Shortbread - Light Brown Sugar Cookies
kingarthurflour.com
Light Brown Sugar Cookies
The end result is a beautiful batch of tender sugar cookies, half-glazed in chocolate and gussied up with as little or as much garnish as you see fit -- and all created without working up a sweat!
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 egg yolk (save the white for meringues)
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
GARNISH
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
chocolate jimmies, colored sugars, finely chopped nuts or other sugar decorations
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, egg yolk and brown sugar until well-combined. Mix in the flour and salt gradually. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour (while you wrap presents or attend your exercise class).
After the dough has chilled, break off teaspoonfuls of it and form them into balls. Place them on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, and press gently down onto each ball with the bottom of a juice glass that's been dipped in granulated sugar.
Bake the cookies in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they're lightly browned. Remove them from the oven and cool them on a wire rack.
When the cookies are cool, glaze half of each with the melted chocolate. You can dip each cookie in chocolate to coat both sides of the half, or use a flat butter knife to cover the top side only of the half (which is much easier). Then make small piles of whatever garnishes you use -- it's fun to mix and match -- and dip the chocolate end into the decorations. Refrigerate the cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet until the chocolate sets, about 1 hour. Yield: about 40 cookies.
JUST A HINT: When you're melting chocolate to use as an icing or glaze (as in the recipe above), be very careful that alcohol, water or any other water-based liquid doesn't get into the chocolate. Even a drop can make the chocolate "seize up" immediately, i.e., thicken into a dull, clay-like substance that's impossible to spread or drizzle. If you want to flavor your chocolate, don't use an alcohol-based flavor or extract; be sure to use one based on oil.
Nutrition information per serving (1 chocolate-coated cookie without decoration, 17g): 81 cal, 4.4g fat, 1g protein, 4g complex carbohydrates, 5g sugar, 17mg cholesterol, 30mg sodium, 30mg potassium, 35RE vitamin A, 14mg calcium, 12mg phosphorus, 1mg caffeine.
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
- 1 egg yolk (save the white for meringues)
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Garnish
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
- chocolate jimmies, colored sugars, finely chopped nuts or other sugar decorations
Details
Preparation
Step 1
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, egg yolk and brown sugar until well-combined. Mix in the flour and salt gradually. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour (while you wrap presents or attend your exercise class).
After the dough has chilled, break off teaspoonfuls of it and form them into balls. Place them on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, and press gently down onto each ball with the bottom of a juice glass that's been dipped in granulated sugar.
Bake the cookies in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they're lightly browned. Remove them from the oven and cool them on a wire rack.
When the cookies are cool, glaze half of each with the melted chocolate. You can dip each cookie in chocolate to coat both sides of the half, or use a flat butter knife to cover the top side only of the half (which is much easier). Then make small piles of whatever garnishes you use -- it's fun to mix and match -- and dip the chocolate end into the decorations. Refrigerate the cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet until the chocolate sets, about 1 hour. Yield: about 40 cookies.
Just A Hint: When you're melting chocolate to use as an icing or glaze (as in the recipe above), be very careful that alcohol, water or any other water-based liquid doesn't get into the chocolate. Even a drop can make the chocolate "seize up" immediately, i.e., thicken into a dull, clay-like substance that's impossible to spread or drizzle. If you want to flavor your chocolate, don't use an alcohol-based flavor or extract; be sure to use one based on oil.
Nutrition information per serving (1 chocolate-coated cookie without decoration, 17g): 81 cal, 4.4g fat, 1g protein, 4g complex carbohydrates, 5g sugar, 17mg cholesterol, 30mg sodium, 30mg potassium, 35RE vitamin A, 14mg calcium, 12mg phosphorus, 1mg caffeine.
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