Induge On Shortbread Cookies

My new cookbook, Indulge, is written by Claire Clark, the head pastry chef at Thomas Keller's French Laundry. Out of all my trips to Yountville, I have never been to French Laundry, and probably never will because I can't find anything I would eat, except for the dessert. (Unless they have a children's menu I could order from) So the next best thing to visiting French Laundry for me is this cookbook. The very first recipe in the book, shortbread, seemed like a good non-intimidating start. The hardest part about the recipe, and all the recipes in the book, are the measurements which are by weight. I don't necessarily mind because I have a small cute scale that I use quite a bit, but it's not the most convenient. So, I made this recipe using the weight measurements and then converted them to the North American volume measurements for next time.

Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from Indulge Cookbook

1 2/3 cup plus 1 tbs flour
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs granulated sugar, processed in food processor for 1 minute
1 Tbs vanilla paste
11 Tbs butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and vanilla to the bowl. Rub butter into dry ingredients using your fingertips. When the mixture begins to come together, use your hands to help form into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut and place on a lined baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the baking sheet and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until the shortbread is golden brown. Remove from the oven and dust with a little granulated sugar.

While I am not a shortbread connoisseur, the only shortbread cookie I have had are from the Girl Scouts, these cookies turned out terrific. These are very delicate cookies that melts in your mouth. I would love to play around with them next time, covering in caramel, dipping in chocolate, or like I do with the Girl Scout Trefoils, sandwich them with chocolate frosting.