I have been sitting on this recipe for almost a year now! I finally got my sister to email me our Mom’s Shortbread Cookie recipe in January of this year. Well, I couldn’t post a recipe for Shortbread Cookies in January when everyone is starting diets to lose their holiday weight! I mean, come on people! You would have strung me up for posting a recipe for cookies that are basically flour and butter! lol

My Mom made me her Shortbread Cookies every Christmas because she knew just how much I loved them! I have to admit that I could have eaten the whole tin of cookies in one sitting, they were that good! She didn’t bake them in little shapes like some people do. You know, hearts, squares or circles. Like this…

She did use a pretty tin like that though. It was always some pretty little Christmas themed tin that was perfect to use as to wrap a gift for someone else the next year. And I knew that I would get a new tin that year anyway because, as I have said, my Mom baked them for me every year! Man, I miss my Mom and her Shortbread Cookies!

You don’t have to miss out on them now because I’m giving you her recipe! Now, my Mom made round giant cookies, the same size as the tin and scored them like pie slices. When you want a cookie, you just pull up near the score and a pie shaped cookie breaks off. The first one isn’t always pie shaped but the rest come out fine. And who is gonna complain about having to eat all of those little pieces that didn’t break off right, right?! lol

The point is, you can do it like my Mom or you can cut out different shapes. They will be delicious any way you choose to bake them!

Ingredients 

• 1 cup of sweet butter
• 1/2 cup of icing sugar
• 2 cups of sifted All Purpose Flour

Directions 

1. Cream your butter with a hand mixer – or a stand mixer – and gradually add in the icing sugar.
2. Gradually add in the flour making sure to scrape the bowl if using a stand mixer. Mom always just used a wooden spoon.
3. Turn dough out onto a baking sheet and pat into a circle about 3/4 inch thick and about 7 inches in diameter. Pinch edges of cake all of the way around and prick with a fork all over. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1/2 hour.
4. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 5 minutes at that temperature. Then reduce heat to 300 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 minutes longer.
5. Shortbread should be a pale gold, not brown. While still warm, cut into small wedges. Makes 16 small wedges.

Now, my Mom spoiled me because she left the circles whole. Just scoring the shortbread into the wedges. She also tripled the recipe and put pretty little doilies in between the round Shortbread Cookies. Jeez, it’s a good thing I didn’t eat them all in one sitting! That would have made my bum so much bigger not to mention the tummy ache I would have had eating all of that butter! lol

Here are some links to the other treats you can bake for the holidays…

• The next best cookie next to Shortbread Cookies are my Aunt Paul’s Sugar Cookies! The Best Sugar Cookies by Aunt Paul
• My Aunt Paul always bakes up a storm before Christmas and these cookies are always on her list. Brown Butter Babies!
• Tell me, who doesn’t love Gingerbread Cookies?! These are moist and soft Gingerbread Men and Women. Yum! Gingerbread Cookies by Aunt Paul!!
• It seems like I have no cookies of my own but that is just because I had just started baking well when I was diagnosed with ALS. I do have a few of my own and this is one of them! Peanut Butter Cookies! Yummy!
• What cookie platter would be complete without Chocolate Chip Cookies? And this recipe is also mine. Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Happy holiday baking everyone!