Description
Ina Garten’s cinnamon-spiced shortbread provides a delightful twist on classic cookie flavors. Warm spices and buttery texture create an irresistible treat perfect for sharing with friends and family.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3.5 cups (875 ml) all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups (300 g) sugar
- 0.75 pound (340 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2.5 teaspoons (12.5 ml) ground cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground nutmeg
- 0.25 teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) kosher salt
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper, creating an optimal baking environment.
- Creaming Process: Blend softened butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and warm water in a stand mixer using paddle attachment until smoothly integrated, avoiding over-mixing.
- Dry Ingredient Preparation: Sift flour, cinnamon, and kosher salt together, ensuring a uniform, lump-free mixture that will seamlessly incorporate into the butter base.
- Dough Formation: Merge dry ingredients into butter mixture on low speed, developing a cohesive dough that forms large, sturdy clumps with minimal handling.
- Chilling Phase: Shape dough into a compact disk, encase in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to enhance flavor complexity and structural integrity.
- Shaping and Cutting: Roll chilled dough to ½-inch thickness on a floured surface, using a star-shaped cookie cutter to create precise, uniform cookies with clean edges.
- Baking Technique: Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on prepared sheets, ensuring adequate spacing for even heat distribution and consistent browning.
- Baking and Coating: Bake for 20-22 minutes until edges turn golden-brown, then immediately dust with a spiced sugar mixture combining sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves while cookies are still hot.
- Cooling and Finishing: Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheets, gently removing excess sugar before serving or storing for maximum visual and textural appeal.
Notes
- Chill for Flavor Perfection: Refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes helps develop rich flavors and prevents spreading during baking.
- Precise Cutting Technique: Roll dough to exactly ½-inch thickness for consistent cookie texture and even baking.
- Immediate Sugar Coating: Dust cookies with spiced sugar while they’re still hot to ensure maximum flavor absorption and coating adherence.
- Gentle Cooling Protocol: Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets to maintain their delicate structure and prevent crumbling.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 167
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 10 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg