Tag Archives: Shortbread cookies

Coconut Lemon Shortbread Snowflakes

Keys to Success for Coconut Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Splurge on quality butter: Shortbread is all about the butter. I made mine with Kerrygold while in the U.S.—my favorite! If you’re in Canada like me, look for “European” or “European-style” butter, which has a higher butterfat content (82–86%) compared to typical butter at 81%. It makes all the difference.
Don’t over mix the dough: Stop mixing before it forms a ball. Dump it out and finish bringing it together by hand. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper while it’s still soft, then chill the sheets before cutting out shapes. Rolling pin guides are a game-changer for even thickness.
Don’t skimp on the coconut sugar sprinkle: This adds both flavour and texture.
Chill cut-out cookies before baking: This helps them hold their shape beautifully in the oven.
Cool completely before moving: These cookies are delicate, so let them set fully before transferring from the baking sheet.

I hope these Coconut Lemon Shortbread Cookies bring a little extra joy to your holiday baking. They’re a refreshing twist on a classic and always a hit at the table. If you give them a try, I’d love to hear how they turn out! Share your creations and let me know what you’re baking this season—I’m always inspired by your festive treats.”

Lemon Coconut Shortbread Snowflakes

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Servings large (5 inch) cookies

Calories 325 kcal

Ingredients

For cookies

110 grams granulated sugar
225 grams unsalted butter, removed from fridge 30 minutes befroe making dough
50 grams desiccated, unsweetened coconut
200 grams all-purpose flour
100 grams cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1/8 teaspoon Morton's kosher salt
2 Tablespoons lemon zest

For sprinkling on top of cookies

60 grams granulated sugar
28 grams desiccated unsweetened coconut

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325° F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the coconut, flour, cornstarch, salt and lemon zest and continue mixing just until dough begins to come together. Dump dough onto the counter and finish mixing by hand.
Divide dough in half and roll out each piece of the dough, between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a ¼ inch thick thickness. Chill dough for about 30 minutes.
After chilling, peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip the dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer.
Cut the dough, using cookie cutters of your choice. I used a few different sizes of snowflake cutters, ranging from. 5 inches to 2 inches. Transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets, using a wide metal spatula, spacing them 1 inch apart. Chill snowflakes in freezer for about 10 minutes to firm them up again. Set scraps aside.
While cookies are chilling, place sugar and coconut for the topping, in a spice grinder or food processor, and pulse a few times to coarsely grind.
Sprinkle cookies liberally with sugar-coconut topping and bake for 6 minutes. Switch position of trays and bake for a further 7-8 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden brown. Carefully lift one of the cookies with a spatula to check the bottom of the cookie. It should be lightly browned. Bake for a few more minutes, if it is still pale.
These are fragile cookies so you must let them cool completely on the baking sheet, set on a rack. Store in an airtight container. They will keep for about a week at room temperature, or can be frozen for 2 months.
Gather the scraps; repeat rolling, cutting and baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 2gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 54mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 2gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 469IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Coffee Toffee Shortbread Cookies

4 Replies

Cookies are my love language. It’s how I show my nearest and dearest that I care about them. I urge you to bake these for your loved ones. They are a decidedly adult cookie, with a very strong coffee flavour, thanks to the addition of instant coffee crystals to the dough. I used Folgers instant coffee because the coffee crystals do not dissolve in the dough and you get beautiful coffee flecks. I love to see flavour cues in my food.

I also added some chopped Skor bars to the dough. Chocolate and toffee provide a nice balance to the bitter taste of coffee. These are a simple slice and bake cookie with a very sophisticated flavour profile.

The base Shortbread recipe comes from Erin Clarkson over at Cloudy Kitchen. If you are a baker, you must follow her. Her recipes are delicious and always turn out perfectly. She is a huge proponent of baking by weight rather than volume. I would love it if this became the standard for home bakers. This is the only way to ensure consistent results. The coffee and toffee additions are my brainchild.

The addition of cornstarch to the dough contributes to these cookie’s melt in the mouth texture.

Because I’m not a minimalist, I dipped the baked cookies in bittersweet chocolate and then sprinkled the wet chocolate with some Skor bits. Fancy is how we roll around here at salt and serenity.

Click here to print recipe for Coffee Toffee Shortbread.

Smoked Almond Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

4 Replies

I’m not going to lie. One of the reasons I wanted to make these cookies was that they gave me an excuse to buy one of these. I have always wanted a pastry docker. They look like so much fun to use. Of course the docker is not mandatory. You can always poke the dough with a fork to prevent it from puffing up. But a docker is so much more amusing. Plus, it doubles as a great back scratcher. The recipe for these comes from the brilliant mind of cookie wizard, Mindy Segal. I wrote about her book, “Cookie Love”, a few weeks ago.

I strongly urge you to bake these cookies very soon. My lame-ass description of these cookies can’t possibly live up to just how delicious they are. A filling of caramelized white chocolate buttercream and raspberry jam is sandwiched between two smoked almond shortbread cookies. To further embellish them, Mindy asks us to dip them into bittersweet chocolate. I have learned to do exactly what Mindy tells me to. She has yet to lead me astray. If you are a passionate cookie person, you owe it to yourself, and your loved ones, to make these cookies. Admittedly, in typical Mindy style, there are a few recipes required to produce these cookies, but you can spread the work out over 2 days if you like.

Start with the dough. You will need to grind salted smoked almonds with some all purpose flour in the food processor.Do yourself a favour and roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper while the dough is still soft. Then, chill dough and cut into shapes.I drew a rectangle on my parchment paper, so I would know exactly how much to roll it out.
The caramelized white chocolate filling begins with roasting good quality white chocolate in the oven for about 20 minutes. Give it a stir and continue roasting and stirring until it looks like peanut butter. You can buy caramelized white chocolate if you wish to save some time. About 1/4 cup of the caramelized white chocolate is incorporated into a butter and icing sugar frosting. To make your life easier, put frosting into a piping bag, fitted with a round tip. Mindy also gives a recipe for making your own raspberry preserves, but I decided to use a good quality store bought raspberry jam.

Start by piping a W on half the cookies. Dollop on a scant spoonful of raspberry jam and swirl with the buttercream. Top each frosted cookie with a lid and chill just until filling firms up. Then dip in chocolate and chill to set the chocolate.

Click here to print recipe for Smoked Almond Shortbread Sandwich Cookies. Smoked Almond Shortbread Sandwich Cookies.

On the third night of Chanukah: Macadamia Coconut White Chocolate Shortbread

6 Replies

On the third night of Chanukah I baked Macadamia Coconut White Chocolate Shortbread cookies for my true love. This is a Martha Stewart recipe, from her lovely Cookie Book. Her recipe used coconut and macadamia nuts, but I added white chocolate to mine. These tropical shortbread cookies are buttery and crumbly, everything a good shortbread cookie should be.

Certain foods just belong together. I learned about the magic combination of white chocolate and macadamia nuts many years ago when I worked at The David Wood Food Shop in Toronto. I was pregnant at the time and consumed a very large quantity of pastry chef Daphna Rabinovich’s Macadamia and White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I find it much easier to roll out the dough right after I make it, before chilling. Roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper. Then stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before cutting it into shapes. I love these fluted square cookie cutters. They remind me of Nice cookies from my childhood.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen

Tag Archives: Shortbread cookies

Coconut Lemon Shortbread Snowflakes

Keys to Success for Coconut Lemon Shortbread Cookies