Holly Jolly Cookies: Whipped Shortbread

Every other year, my extended family gets together for a big family Christmas at one of our respective homes. This year my parents will be hosting everybody, and let me tell you, it is going to be a full house!  Now that most of us cousins are ‘grown ups’ or, at the very least, ‘trying our best to be grown ups’ it only makes sense that we participate and contribute wherever we can. 

This year, my mom asked my sister and I to handle the holiday baking, a request I was more than excited to accept. But, considering that there could be close to twenty hungry mouths to feed, I knew that this would be something that would require a bit of pre-planning and advance work.

So I decided to start early and create a little baking series that I have called, “Holly Jolly Cookies.” My first recipe, a classic Whipped Shortbread. 

Whipped Shortbread:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine butter, flour and icing sugar in large mixing bowl. Add vanilla and salt. Whip on high speed for ten minutes. (I think this is the key step, the consistency really changed as time went on). Roll dough into small, walnut sized balls and press with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Now I'll just have to try my darndest not to sneak any from the freezer before Dec 24th.