Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2013

I wish I had read up on shortbread cookies before making this recipe - my frustration level would have been significantly lower. For those of you who don't know, expect an extremely dry and crumbly dough. I had to add an additional 3T of butter to make them even manageable - pressing with a fork was out of the question. I had to knead each *ball* in my hands to get the pieces to come together then gingerly attempt to shape (and be forwarned, your cookies will come out looking exactly as they did before going into the oven). In any event, after cooling, they did taste quite nice with good crunch on the outter portion of the cookies. Watch your sizes - I made mine a bit to large at first - these are really almost too sweet and added surgar is most definately not needed.

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Reviewer:

Litegal1

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Anaheim, California, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 9, 2012

This recipe is a keeper! I love the light, crispy texture.

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Reviewer:

dlw123go

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Augusta, Georgia, USA

Living In: Lacey, Washington, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 5, 2011

I have been using this recipe for years (with the exception of the coconut extract and nuts). We all love this cookie. (4 stars as written, 5 stars my version) My recipe does call for 2 cups of chocolate chips. I like the additional amount of chocolate. Mini chips, regular size semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips all work well. These cookies also good to freeze.

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Reviewer:

lkj

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Rochester, Michigan, USA

Living In: Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 5, 2011

I love this recipe. It's a nice base shortbread recipe that I've altered to make a variety of shortbread cookies. My current favorite is to substitute lemon extract for the coconut extract and add in the zest of two lemons instead of the chocolate chips. My family LOVES them!

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Reviewer:

NatWilliams639

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2010

Deeeelicious! I have to admit I adjusted the recipe quite a bit, but they turned out so perfect, I'll definitely try the recipe again. I didn't have vanilla or coconut extracts, so I used a carob and orange liqueur I had bought while on holiday (3 tsps), cinnamon (1 tsp) and cocoa (1 tbsp). The toasted pecans were so tasty I added a few extra, and I didn't have chocolate chips so I broke up a slab of lindt dark chocolate that had nuts and maybe bits of peel (?) in it as well. I also used brown sugar as I didn't have confectioners sugar. The result was fantastic. Really, really, tasty. My only regret is that I had scaled down the recipe so much as they didn't last long! I think I will make a Christmas version later on with orange essence and spices.

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Reviewer:

Marionetta

Reviewed: Oct. 14, 2010

Love! I've made it twice now, both times with just chocolate chips, no nuts, and swapping almond extract for the coconut. The second time I made 1/4 of the recipe and instead of making cookies I just pressed the dough into an extra small sheet pan and after cooking it for 10 min I cut it into squares - WAY easier than making the cookies I think. This is my favorite shortbread recipe that I've tried.

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Reviewer:

Ashley295

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada

Reviewed: Apr. 26, 2010

These were sooooo good and super easy! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect...even at high altitude (8500 ft). I have to make a second batch to pass out to friends because my family and I ate the ALL of them already (there were 10 of us though!) Thanks so much!

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Reviewer:

baileybaker

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Bailey, Colorado, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 2, 2010

Wonderful recipe! I love the simple flavor of these cookies. I only had salted butter so I cut out the additional salt. I baked mine for 12 minutes and they got a bit too brown. Also be sure to only let them sit a minute on the sheet before removing. I left mine on too long and they were stuck to the cookie sheet. Thanks for the great recipe! I wish I could give them 4-1/2 stars really because the flavor is awesome, but the cooking time didn't work out for me.

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Reviewer:

anna

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Hamler, Ohio, USA

Living In: Milford, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

OMG! These cookies are incredible! I made these for my husband for our 1st wedding anniversary and put them tucked inside a cookie box with tissue paper and a note since for the first anniversary the theme is paper. I hope he enjoys these. I snuck a couple and they taste like something out of a bakery! I cut the recipe in half and used almond extract instead of coconut. I also used walnuts instead of pecans. For the chips I used dark chocolate then melted the rest to do various decorations that you'll see in my picture. Fabulous recipe that I'll definitely do again at Christmas to give to neighbors and relatives.

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Reviewer:

Jillian

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2008

This is one of my very favorite cookie recipes. I always leave out the nuts though - just because I don't care for nuts and my family doesn't either. This is so easy to put together and has wonderful flavor and texture. I was not so sure about the coconut extract, I thought that sounded a bit odd but it's subtle and it's wonderful. Even my husband who does not care for coconut eats these cookies. I definitely recommend this recipe. I might even use the base of this recipe next time and use different flavorings - almond, lemon?

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