Best Icebox Shortbread Martha Stewart Recipes

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Wisk together flour and salt. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until pale and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of bowl, about 2 minutes more. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed, scraping sides if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Turn out dough, forming into 2 disks; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out 1 disk to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using desired cookie cutter, and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Reroll scraps. Repeat with remaining disk. Indent cookies with desired stamps. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. Bake until firm and golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

BROWN-BUTTER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Prepare an ice-water bath with a medium metal bowl set inside. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Immediately pour butter into bowl in ice-water bath and whisk in milk. Stir mixture constantly with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides of the bowl, until mixture begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.
• Remove bowl from ice-water bath and let stand until mixture thickens to the consistency of room-temperature butter, about 30 minutes.
• Beat butter mixture with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat for 2 minutes more. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour.
• Butter a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough evenly into bottom of pan using plastic wrap. (Make sure dough is flat; a small offset spatula may help.) Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut through dough to make 8 wedges using a sharp paring knife and a ruler. Cut a round from the center using a 2 1/4-inch ovenproof cookie cutter; discard dough. Return cutter to hole. Prick wedges all over with a wooden skewer. Refrigerate, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle sanding sugar evenly over shortbread. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until golden brown, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes. Let cool in pan set on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove shortbread from pan, and cut along lines into wedges. Let cool completely on rack.

CLASSIC SHORTBREAD 101

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in upper third. Sift flour and salt into a bowl; set aside. Put butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl. Gradually add sugar; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture all at once; mix until just combined.
• Butter a 10-inch round springform or cake pan. Using plastic wrap, press dough evenly into pan. With plastic on dough, refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Cut dough into 8 wedges with a paring knife. Using a wooden skewer, prick all over at 1/4-inch intervals.
• Bake until golden brown and firm in center, about 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Recut shortbread into wedges; let cool completely in pan. Can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

CRAN-ORANGE ICEBOX COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Transfer 1 cup dough to a small bowl; stir in orange zest and set aside. To the remaining dough, add cranberries, pecans and, if desired, food coloring; divide in half., Line an 8x4-in. loaf pan with waxed paper. Press 1 portion of cranberry dough evenly into pan; top with orange dough, then remaining cranberry dough. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm., Remove dough from pan; cut in half lengthwise. Cut each portion into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets., Bake at 375° until edges begin to brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

LEMON ICEBOX COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, salt, and lemon zest until combined. Add butter and process until sandy. Add egg yolks and lemon juice; pulse until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each into a 1 1/2-inch-wide log. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 2 hours (or up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spread granulated sugar on a piece of parchment; roll logs over sugar to coat. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

SHAPED ICEBOX COOKIES

Steps:

• Once the flour is incorporated according to dough recipe, beat in the desired mix-in. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Shape each into a 10-inch log (or a 10-inch-long triangular, rectangular, or square-shaped log). Coat each in ground nuts or sanding sugar, if using. Wrap in parchment. Refrigerate until very firm, about 2 hours.
• Slice dough crosswise slightly thicker than 1/8 inch. Reshape if needed. Bake at 350 degrees on parchment-lined baking sheets until firm, 12 to 14 minutes.

ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, rosemary and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Shape into two 8-1/4-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

ROSEMARY BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in whole egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, rosemary, and salt, and mix until combined.
• Halve dough; shape each half into a log. Place each log on a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Transfer to paper-towel tubes to hold shape, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375. Brush each log with egg white; roll in sanding sugar. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.