One clever way to prepare for Christmas gift giving is to have a few batches of cookie dough in the freezer. This shortbread recipe, created by Ming Tsai, will keep for a week in the fridge or a couple of months in the freezer, provided the logs are well wrapped.
Having frozen cookie dough on hand is very empowering – you can have a freshly baked gift ready to go in under an hour. Package these in homemade origami boxes, and you’ll feel like a true domestic goddess!
Butter Shortbread Cookie Dough
(adapted from Simply Ming, Episode 120)
- 375g (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 290g (1⅓ cups) sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large (59g) egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 550g (3¾ cups) plain (AP) flour
- scraped seeds from half a vanilla pod (optional)
Note: our homemade vanilla extract has a sprinkling of black seeds in it, so I don’t usually bother with the vanilla pod.
1. You’ll need a big mixer for this recipe. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and salt on medium until well blended (about two minutes). Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and seeds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
2. While the mixer is off, add all the flour. Turn the machine onto its lowest setting and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Do not overbeat. Remove the dough and divide it into four, then shape each piece into a log about 25cm (10″) long and 3cm (1¼”) in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper (roll it up, then twist the ends to seal) and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
To store rolls in the freezer, overwrap the top of the parchment paper with a sheet of foil, seal tightly to prevent freezer burn, then label with a permanent marker. When using the frozen dough, allow it to defrost slightly before slicing.
3. To bake a standard shortbread cookie – preheat the oven to 160C /320F (with fan). Slice the chilled dough into 1cm (½”) discs, then dip each cookie into a small bowl of raw or Demerara sugar. Lay them out on a baking tray lined with parchment, sugar side up. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly brown, then allow them to cool on a wire rack before serving. Make sure you don’t overcook these, or they’ll lose their crumbly buttery texture.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
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You can do all sorts of clever things with this dough!
Here are some of our favourites:
Chai Shortbread Cookies – chai lattes are the latest café trend in Sydney, and our local coffee shop was selling bags of chai tea blend. I added a little of this powdered mix to the Demerara sugar and dipped the cookies in it before baking – the result is a sophisticated cookie with hints of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Chai mix is also readily available at Indian spice stores.
Linzer Cookies – my friend Christina, bless her, brought me back these snazzy cookie cutters from the US. I rolled the dough out onto a sheet of parchment to a thickness of about 5mm, then cut tops and bottoms with the cutters. These were baked for ten minutes each and allowed to cool, before sandwiching with some of Pete’s delicious raspberry jam.
Tarts – roll the dough out thinly and bake it in a small tart pan for a crisp base. Once cooled, fill it with some homemade lemon curd (which only takes a few minutes in the microwave) or chocolate ganache and you’ll have an instant dessert.
More freezer dough recipes to come!
OMG you’re sending me into domestic goddess overdrive! Want. to. bake. NOW.
Yes please – more freezer dough recipes!
I always make double the batch of biscuit dough and keep half in rolled logs in the freezer. Very easy when you have unexpected visitors, or just visitors on a work day! I slice up part of a log or more and bake them – instant ‘wow’ factor.
I will have to add this shortbread one to my list (which tends to be mainly chocolate chip bisuits and an almond one)….although the butter quantity is a tad scary!
BTW, I was able to take out a couple of frozen bacon and cheese rolls from my freezer yesterday for Sam’s packed lunch for his excursion – thanks to your earlier post!
Nancy, I have this nervous twitch that sets in when I’m not baking at this time of year.. :)
SG, I love those frozen rolls – I pulled some out for school lunches as well this morning. Small Man has cheese and olive ones for school almost every day, and Big Boy took fetta, sheep milk cheese, quince paste and prosciutto ones today.
Don’t worry too much about the butter in the shortbread – a. you won’t be eating them all, and b. the recipe makes about 80 cookies!
I heart shortbread cookies…..my daughter would love these! Can’t let her see them otherwise we’ll have to make them ASA
I love the Linzer cookies above. They look so pretty and yummy. Just right for a cup of tea. Might have to give those a go this weekend.
Hi Celia,
I made these shortbreads last night. Dipping into brown sugar made them very elegant.
But I also made some skinner ones and sandwiched them together with the chocolate cream filling from the ‘chestnut chocolate biscuits’. I’ve no photo but wanted to say thanks for such a nice recipe.
The only thing was I had to cook them for a lot longer and up the temp … I think the low temps on my oven are not so good.
I also reduced the quantities by 1/3 as I was running low on butter proving that this recipe scales up and down :-)
Gillian
So happy to hear that, Gillian! It’s a great freezer recipe too – I try and keep a batch on hand for emergencies. I must look out for tinned chestnut filling, especially if they went well with the shortbread – thanks! :)
PS. My oven tends to run hot, so I’m not surprised you had to fiddle with the temps a bit…
I just made these for my mother-in-law who dropped by. They were wonderful! Made me look quite the something. Thanks!
Marilyn
You’re most welcome! :) Celia
just made these (and some macarons to use up the whites). just DELICIOUS – highly recommended!
Anne, thanks for letting me know – so glad you liked these! I still make them all the time, and I usually keep a stash of dough in the freezer as well.
My sister in law just sent me photos of pink ribbon shortbreads that she made using the recipe – aren’t they gorgeous? :)