If You Aren't Double-Baking Your Shortbread Cookies, It's Time You Start - Tasting Table

"A plate of homemade Christmas shortbread cookies is the perfect dish to share at the holidays. Whether you're gifting it to friends and family or serving it at your holiday dinner party, you might consider trying an unexpected trick for making it perfectly crispy. Double-baking your shortbread gives each cookie nice, golden edges that are perfectly caramelized. This makes the cookies more flavorful, and enhances their texture and crumb."

"This trick comes from a recipe developed by Alice Medrich and published in her cookbook "Pure Dessert." According to Medrich, the second baking adds "extra flavor and crunch" (via Smitten Kitchen). While the real reason shortbread tastes bitter is overbaking the dough, splitting the baking time in two with a brief rest period in between will prevent the butter from burning but still achieve the ideal brown butter flavor."

"Shortbread cookies rely on that rich buttery flavor to set them apart from other classic holiday cookie recipes. When you use the double-baking method, you don't have to buy expensive butter in order to achieve that luxurious flavor. Instead, by toasting the cookies after baking, you can create a deep, nutty browned butter flavor without having to go through the effort of actually making brown butter."

"Medrich recommends that you wait at least two hours, but ideally 24, before baking your shortbread. Keep it in the pan and let the dough rest on the counter. You'll then bake it until it has just started to get slightly brown around the edges. Remove it from the oven and sprinkle it with powdered or white sugar or festive colored sanding sugar, then let it cool completely."

Double-baking shortbread produces golden, caramelized edges that add flavor, texture, and a crunchy crumb. Splitting the baking into two stages with a brief resting period prevents butter from burning while still developing browned-butter notes. Resting the dough for at least two hours, ideally 24, in the pan on the counter helps control moisture. Bake until edges are just slightly brown, remove and sprinkle with powdered or sanding sugar, then cool completely so excess moisture escapes before the second bake. Toasting the cookies after the initial bake deepens nutty flavors without making brown butter separately.

Read at Tasting Table