Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies
Decadent shortbread is studded with vanilla bean caviar and topped with a vanilla bean glaze as a Christmastime treat. These Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies with a Vanilla Bean Glaze cookies taste like the holidays in a single bite!
YOU GUYS.
I can’t get enough of vanilla beans, and I am slowly whittling down my supply of the exotic seasoning. (Because OF COURSE I purchased the 30-pack of Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans when I initially set out to start making all the recipes with fresh vanilla beans.)
There. Whew. I finally admitted it out loud.
Today, I think you should join in on this love of vanilla beans because this cookie recipe, which happens to be the cookie recipe I am kicking off Christmas Cookie Week 2013 with, is solid.
And by solid, I mean absolutely delicious and something that you will crave when you bake several dozen of these and proceed to give all but a few away to your neighbors because you absolutely do NOT need any cookies in the house while you’re iced/snowed in one weekend.
True story.
So. Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies topped with a Vanilla Bean Glaze.
It sounds decadent… because it is. But there is something so comforting and home-y in just one of these cookies that really sings of the holidays and years past to me… and everyone we shared them with was a fan, too.
In fact, even Lucy Belle was a fan.
She clearly thought I baked these cookies for her… then she attempted to snatch the top cookie off the pile before I photographed them because OBVIOUSLY I were setting up the cookies and milk for her pleasure. (In her defense, I was capturing them from the floor because that’s where the best light in our house was at the time the cookies were cooled enough to glaze and photograph, but still.)
When she learned they were not hers, she was a grump and laid down about five feet away from where I was making the images, watching every move I made like a hawk just in case I changed my mind.
More shortbread cookie recipes to try:
- Classic Shortbread Cookies
- Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies with Raspberry-Orange Glaze
- Shortbread Brown Butter Cookies
- Orange Raspberry Shortbread Cookies
- Ginger Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Here’s how you can make your own:
Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies with Vanilla Bean Glaze
Ingredients
Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean split (use about ¾ the caviar, leaving some for the glaze)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk (skim or non-dairy OK)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Vanilla Bean Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ vanilla bean (from above)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk (skim or non-dairy OK)
Equipment
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Instructions
- Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a hand (or stand) mixer in a large bowl.
- Add the caviar from the split vanilla bean, vanilla extract and milk. Blend with the butter and sugar mixture until smooth and well incorporated.
- Sift together the flour and salt, then add to the wet ingredients, mixing until the batter just comes together. (Mine was a little bit crumbly, and that’s OK. To check and make sure that yours will form into balls for the next step, just grab a little piece of the dough and press it together in your hand. If it forms a ball without falling apart, you’re good to go. If it doesn’t, add an additional tablespoon of milk until it does this.)
- Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- While the dough chills, make the glaze.
- Combine the powdered sugar, the rest of the caviar from the vanilla bean, the vanilla extract and milk in a smaller bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Once your dough has finished chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Scoop out 1" rounds of the dough and place them in a single layer on the baking sheet. Be sure to give these cookies a little space between themselves so they can spread as they bake. Use a fork to flatten the tops of the cookies and make criss-cross marks, as shown in the images above.
- Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes (or until slightly browned and crisp).
- Let cool on a wire rack, then drizzle with the glaze and enjoy!
Nutrition
Are you a shortbread fan this time of year? Are you currently obsessing over a certain ingredient?
Want to join in on this celebration of butter, sugar, flour and holiday ingredients?
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I am loving this recipe! I wish I was as good at cooking as you are!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
http://neatly-packaged.blogspot.com/
These look so yummy and I love love LOVE vanilla bean!
Thanks so much, Tara! Glad you’re with me on the vanilla bean thing. They just add SO MUCH flavor to everything!
Your pictures are amazing. I have never had vanilla bean but your pictures make me want to try it. Thanks for the recipe.
Aww. Thank you so much, Pamela. You’re too sweet… and I hope you get to try vanilla bean sometime soon because it just adds SO much flavor to baked goods.
I am loving this recipe! I wish I was as good at cooking as you are!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much! And pssh. Girl, everything I know in the kitchen and with cooking has been self-taught (or guided along by friends/family members and cookbooks.) You can do it, too! And these cookies are divine, so I hope you give them a go!
Erin! These are gorgeous! I love fresh vanilla beans too. The floral smoky accents can’t be replicated by extracts. And I love how your cookies are so white, making those little flecks of vanilla caviar so prominent. Pretty. I have a small stash of beans left from an impulse bulk purchase a few years ago. I’ll dunk some into this for sure. 😉
Is it just me, or do vanilla beans make something sweet seem that much more special and a bit fancy, even? Love this recipe, as well as the glaze. I’m a huge fan of Christmas cookies that are taken to the next level taste-wise but are still elegant and simple in their construction. These look wintry, warm, and comforting, like a perfect holiday cookie should.
Katherine, You’ve just hit the nail on the head about vanilla beans, girl. They really do make something sweet seem just a little more fancy and decadent. And like you, I’m a fan of cookies that are elegant, simple but a little elevated, taste-wise. Glad we’re in the same boat… and thanks! Here’s to consuming several perfect holiday cookies this season!
These look amazing Erin! I can’t wait to try them. I love reading your posts too, you have such a cute personality. =)
Thank you, Kathy! You’re too sweet for stopping by, wanting to make the cookies AND leaving such a lovely compliment!
Erin! These are gorgeous! I love fresh vanilla beans too. The floral smoky accents can’t be replicated by extracts. And I love how your cookies are so white, making those little flecks of vanilla caviar so prominent. Pretty. I have a small stash of beans left from an impulse bulk purchase a few years ago. I’ll dunk some into this for sure. 😉
Jayne! Thank you, ma’am! You’re right about the accents of fresh vanilla beans not being able to be replicated in extracts… though I’ve currently got a homemade extract brewing using some of those fresh beans because I was all, “Why not?”
Glad that I’m not alone in my love of fresh vanilla beans and that you also hoard some of these delightful floral and smoky beans for special baking, too. When you make these, let me know what you think about ’em!
NOM NOM NOM NOM. You have the best recipes.
Thanks so much, Aleshea! I don’t normally make shortbread because I’m SUCH a cookie monster, but these were too good to NOT make, ya know?
These seem like they would ship well, right? OK, my address in New York is…
Hahaha. Love it, Alli! And I bet they really WOULD ship well… though there are none left here for me to send you. Wamp wamp.
Clearly, I need to work this out better for next time.
I love it best thing ever since K lllllloooovvvveeee vanilla and that vanilla glaze whoo who ee man that was good and thick and ozzing when you bite it mmm good.
I love it best thing ever since K lllllloooovvvveeee vanilla and that vanilla glaze whoo who ee man that was good and thick and ozzing when you bite it mmm good.
I’m a big fan of all the vanilla, too! Glad you enjoyed these!
Can you freeze the dough and bake from frozen?
Hi Kristee! I’m not sure if freezing the dough and baking from frozen would work with these since I dropped them onto the baking mat. However, if you form it into a log and freeze it that way, it might be do-able! I haven’t tried it, though, so I don’t know how that would change the baking time.
Let me know if you give it a try and how they turned out! Happy baking!
I really need to get myself some vanilla beans so I can make this! I love the flavour they give, and can just imagine how delicious these cookies would be to bite into!
Yes, you absolutely do, Vanessa! This shortbread is nothing short of magical. The vanilla beans just MAKE this cookie!