Spiced Embossed Shortbread Cookies

Step 1

Dough Prep

Step 2

Cream the butter, sugar, spices, and pinch of salt together until smooth. You can do this with a stand mixer and paddle attachment, or by hand with a bowl and a stiff spatula.

Step 3

Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing until throughly combined.

Step 4

On low speed, add the flour and mix until the dough is in chunks but doesn't have powdery bits (see photo gallery). If the dough is still powdery, add 1-2 teaspoons of water. Egg size, the water content of different brands of butter, and flour humidity can cause a need for adjustments.

Step 5

Form the dough into 1 or 2 balls (two if you have a small work surface), wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Step 6

Rolling and Baking

Step 7

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 8

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and dust your work surface with flour. With a regular rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness between 1/4 inch and 1 cm.

Step 9

Lightly flour the top of the dough and smooth out the flour with your hand.

Step 10

Line up the embossing rolling pin with the edge of the dough, press down with moderate and even pressure, and roll the pattern into the dough. If the edges of the dough get thinned out, trim this and re-roll it with any other scraps so the cookies bake evenly.

Step 11

Dip your cookie cutter in flour and press out your cookies, or cut the dough in a grid with a sharp knife to make rectangles or squares.

Step 12

If you use a cookie cutter, re-form the scraps into a ball. And if the dough is warm and sticky, chill it in the refrigerator before rolling it out again.

Step 13

Once you've filled a baking sheet with cookies, chill it in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. There's no need to cover the sheet.

Step 14

Preheat your oven to 350F while the formed cookies chill.

Step 15

Bake each sheet of cookies for about 14 minutes. The timing will vary with how thin you rolled out the cookies. When they're done, the tops no longer look wet and some of the edges are golden. You can also look under one of the cookies to check the color, which should also be lightly browned.

Step 16

Cool the cookies on a rack and store in a closed container.