Brown-Sugar Shortbread
We found this recipe for brown-sugar shortbread in our December 1948 issue and tweaked the proportions to work with contemporary ingredients. Delicious!
Brown-Sugar Shortbread
Photo Credit : Heath RobbinsWho can argue with a cookie that calls for just four ingredients (three if you skip the chocolate)? We found this one in our December 1948 issue and tweaked the proportions so that it worked with contemporary ingredients (flour and butter have changed through the years). Chances are you have everything you need to make these tasty bites in your kitchen right now.
Yield:
about 3 1/2 dozenIngredients
2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour,plus more for work surface
7 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
In the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl, if using a hand-held mixer), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until blended. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes together (it will look crumbly at first). Gather the dough into a ball, and knead twice; then press it into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350° and set your oven racks to the lower and upper third position. Dust the counter with flour and roll the dough out to a 1/3-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into desired shapes; then arrange on cookie sheets and transfer to the oven. Bake until cookies just begin to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Dip a corner of each cooled cookie into the chocolate and set on a piece of waxed paper until the chocolate firms up, at least 30 minutes, depending on the weather.
Store in airtight containers on layers of waxed paper.
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
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