Description
Delight in these festive Shortbread Cutout Cookies, featuring a buttery, tender texture and decorated with vanilla icing, white chocolate, and seasonal accents like rosemary and sprinkles. Perfectly crisp with a melt-in-your-mouth crumb, these cookies bring holiday cheer with charming shape variations including wreaths and Santa hats.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour gluten free if needed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
Decorations
- 4 ounces white chocolate
- Rosemary sprigs, sprinkles, sanding sugar for decorating
- Red food coloring oil-based
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar, then beat again for 1 minute until fluffy.
- Add Flavorings and Dry Ingredients: Incorporate the vanilla bean paste and salt, beating until mixed well. Scrape the bowl, then add the flour and cornstarch. Beat on medium-low until the dough begins to come together and pulls away from the bowl sides—it will start dry but keep scraping and mixing until it forms a cohesive dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Flour a clean surface generously and roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a floured round cookie cutter, cut out half the cookies; use scalloped and small cutters to create wreath shapes. Re-roll scraps to use all dough. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheet and chill again for 15-30 minutes.
- Bake Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through, until edges are set and just turning golden brown. Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Prepare Icing: Whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a shallow dish until smooth without lumps. Dip the cooled cookies upside down into the icing carefully, lifting gently to avoid breakage.
- Decorate Wreath Cookies: Before icing sets, arrange rosemary sprigs around the cookies and add sprinkles and sanding sugar in festive patterns, including small red sprinkles beneath rosemary pieces.
- Decorate Santa Hat Cookies: Let other cookies set on baking sheet. Melt white chocolate and fill a pastry bag with part of it. Mix remaining white chocolate with red oil-based food coloring to desired shade, placing in a separate piping bag. Cut tips or use a small tip to pipe the red chocolate in a swirling Santa hat shape, then add white chocolate for the rim and top. Sprinkle with sanding sugar for sparkle. Optionally, use green food coloring to create a Christmas tree decoration.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days for best freshness.
- For longer storage, freeze baked but undecorated cookies for up to 3 months; thaw completely before decorating.
- You can also freeze rolled-out dough for up to 3 months and bake directly from frozen for convenience.
- Use oil-based food coloring with white chocolate to prevent seizing; water-based colorings like gel may cause the chocolate to seize and become unusable.
