curdling.
2. IRON – creating a thin batter that is stirred together and then fried or baked in an iron. This requires special equipment such as a waffle iron, rosette iron, pizzelle maker, or krumkake iron.
3. MERINGUE – creating a meringue with egg whites and sugar, sometimes with a flour made of ground nuts. The cookies made this way are often gluten free. This is easiest and works best in a stand mixer, but a food processor is the easiest way to make the nut flour. It can also be done with a hand mixer or whisking by hand, but it would take much longer. There are three types of meringues – French, Italian, and Swiss.
   • French meringue is the easiest and most common type of meringue and is often used in baked goods, since the egg whites are not cooked. It is made with egg whites and sugar that are whipped together until they form stiff peaks. The mixture is can be baked at a low temperature until it dries out and becomes crispy, or it can be mixed with other ingredients to make various types of cookies.
   • Italian meringue is a more complex type of meringue that requires a bit more skill to make. It is made by whipping egg whites and adding a hot sugar syrup then whipping them together until they form a glossy, stable mixture. The hot sugar syrup cooks the egg whites, making the meringue safe to eat. Italian meringue is commonly used in recipes such as buttercream frosting and French macarons. It is denser than French meringue and has a slight sweetness to it.
   • Swiss meringue is made by whisking egg whites and sugar together over a double boiler until the sugar dissolves. It is then whipped until stiff peaks form, resulting in a glossy, shiny meringue. Swiss meringue is often used in recipes such as mousses and buttercream frosting. It has a silky texture and a buttery flavor that is perfect for a variety of desserts. Swiss meringue is also more stable than French meringue, making it a great option for decorating cakes and pastries.

TIPS FOR MAKING COOKIES

REFRIGERATE THE DOUGH AT LEAST THREE HOURS OR OVERNIGHT – This allows the flour to absorb the liquid in the dough, making the cookies bake better. You can refrigerate the dough in the bowl covered with plastic wrap, measured out for drop cookies, as a flat square for rolled cookies, or as a log for sliced cookies.

VACUUM PACK AND FREEZE EXTRA DOUGH – After refrigerating the dough overnight, extra cookie dough can be frozen. Vacuum sealing keeps the dough fresher.