Lemon Shortbread

My husband and I recently participated in a Snack Exchange through Reddit.  We were assigned to send snacks to someone who simply requested, "Fruity, Sour, Sugar!"  My hubby suggested that, in addition to some unique store bought treats, that I make something homemade to send to our match.  Being a little nervous about shipping homemade desserts for the first time, I decided to choose a sturdy recipe that would stay fresh for at least a week.  My first thought was shortbread, and to incorporate the "fruity, sour" request, I thought lemon would be a lovely favor choice.

I wanted to stick with a very simple, traditional shortbread and this recipe from Today's Nest looked perfect...  And perfect it was!

When working with such a simple ingredient list, it's ever so important to use high quality ingredients.  I used Plugra (a high quality European style butter) for the first time making these shortbread and the result was divine.  These shortbread are melt-in-your-mouth tender, oh so buttery, and subtly tart from the lemon zest.  The flavor is humble yet heavenly.

To get uniform sized cookies, it's important to carefully roll your dough to an even thickness.  I use this rolling pin and it makes rolling out cookies, pie doughs, etc. effortless.  Once your dough is rolled out, you can cut these shortbread into any shape you desire.  I used a 2 5/8" scalloped cutter from this set and was able to get 16 cookies out of this recipe before rolling scraps.  I kept a few of these cookies for us to enjoy and sent the rest off to our Snack Exchange match.

With a little careful planning, I discovered that I could perfectly fit a dozen of these delicious shortbread cookies into a mason jar for safe travels.  Check back tomorrow where I share details and ideas on how to package these cookies for gifting!

Lemon Shortbread
via Today's Nest

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest (more or less, to taste)
lemon sugar (optional)*

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together the flour, corn starch, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest until just combined.  With the mixer on the lowest speed, gradually add the flour and mix until just combined.  Do not overmix.

Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a flattened disk; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch.  Cut out shapes with cutter of your choice.  Place cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.  Sprinkle with lemon sugar, if using.  Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before baking.

Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes, or until very lightly browned.  Allow cookies to cool on pan for 1 minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

*If you can't find lemon sugar in your area, or don't want to shell out for such a specific ingredient, you can leave these cookies plain or top them with regular demera sugar for a similar effect.