Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
This recipe and article updated 5/3/2023.
Delicate shortbread cookies flavored with almond extract are sandwiched with strawberry jam for a decadent way to enjoy strawberry season. These almond shortbread cookies make a wonderful canvas to feature homemade Texas Strawberry Jam (click link for recipe!)Fresh lemon zest helps to brighten and balance out the sweetness of the cookie while the powdered sugar gives a simple and elegant decoration to the top.
Shortbread cookies are very simple to make and only require a few ingredients and a few minutes of mixing in the food processor. This dough does not have very much sugar and doesn’t have any leavening agents, no baking powder or baking soda. This results in a nice flat cookie with a crisp edge and dense crumb that isn’t too sweet. Because of the low sugar content in this cookie that makes it a perfect pairing to sandwich our sweet homemade strawberry jam.
Almond extract is a classic pairing for shortbread and is such a complimentary flavor pairing with the strawberry jam. It adds a sweetness without it feeling too sugary or overbearing on the palate. Add in the lemon zest to cut through the sweetness of the jam and you have a very pleasing cookie eating experience.
You can make this dough several days in advance and keep wrapped tightly in plastic wrap until ready to use. Depending on how humid it is where you are, you can also bake these a day or two in advance and keep them in a tight plastic container. If it is humid where you are, I would save these to bake sooner to when you want to serve them. Humidity can soften the shortbread and it will lose its crisp edge. Not a terrible thing if you prefer a softer cookie, but I love the texture contrast of the jam and crisp edges. Save the filling and powdered sugar dusting for the day you are going to serve them if you are baking the cookies ahead of time. These cookies will stay fresh for 3-4 days after assembly but trust me, they definitely won’t last that long.
These cookies would make a wonderful Mother’s Day treat with all the delicious jammy goodness they bring. Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is May 14th!
Why I Love These Cookies:
- Easy to make.
- Can make the recipe ahead of time.
- Simple and not too sweet.
- Great way to highlight homemade strawberry jam.
- The PERFECT Mother’s Day cookie and great for gifting.
Ingredients You Need:
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups of flour, plus extra flour to roll out
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- Small pinch of salt
- Zest of half a lemon
- Strawberry Jam
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Let’s Make Cookies!
These shortbread cookies use a food processor to make the dough making this recipe super simple, the food processor does all the work! You can also mix by hand and they will come out lovely.
First, I add butter and sugar to a food processor and pulse until well combined. This took me about 6 pulses in my food processor, you might need longer or shorter time depending on your machine. The mixture should be well incorporated while the butter is still firm and not melted.
Next, I mix in the wet ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture. I add in the eggs, lemon zest and almond extract and pulse until it is mixed together. This took about five pulses of my food processor.
Now it’s time to add the dry ingredients to bring the dough together. I add the flour, cornstarch, and salt and pulse until it just comes together in a dough, do not overmix. I recommend pulsing 2-3 times for 5 seconds to make sure it does not over mix. Overmixing the dough at this stage will develop gluten in the cookie dough and make your cookies tough.
I scoop out the shortbread dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a disc about one inch thick. Lightly knead the dough to help gather it together into a uniform dough on top of the plastic wrap. I make sure to wrap the dough snug in a large piece of plastic wrap so its nice and sealed. The dough will rest in the fridge for at least 60 minutes but longer is better. Usually I will leave my shortbread to rest and chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 350*F.
Take out chilled dough from fridge and let sit on counter for 15-20 minutes. This will hep the dough be more pliable and easier to roll out.
I lightly flour a workspace and roll out dough to around ¼ inch thickness. You can use a ruler to measure to make sure it is thin enough. Since these are sandwich cookies I want them to be on the thinner side so the cookies are enjoyable to eat after assembling.
Next, I will be using a 3 inch fluted cookie cutter to cut out cookie dough form the rolled out dough. Flour the cookie cutter between cuts to make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the cutter. Carefully, I pick up the cut out cookies with a flat spatula and transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Space the cookies about one inch apart on the baking sheet. These will not spread minimally during baking.
Optional- You can cut out the centers of half of the cookies with a very small cutter. I had star cookie cutter from a Christmas cookie cutter pack that was about ½ inch wide I used to cut the centers out. This will give a cute decorative touch to the sandwich cookies.
Knead very lightly and roll out the remaining dough until all the dough is used and all the cookies are cut out.
Bake in a 350*F oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are barely brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Place one teaspoon of homemade strawberry jam on one cookie and spread to almost the edge of the cookie. Then carefully press down another cookie on top (The cookies with the middle cut out are the tops) to make a sandwich.
You can dust these with powdered sugar for an extra fancy touch but not required. These cookies shine well on their own.
Voila, the perfect springtime treats. Enjoy!
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 sticks Butter firm but not cold. Unsalted.
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- 2½ cup Flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ zest Lemon
- ½ cup Strawberry Jam Link to recipe here https://sunshinetxcookies.com/?p=796
- ¼ cup Powdered Sugar Optional for dusting tops of sandwich cookies.
Instructions
- Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times until the butter and sugar are combined. Do not over mix as it will melt the butter.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, lemon zest, and almond extract to the food processor. Pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Next, add dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, and salt to the food processor. I pulsed my food processor around 3-4 times 5 seconds each time to incorporate the flour. You do not want to over mix.
- Tip the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Knead lightly to form a slab of dough.
- Flatten the dough out to one inch thickness, wrap securely in plastic wrap then let rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and let warm up slightly on the counter for 15-20 minutes.
- Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out to a ¼ inch thickness.
- Using a 3 inch fluted cookie cutter, cut out cookies from the dough. Lightly knead and reroll remaining dough to use all of the cookie dough.
- OPTIONAL-cut the middles out of half the cookies for a decorative sandwich cookie.
- Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, spaced one inch apart, and bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookie will barely have color on the edges.
- Cool on wire rack.
- Scoop a half teaspoon of jam onto each cookie base and top with another cookie.
- Dust filled cookies with powdered sugar for an extra pop of sweetness and decor.
- Enjoy!
