Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

These strawberry shortbread cookies are soft, buttery, and covered in a strawberry glaze! Easy to make with just 7 simple ingredients!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, British

Diet Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Bake 10

Total Time 25

Servings cookies

Calories 280kcal

Author Gabby

Equipment

Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

1¾ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour SEE NOTES
½ cup + 2 tbsp icing sugar
¾ cup + 3 tbsp butter (regular or vegan), softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup freeze-dried strawberries SEE NOTES
pinch of salt

Strawberry Glaze

6 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberries SEE NOTES
¾ teaspoon lemon juice
1½ tablespoon butter (regular or vegan), melted
2 tablespoon milk (regular or vegan) (add more as needed)
¾-1 cup icing sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Add butter and icing sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer or handheld mixer and beat until smooth. Mix in the vanilla, then add in the flour and pinch of salt.
Roughly chop the freeze dried strawberries and stir them into the dough. Form the dough into a log shape and wrap in plastic wrap. The log will be roughly 7 inches long and 1 ¼ inches thick. Refrigerate for 1 hour (optional, see notes).
Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
Slice the log of dough into pieces that are just under ½ inch thick, then bake for 8-11 minutes, or until the edges are very slightly golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before adding the strawberry glaze.

Strawberry Glaze

Use a blender or food processor to grind the freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder (it's okay if there are some larger pieces or seeds). You can also place the strawberries in a ziploc bag then roll over them with a rolling pin.
Melt the butter in the microwave or over the stove then transfer to a bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice. Add in the freeze dried strawberries. Add more powdered sugar if needed to thicken the glaze.
Dip the cooled shortbread into the glaze or drizzle the glaze over the cookies. Add more freeze dried strawberries on top for decoration if desired. Place the cookies on a plate or cooling rack to let the glaze set.

Notes

MEASURING FLOUR: Properly measure your flour using the scoop and level method or a kitchen scale.

CHILLING THE DOUGH: Chilling the dough helps the butter to firm up so that the cookies hold their rectangular (or circular, if making these as round cookies) shape. If you aren't too worried about the shapes of the cookies being perfect or having perfectly straight edges, you can chill the dough for less time or even skip the chill time altogether. The dough can also be chilled for a few days before baking.

COOKIE CUTTERS: These cookies can be made as round cookies or using fun-shaped cookie cutters. I recommend chilling the dough for at least one hour beforehand, then roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out the shapes.

STRAWBERRIES: Freeze-dried strawberries should be used in this recipe for a strong strawberry flavor. Using fresh strawberries provides significantly less strawberry flavor, but it will work. For the cookies, dice 6 tablespoon of fresh strawberries into small pieces then fold them into the dough. If the dough seems too wet, add in 1-2 tablespoon more flour. For the glaze, blend or mash the strawberries up and mix them into the glaze. You may need to add more powdered sugar to compensate for the liquid from the fresh strawberries.

You can also use strawberry extract if you don't have freeze dried strawberries.

Storage and Freezing Instructions: Store cookies for up to a week at room temperature in an airtight container.

The cookie dough can be chilled for up 5-6 days before baked. You can also freeze the plastic wrapped dough in a large freezer bag for 2-3 months.

Baked shortbread can be frozen in either glazed or not glazed (just wait for the glaze to set before freezing) in an air tight container.

Nutrition