Ina Garten Cinnamon-Spiced Shortbread

Ina Garten cinnamon-spiced shortbread, an easy holiday cookie, starts with a buttery dough from Eli Zabar's EAT in New York. She adds cinnamon to the dough and coats each warm cookie in sugar, nutmeg, and cloves. Your house fills with warm spice scent as they bake.

Mix the butter and sugar on low speed until barely combined, because whipping makes shortbread puffy instead of sandy. Coat them with the spiced sugar while still hot so it sticks.

Source: Go-To Dinners (2022)

Ina Garten Cinnamon-Spiced Shortbread

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Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

22

minutes

Calories

325

kcal

Thick, crumbly butter cookies mixed on low speed, shaped with cookie cutters, then blanketed in a warm coating of cinnamon sugar, nutmeg, and cloves right off the sheet pan.

Ingredients

• ¾ pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  

• 1 cup sugar
  

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  

• 3½ cups all-purpose flour
  

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  

• Kosher salt
  

• ½ cup sugar
  

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

• Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Mix the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter, the 1 cup sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon warm water on low speed until they are just combined (don't whip it!).
• Add the flour: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, the 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing just until the dough comes together in large clumps. Transfer to a floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for just 30 minutes.
• Roll and cut: Roll the dough ½ inch thick on a floured board and cut with a large (3½-inch) star cutter or any other shape you like! Place the cookies one inch apart on the prepared sheet pans and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown.
• Coat with spiced sugar: Meanwhile, for the sugar coating, combine the ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium bowl. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them thickly with the sugar mixture and allow to cool on the sheet pans. When the cookies are cool, shake off the excess sugar mixture and serve warm or at room temperature.

Tools for this recipe

• KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer, Nordic Ware half sheet pan, Ateco 11-piece round cutter set, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract, 8 oz. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I make the dough ahead of time?

The dough handles make-ahead beautifully. Shape it into a disk after mixing, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for up to two days. You can also cut the shapes and freeze them in containers, then bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time.

How should I store cinnamon-spiced shortbread?

Wrap the baked and coated cookies and keep them at room temperature for several days. They stay crisp because of the high butter content. After about four days the spice coating can dull, so eat these within the first few days for the best flavor.

Can I use a different cookie cutter shape?

Any shape works, but keep the dough ½ inch thick no matter what cutter you pick. Thinner cookies will overbake and lose that sandy, crumbly center. Stars, rounds, hearts, or even a knife to cut squares all do the job.

Why shouldn't I whip the butter and sugar?

Whipping adds air, which makes cookies puffy and cake-like instead of dense and sandy. Mix on low speed just until the butter and sugar come together. You want a heavy dough, not a fluffy one.

Can I freeze the baked cookies?

Freeze them before adding the sugar coating. Stack them with parchment between layers, seal in a freezer bag, and they keep for about two months. When ready to serve, warm them in a 300-degree oven for five minutes, then coat with the spiced sugar.