Shortbread Cookies with Brown Sugar

I used to stuff my suitcase with boxes of Walkers shortbread cookies every time I passed through the U.K. These days you can find them in most stores for pretty much the same price or even cheaper so they weren't such a novelty anymore. And then of course, enter the blog. I wanted to make my own. Shortbread cookies got their name because of the "short" crumbly texture. A quick Google search came up with this recipe from Allrecipes. I liked that there were just three ingredients - flour, sugar, butter. But 2 cups of butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 4 1/2 cups of flour. Eek! I don't need to make 4 dozen cookies. Just 1 dozen will do. :) The brown sugar really does make a difference in this recipe. I find brown sugar less sweet than white sugar, with a deeper flavor. Shortbread Cookies with Brown Sugar Adapted from Allrecipes For 1 dozen cookies, you'll need: 1 cup flour 1 stick butter, about 1/2 cup, softened at room temperature Slightly less than 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed (I find 1/4 cup too little, 1/3 a tad too sweet, so slightly less than 1/3 it is. Unless you have a sweeter tooth than mine.) 1 tsp vanilla extract Leave the butter out at room temperature until softened. Beat slightly less than 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract into the butter until creamy. Add in 1 cup flour and mix thoroughly. The mixture will be very loose and powdery but just keep kneading it in the bowl until it comes together. Should take just a few minutes. Press into a greased 8x8-inch pan. Prick with a fork. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes. When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately slice the shortbread into bars while it's still soft. Let cool and break apart. If you don't like the shape of the bars, you can also bake them into a circle and slice into wedges. Or form small balls and flatten into traditional round cookie shapes. Enjoy! My other cookie recipes: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Chocolate Ginger Cookies So Easy Even a 2-year-old Can Make Them Everything but the Kitchen Sink Cookies Meyer Lemon Shortbread Bars Shortbread Cookies with Lavender Slightly Spiced (Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg) Molasses Cookies ***** 1 year ago today, I lamented about the kilt shortage in Scotland and showed you what Scotsmen really wear underneath their kilts. WARNING: View with caution! ;)