Flower Shaped Shortbread (Printable)

Delicate butter shortbread shaped like flowers, ideal for spring celebrations and teatime.

# What you'll need:

→ Shortbread Dough

01 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
02 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
04 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
05 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Decoration

07 - 2 tablespoons coarse sanding sugar or colored sprinkles, optional
08 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting, optional
09 - Edible flower petals or pastel icing, optional

# Method:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, cream softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
03 - Mix vanilla extract into the butter and sugar mixture.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
05 - Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Avoid overworking the dough.
06 - Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll to 1/4-inch thickness.
07 - Using flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.
08 - Sprinkle with sanding sugar or lightly press edible flower petals into dough, if desired.
09 - Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are just turning golden.
10 - Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.
11 - Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar or decorate with pastel icing, if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They taste like pure butter and elegance, but honestly require almost no skill to pull off.
  • The dough forgives small mistakes because you're not fighting finicky technique.
  • You can have twenty-four cookies cooling by mid-afternoon, dressed up or dressed down depending on your mood.
02 -
  • Overworking the dough is the number one way to turn delicate shortbread into something tough and sad—when it looks almost shaggy and barely combined, you're done mixing.
  • Room temperature butter makes all the difference because cold butter won't cream properly and warm butter spreads too thin during baking, creating flat cookies instead of tender ones.
03 -
  • If your dough is cracking at the edges while rolling, let it warm at room temperature for a few minutes—it'll become pliable again without needing more flour, which only makes tough cookies.
  • Save egg whites or milk to brush on cookies before adding sprinkles or sanding sugar, which helps everything adhere and creates a more polished finish than dry decorating.
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