Tender Shortbread Cookies (pan-style)
This shortbread is crisp and buttery, with plenty of vanilla flavor and a dusting of granulated sugar on top. The dough is pressed into a pan to make things easy and cut into long rectangles when finished baking.
Servings 12 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup [2 sticks or 227 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup [130 g] granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/3 cup [40 g] confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups [284 g] all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300F [150C]. Grease and line a 9 in [23 cm] square baking pan, see note.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on low speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated and confectioners' sugar and salt, and beat again until creamy and combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix again until combined, one minute. Add the flour and and mix on low until completely combined.
- Move the dough to the prepared pan, and spread the dough into an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Spreading a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough helps with moving it and keeping it from sticking. Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar.
- Place the shortbread in the oven and bake until the shortbread is pale golden and firm to the touch, 35 to 50 minutes (see notes). Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the top with more granulated sugar if desired. Let the shortbread cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Use the parchment sling to carefully remove the shortbread, then cut the warm shortbread into rectangle pieces. I cut the piece in half horizontally, and then cut each half into 6 rectangles. Let the shortbread cool for several hours. Shortbread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
Notes
*For extra crisp shortbread, use a 9 by 13 in [23 by 33 cm] baking pan. The shortbread bakes up much thinner, and and it takes a little more work to spread it in an even layer in the pan, but is still delicious.
*I bake my shortbread a little longer, so it is golden brown, because I like it crisp, which is why I give a large baking time range in the directions. It does turn dark golden quickly, so keep an eye on it if you are letting it bake a little longer. Traditionally shortbread should not be too golden.
*Throughout my recipes posted on this website, 1 cup of flour equals 142g. Please note that 1 cup of flour can range anywhere from 120g to 142g, depending on the baker or website. I found that after weighting many cups of flour and averaging the total, mine always ended up around this number. Weighing your flour instead of using cup measurements is the surest way to get the result I intended when developing the recipe.
Different brands of flour have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high, which can result in very different outcomes when baking. I’ve found Gold Medal all-purpose unbleached flour to be the best option for many of my recipes; I use it in all the baked goods that don’t use yeast.