How about a nice spot of tea with some Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies? Mmm
The Occasion: It’s right there in the name. These cookies were made for tea time, a coffee break, or perhaps a late night snack with hot milk or cocoa. They’re a little on the dry side (on purpose) and not too sweet – the perfect go-with for a cuppa something warm.
The Recipe: This recipe for Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies comes from the food blog The View From Great Island. This blog is just brimming with tempting recipes – I will be back, and you should check out the site too.
Treat yourself with vintage tea cups and a nice table setting
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What Makes it Special? Luscious fresh vanilla beans scraped right from the pod in addition to vanilla extract gives these cookies a double-whammy of flavor.
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But what your guests will remember is how rich and buttery these shortbread cookies are. And even better, there’s only 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) in the recipe, which yielded @ 50 cookies. That’s not bad at all for shortbread.
Kitchen Tips: I’m often intimidated by cookies that require a rolling pin and cookie cutters. I find it challenging to manipulate the dough to a specific thickness without tearing it and/or sticking the whole thing to the counter. For me, having the right tools and the right attitude makes it easier.
Tool #1: A large, clean counter or workspace. Take a few minutes to clean up and clear the space in advance.
Tool #2: Flour, lots of it. Toss generous handfuls on the counter before rolling out the dough with a thoroughly dusted rolling pin. Dust your hands too so you can press torn pieces of dough together and smooth out the seams.
Tool #3: Use a pastry scraper to lift the dough from the work surface. I do this several times during the rolling process, sometimes flipping the dough like a pancake so I can roll on the other side.
As for the attitude? A laissez faire approach works best for me regarding dough thickness and cookie yield. I always intend to do what the recipe says, but I refuse to freak out if my dough is a touch thicker or thinner. In this case, the recipe called for ¼-inch thick dough and a yield of 2 dozen cookies. My dough was thinner and my cutters were on the small side, so I got about 50 cookies from my batch. Be sure to adjust your baking time though! I watched carefully and shaved a few minutes off the oven time.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Tool #1: A large, clean counter or workspace. Take a few minutes to clean up and clear the space in advance.
Tool #2: Flour, lots of it. Toss generous handfuls on the counter before rolling out the dough with a thoroughly dusted rolling pin. Dust your hands too so you can press torn pieces of dough together and smooth out the seams.
Tool #3: Use a pastry scraper to lift the dough from the work surface. I do this several times during the rolling process, sometimes flipping the dough like a pancake so I can roll on the other side.
As for the attitude? A laissez faire approach works best for me regarding dough thickness and cookie yield. I always intend to do what the recipe says, but I refuse to freak out if my dough is a touch thicker or thinner. In this case, the recipe called for ¼-inch thick dough and a yield of 2 dozen cookies. My dough was thinner and my cutters were on the small side, so I got about 50 cookies from my batch. Be sure to adjust your baking time though! I watched carefully and shaved a few minutes off the oven time.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
The Verdict: For a simple, un-sexy, non-chocolate cookie, these were a huge hit. Many compliments and recipe requests were received. (Here it is!) Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies offer the perfect excuse to bring out all the pretty cups and plates for a vintage tea party. Enjoy!
| Print The Recipe- Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies |
Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies
Recipe source: The View From Great Island
Yield: makes approximately 2 dozen
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Recipe source: The View From Great Island
Yield: makes approximately 2 dozen
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
- Cream the sugar and butter together in a stand mixer with the vanilla bean seeds. Blend in the flour and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
- Sprinkle flour on your work surface, then place the soft dough there and divide it into two disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
- After the dough is chilled, roll it out on a floured surface to about ¼-inch thick and cut out the cookies. Place them on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
- Put the baking sheet in the refrigerator while you clean up.
- Bake the cookies for 10-13 minutes until firm.
- Cool on a rack.
Visit Entertaining Vintage for a closer look at the vintage tea cups, tea pot, and cookie server. EntertainingVintage.Etsy.com
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