Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies are a simple, buttery, and utterly delicious cookie perfect for afternoon tea, an after school snack, or any occasion.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) at room temperature
• ½ cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• seeds scraped from vanilla bean
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

Method

1. Set oven to 350F
2. Cream the sugar and butter together with the vanilla bean seeds. Blend in the flour and vanilla extract. Keep stirring until the dough comes together.
3. Turn the soft dough out onto a floured surface and for into two disks, like for pie dough. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the cookies. Place them on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
5. Put the baking sheet in the refrigerator while you clean up.
6. Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes until firm.
7. Cool on a rack

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island