Whipped Shortbread Cookies

I have found that there are 2 secrets to this recipe that have to be followed or disaster strikes as so many have noted. First, it has to be BUTTER... and nothing but butter. Margarine cannot be substituted for butter. :) The second is the beating time. Personally I abide by the following method: Beat butter by itself for 5 mins. Add icing sugar and beat another 5 mins. add flour in 3 equal portions (1/2 C at a time) beating for 2 minutes after additions 1 & 2 and then 10 mins after the last addition. So thats 14 more minutes than this author says but thats what works for me every time! As well I bake at 300F for 5-7 mins. These are absolutely fabulous cookies... they usually never make it to the serving plate! Yummy!

I make shortbread frequently, and I will say that these cookies are definitely -not- shortbread cookies. They taste like shortbread, but the butter to flour ratio leans on the butter side, they act much more like a drop cookie than a shortbread. If you're planning to make festive prints or patterns with your press or cutters, try a different recipe. They are a good, no fuss alternative to traditional shortbread. My experience with the procedure: The dough forms crumbles at the beginning like shortbread. The color lightens and it becomes more "fluid" when enough air has been introduced. Just keep whipping, you'll be hard pressed to hurt them. Slow/stop your mixer every minute or so and scrape down the bowl with a spatula to make sure the air-introduction is relatively uniform. When it's done, it will be about the consistency of a nice buttercream frosting. You can get fancy with your piping tools instead of cutters or a press. Shortbread cookies, in my experience, are always a little delicate. I've made big ones before and you always get a few breaks, but there are generally enough people around the house to dispose of them. Someone mentioned the "puffy" cookies in the picture. I think those are either a different recipe, or the person who made them tweaked this recipe by added flour to bring the ratio closer to traditional shortbread (generally 3-4 cups flour per cup of butter). I don't think this recipe cannot produce cookies like that.

After reading all the other ratings and some trial and error, I finally succeeded! The cookies are great! I whipped the butter on high speed in my kithcen aid seperatly first. Then I slowly added the dry ingredients and whipped them again on high speed. I don't think it's possible to over whip them... The first batch I cooked for 10 minutes(after reading the reviews) but the cookies just fell apart. So I cooked the next batch until the edges began to turn a slight golden color. Yummy! I drizzled milk chocolate over them once they cooled. Great Recipe!