Delicious walnut shortbread cookies are sinfully delicious. These cookies are especially good, loaded as they are with chopped walnuts and topped with a light dusting of sifted icing sugar.
For those looking for the perfect shortbread cookie, walnut shortbread cookies make a rich treat around Christmastime.
Shortbread hails from Scotland and was traditionally made from butter, sugar and oat flour or white flour. The use of real butter gives shortbread its rich taste and crumbly or "short" texture.
Through the years shortbread variations have arisen. The introduction of additional ingredients has influenced the texture and/or taste of shortbread.
The following recipe incorporates corn starch so that these cookies have a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The recipe calls for 1 lb of butter and there's enough dough for two batches of cookies. Half can be rolled into balls and the other half cut into thick squares.
Before mixing cookies, preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Walnut Shortbread Cookie Recipe
- 1 lb. butter
- 1 cup sifted icing sugar
- 1/2 sifted corn starch
- 3 cups sifted flour
- 1-2 cups chopped walnuts
How to Make Melting Walnut Shortbread Cookies
It is important to soften butter at room temperature before mixing ingredients. Sift all dry ingredients into butter to give these shortbread cookies their light, melting texture.
- Cream butter well.
- Place a metal sifter over bowl and then add icing sugar and cornstarch and stir into butter with a wooden spoon.
- Sift and add flour and stir until dough starts to form a ball.
- Work shortbread dough with hands, kneading and folding over until dough is thoroughly mixed.
- Add in chopped walnuts (amount to preference).
Shaping Round and Square Shortbread Cookies
Divide dough in half and shape two types of cookies:
- Roll cookies in balls for first pan and place in preheated oven to bake.
- While first batch is baking, shape remaining cookie dough into a rectangular log and slice into thick squares.
Baking Tips for Shortbread Cookies
- Use ungreased cookie pans
- Double pans to prevent cookie bottoms from over-browning
- Bake shortbread cookies in a slow oven
Bake walnut shortbread cookies at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees and continue cooking until golden. Cooking shortbread slowly ensures they are cooked in the middle but do not over-brown and become bitter.
Remove cookies from oven, lift from hot pan (to prevent further cooking) and place on plate. Dust cookies with sifted icing sugar while cookies are still warm.
Perfect Melting Walnut Shortbread Cookies
Use this recipe each year for Holiday entertaining--a fail-proof recipe for perfect melting shortbread cookies that are lightly "iced" with powdered sugar.
Melody Rhodes - M. Rhodes is author of the Bedbug Books. She's been published in Canada, U.S. U.K. & NZ and has won awards for her poetry/prose.
