Egg-less Short-bread Cookies Recipe / Short-Bread Cookies with Vanilla Flavor

Easy to put together and bake with just few ingredients these short bread cookies have a melt in mouth texture. These tender and crumbly cookies are famous among the Christmas cookies and are best to serve during holidays or family gatherings.  I was too skeptical to try this out initially as the dough consistency itself was very tender to handle. But i decided to try this out and came out perfect for first time itself.

Mithu insisted me to use her toy cookie cutters which you can see in my clicks.  I was waiting to use my cookie cutters and finally had a chance to use it. The wonderful aroma of these cookies were spread all over our home when it was done and it just melted in our mouths. The use of corn flour in the cookie gives it the soft and tender texture.

Egg-less Vanilla Short Bread Cookie Recipe - Ingredients:
Baking time: 10-12 mins | Recipe Cuisine: International | Recipe Category: Cookies/Bakes | Recipe Reference: Joy of Baking   

All Purpose Flour  - 3/4 cup
Corn flour  -  1/4 cup
Unsalted Butter  - 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar  - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Essence  - 1/2 tsp
Salt  - 1/8 tsp

Method:
1. Sieve the flour and salt once in a bowl. In another bowl beat the butter ,sugar and vanilla essence until creamy.

 

2. Gently fold in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Combine to form a soft dough. (If it is dry add few drops of water/milk and if it is bit loose add 2 tbsp of APF not more than that)

 

3. Flatten the dough  and chill it in the fridge for at least an hour until firm .

4. On a  lightly floured surface place a butter paper and place the dough on it , and roll into 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut into desired shapes using lightly floured cookie cutters. (If you want you can chill the cookies placed on the tray in the fridge for another 15 mins. This will firm the cookies and prevent them from spreading while baking)

 

6. Meanwhile Preheat the oven at 177 deg C for 10 mins.

7. Bake it in the preheated oven for 10-12 mins until the cookies are lightly browned.

8. Cool them on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

It will look soft and tend to be crisp once cooled.  I just halved the original recipe and got 20 medium size cookies.

Notes:

• Corn flour gives the melt in mouth texture so i have used it. You can also use 1 cup maida alone.
• You can also dip the shortbread cookies partially in melted chocolate for a chocolate glaze.
• Don't skip to refrigerate the dough as these cookies has a tendency to spread while baking. 
• To transfer the cookies from the work area to baking tray, use any spatula or wide knife. 
• Adding salt will lift up the sweetness in the cookies.