Recipe: Small Batch Shortbread Dainties (makes 5 cookies)

SHORTBREAD DAINTIES

"These tender, glazed sugar cookies are subtly spiced with nutmeg. The dough holds its shape during baking, so this is a reliable recipe for cutting out cookie shapes. Both the plain milk glaze and the lemon glaze are delicious on the cookies; I drizzle them with a little of each."

FOR THE COOKIES:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh-grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
FOR THE GLAZES:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
About 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
About 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Place a rack in the centre of the oven, preheat to 350 degrees F, and set aside one ungreased baking sheet.

Place flour, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to blend.

Place butter, sugar and vanilla in a small, deep bowl, and beat with a handheld mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 20 seconds. Add the flour mixture, and mix with a fork until dough comes together.

Turn dough out onto a piece of waxed paper. Gather into a ball, flatten to a disk, and cover with another sheet of waxed paper. Roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out 5 cookies, using 2-inch cutters. Transfer to the baking sheet, spacing 1/2-inch apart. Gather and reroll the scraps, then cut out additional cookies and transfer to sheet likewise.

Bake the cookies until they are firm to touch and just beginning to color, about 15 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack. Cool completely.

TO MAKE THE GLAZES:
Spoon 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar into each of 2 small bowls. Add milk to one bowl and lemon juice to the other. Stir each until smooth.

With cookies still on the wire rack, brush the desired glaze on each cookie or drizzle the glaze on decoratively. Let cookies dry completely on the rack, 2-3 hours.

Makes 5 cookies, serves 2
Source: Small Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos

Dear Alice,

Thank you for letting us know about the recipe. I'm sorry it didn't work out. Here's a different recipe if you'd like to try again. This one is right from the cookbook and looks like a good one.

Happy Baking!

Betsy