Short Bread cookies. [View all]

Last edited Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:07 AM - Edit history (1)

2 cups flour (you might need a bit more)
2 sticks softened butter (salted or add 1/4 tsp salt if unsalted)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla (or other)
Mix ingredients till they form a dough, creaming the butter sugar and extract first then gradually adding the flour. (I use a stand mixer and mix till the bowl is clean)
Roll dough into logs, wrap in plasty wrap and chill.
Preheat oven to 325f.
Slice dough into rounds about a 1/4" thick.
Place on cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes, rotating pan half way through.

I've made these 5 times since January and made some variations each time.
Zest of one or two oranges (use a zester, micro planes suck imho)
Nuts, either pecans or almonds. Both pressed on top and mixed in.
I've use vanilla extract, vanilla extract and orange juice, almond extract and lemon juice, and orange extract.
Twice I baked at 300f for 30 minutes. Didn't seem to make a difference.
I've had to add extra flour two times till the paddle picked up all the dough. Most recently I didn't measure the flour, just adding until the dough was right.
So far the most popular version was zest from 2 oranges, almond extract, and lemon juice.