Orange Crust Shortbread
These cookies are sweet and fragrant, and SO easy to make. Instead of a crumbly traditional shortbread, this one is fortified with the addition of an egg and some cornmeal, which makes it way easier to work with, and gives it a great texture when baked. The crust of baked orange zest sugar on top adds the perfect amount of crust. If you don’t have orange extract to add to the cookies, just double the amount of orange zest and they’ll turn out fine. You’ll want to watch these carefully in the oven- they bake very quickly and only take an extra minute or two to burn. Mine are typically ready at about 8 minutes, but I check them often.
Ingredients
160g all-purpose flour
100g cornmeal
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
Zest of one orange
1/4 teaspoon salt
65g white sugar
30g brown sugar
120g softened butter
1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon orange zest for the crust
Directions
In a medium bowl, cream together your butter and both sugars.
Whisk in the egg, vanilla, orange extract, and orange zest.
Sift in the flour, salt, and cornmeal and mix until fully incorporated
Tip your dough out onto a floured work surface and knead gently until smooth, less than a minute.
Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm, 2-3 hours.
Roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface, cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, and set them on a baking sheet a 1/2 inch apart, chill again for 10-20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 375F, and in a small bowl, combine your sugar and orange zest for the crust, mixing them together with a spoon or your fingers. The sugar should be colored lightly yellow when you’re done.
Once the cookies have chilled, dock them each a few times with a fork and spread 1-2 teaspoons of the orange sugar on top, smoothing gently. It won’t cover the entire cookie perfectly.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden around the edges. Enjoy!