This Brown Sugar Shortbread recipe from is from NYC’s Marlow & Sons! These cookies, baked spread on a sheet pan, are perfectly buttery, crisp, and tender – you’re sure to love them.
Okay, so I know I’ve been MIA for a little while, but it’s not my fault! I’ve been super duper sick (still am, actually) so this isn’t going to be a long post, but I felt I needed to share something with you guys!
I found this recipe on the blog Lottie & Doof, which is written by Tim, an amazingly entertaining food blogger living in Chicago. I’ve yet to try a recipe from his site that I haven’t absolutely loved (my favorite Mac & Cheese recipe is also a Tim’s original). I recently had a huge shortbread cookie craving, so naturally, I visited Tim’s site to see if he had a recipe.
Boy, did he. He had managed to snag the Marlow & Son’s shortbread recipe, which conveniently used bread flour (the only flour I had on hand) and was cooked in a sheet, something I had never seen before but definitely made it extremely convenient.
These did make a lot of cookies, but trust me, they’ll definitely all get eaten. They were tender, crunchy, sandy, sugary, and just everything you could ever want in a short bread cookie! Seriously, it’s so easy, you have no reason not to try it.
P.S. I left out the optional walnuts, but I definitely want to try making it with them soon. I think it would add fabulous crunch and texture.
Brown Sugar Shortbread
Ingredients
- 4 sticks 1 pound plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 9 ounces light brown sugar
- 5 ounces white sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 pound 3 ounces organic King Arthur bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Prepare a half sheet tray, or two quarter sheet trays, by buttering and lining with parchment paper. Allow a two-inch overhang on the long sides of the pan to help release the shortbread later after they have been baked.
- Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until combined, then mix in dry ingredients. Combine completely.
- Divide dough evenly into prepared sheet trays, spreading smooth and level. The dough is sticky, so I found it easier to work with by keeping my hands wet while pressing the dough into the pan. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 325° until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Let cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut into squares. These keep well at room temperature for at least a week!
Tim says
Those look great! I bet they are nice plain, I’ll have to give it a try.
Hanner says
I have made these (with the walnuts) and have liked them very much. But _why_ does it work? You’d think bread flour would be too glutinous, and thus too chewy, not crispy!
Rachel says
Hi Hanner, glad you’re enjoying them! Because of the ratios in the recipe of butter to flour, it stays crispy. If there were liquid in the recipe, they would likely take on a chewier texture.