Recipe: Shortbread Alphabet Cookies (for John Wright Alphabet and Animal Cookie Molds)

SHORTBREAD ALPHABET COOKIES

"Specifically for the John Wright brand Alphabet and Animal cookie molds from Williams-Sonoma, here. But it also makes very nice shortbread cookies."

1/3 cup (90g) sugar
8 Tbsp. (1 stick/125g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (155g) plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325 degrees F (165 C).

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla just until combined. Add the flour and mix just until the dough is smooth and cohesive. Do not overmix; incorporating additional air into the dough will cause the cookies to puff during baking, which will distort the cookie-mold imprints.

For each cookie, pinch off a scant 2 tsp. of dough. In your palms, form each piece into a shape similar to the one desired. Use your fingertips to evenly press the dough into the molds. The dough will fill about half of the mold. If you run out of dough for the last mold, just pinch a bit off the top of some of the filled molds.

Bake until the cookies are no longer shiny and are pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Invert the pan onto the rack and, using a toothpick, gently loosen the cookies from the molds. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes, before serving.

Makes 26 alphabet or 12 animal cookies
Source: JennyD, July 20, 2004