With fresh orange zest and vanilla beans, these shortbread cookies are great make-ahead confections. Pictured with our Blonde German Chocolate Cakes.
Orange-Vanilla Shortbread Cookies
Serves: 24
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 vanilla bean pod, split and beans scraped
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- Garnish: cane sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla beans, and salt at medium-high speed with a mixer until light and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in flour until incorporated. Gather dough into a ball.
- Sprinkle a large piece of plastic wrap with cane sugar, if desired. Place dough ball onto prepared piece of plastic wrap. With hands, roll dough into an 11-inch-long log, coating log with cane sugar. Wrap dough log securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is very firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unwrap dough log, discarding plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 24 (½-inch) slices. Dip edges of cookies into more cane sugar to garnish edges, if desired. Place cookies, evenly spaced, on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until cookies are firm and bottoms are golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: Cookies can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper.
