By Hadley Joy Albright was born Tuesday January 10 at four-twenty-two AM. Seven pounds eleven ounces, twenty inches long. Harper and Justin’s first baby. My first cousin’s baby. Brayden’s first cousin-once-removed. The shower had been Saturday. The baby was Tuesday. Aunt Linda had been at the hospital from one AM Tuesday morning when Harper called her. The whole timing landed inside the window we had been preparing for.
The whipped shortbread cookies are the small-pink-and-white celebration cookies Aunt Linda had asked me to make for the dessert-table at the shower — and they are now also the cookies I am making for the small first-week-home gathering that will happen Saturday at Harper’s house. Whipped shortbread is the lighter version of standard shortbread — the butter and sugar are creamed for a full five minutes before the flour goes in, which incorporates air into the dough and produces a cookie with a delicate melt-in-your-mouth texture. The cookies are tinted soft-pink and decorated with a small white-icing dot in the center.
The technique question on whipped shortbread is the creaming-time. Too short and the cookie is heavy and dense. The five-full-minutes-with-a-stand-mixer is the standard. The mixture should be pale and visibly aerated before the flour goes in. The flour goes in by hand with a folding motion (not the stand mixer) to preserve the air.
Sunday I made the cookies. The pink-and-white finish was the small ceremonial gesture for Hadley. We will deliver them Saturday at Harper’s when the family gathers for the first one-week-old visit.
Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 14 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Holiday sprinkles or maraschino cherry halves, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat. Heat your oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whip the butter. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed for 3 full minutes, until it is pale, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in color. Don’t skip this step — the whipping is what gives these cookies their signature melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Add sugar and vanilla. Add the sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes until fully combined and creamy.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flour and cornstarch. Mix on low speed just until the dough comes together and no dry streaks remain. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky.
- Portion the dough. Scoop rounded teaspoons of dough and roll lightly into balls between your palms. Place about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a fork or the bottom of a glass to gently press each ball down to about 1/4-inch thickness. Press a sprinkle of holiday sugar or a cherry half into the center of each cookie, if using.
- Bake. Bake for 12—14 minutes, until the edges are just barely set and the tops look dry but not golden. These cookies should stay very pale — pull them before they color.
- Cool completely. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They will firm up as they cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 82 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 33mg