mom’s xmas cookies.
One of my favourite parts of the holidays is the food. The cheese, the wine, the desserts... it's all so good.
However, there is one baked good in particular that’s a staple in our household. My mom’s famous whipped shortbread cookies!
During the holiday season, this recipe is an absolute must for my family and is highly requested by extended family members. (No joke - there is serious disappointment if these don’t make an appearance at some point!) These festive cookies are as delicious as they are easy to make so I thought I'd share the recipe with you!
Enjoy and happy baking!
the recipe.
Above is the original recipe (as you can tell it’s been well loved and updated over the years!) but we usually double it.
the ingredients.
2 cups of salted butter3 cups of flour (level)1 cup of icing sugar (level)the directions.
Cube the salted butter and place in a large mixing bowl.
Put the bowl with the butter in the microwave for 50 seconds to soften butter at the touch. (This makes it easier to beat!)
*Make sure to create a whole in the middle of the butter cubes for even heating
If you use the original recipe, put it in for 30. We doubled the recipe this time so we had to put it in longer.
Once the butter is softened, add the flour and icing sugar to the bowl and stir the mixture to combine slightly. (This is so the flour doesn’t go everywhere when you start the mixer!)
The recipe says to beat for 10 mins but if you soften the butter beforehand it takes it down to about 3 minutes.
Once the dough is whipped, be careful. Lightly scrape the sides of the bowl down to collect all the dough in the middle.
*You don't want to manipulate it or mess with it too much so it stays whipped!
Preheat oven to 350°.
Scoop out a small amount of the dough with a spoon and place it on to a cookie sheet.
*The key here is to have good cookie sheet!
Make sure to use a spoon, not your hands, so you don’t warm up the butter and don't worry about the shape, they don’t have to be perfect!
In terms of toppings, there are so many options! Maraschino cherries are traditional but we also do sprinkles and chocolate covered almonds.
They’re also great as is!
If you go with cherries like we do: quarter them. Any larger, they over power but any less, they get lost!
For the chocolate covered almonds, lightly press one in the centre of the cookie and gently fold the dough over to cover it completely.
If you don’t, you’ll get melted chocolate everywhere!
Place them in the oven for 17 minutes. They'll be done when they’re golden brown around the edges!
Check them before you take them out and if you think they need more time, keep them in for about 2 more minutes.
If you go for the chocolate covered almonds, put them in for 20 minutes and make sure it's the only kind that goes in the oven so they cook evenly.
Also, if you do a little larger of a cookie, put them in for 20 minutes!
Make sure to let the cookies cool for a couple minutes on the pan and then carefully transfer(they'll be soft) to a cooling rack.
*You can use a sheet of parchment paper if you don’t have a rack!
Wipe down the cookie sheet to get rid of any residual butter and make sure the pan is cooled before putting the next batch on.
The original recipe says it makes 3 dozen but that’s only if you keep them small. We doubled it and got about 50 cookies!
And there you have it! Easy, delicious and light as air cookies that your family will love. Be sure to let me know if you give them a try! But beware, they’re highly addictive.
