Apple Rose Shortbread Cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: European

Keyword: apple, apple roses, butter, cookies, shortbread

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 20

Refrigeration Time: 45

Total Time: 1 30

Servings: cookies

Calories: 199kcal

Rich shortbread dough rolled with sweet, crisp ambrosia apple slices produces a delicious and unique cookie. Not only are these beautiful to look at, but they taste like you pressed an apple pie into a cookie! You can easily impress loved ones with only six ingredients for this treat!

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Muffin Pan
French Rolling Dowel
Cooling Wire Racks
Mesh Strainer

Ingredients

For the shortbread dough

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
¾ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 envelope vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups all purpose flour sifted

For the apple roses

3 liters water
1 large lemon *optional* cut in half
½ cup white sugar *optional*
3 large ambrosia apples (or 4 medium) rinsed, trimmed & sliced thinly (1 cm thick)

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Instructions

Prepare apple slices

Add 3 Litres of water, lemon halves, and white sugar to a large sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil on high-heat.
Reduce heat to medium-high. Add 1 cup of apple slices to a large mesh strainer and dunk it into the water for 1½ minutes to blanch the apple slices. Do a bend test on an apple slice. If it bends without breaking, remove strainer from the saucepan, shake off excess water and place slices into a large bowl. If it does not bend well, blanch apples for another 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat this step for the remaining apple slices. Cool blanched apple slices in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

To make the shortbread cookie dough

Add room temperature butter, vanilla sugar, salt and white sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream everything together for at least 10 minutes on medium speed until mixture is doubled in volume and dissolved most of the sugar.
Add flour to the creamed butter and only mix the dough enough to incorporate the flour. Do not overmix the dough to keep cookies less dense. Refrigerate dough in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 15 minutes for it to firm up.

To roll dough into apple rose cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and ensure oven rack is placed in the middle.
Work in a cool room to slow the butter in the dough from melting. Start with a large piece of parchment paper (approx. 20-inch length x 8-inch width) and cut it in half, lengthwise.
Sprinkle a little flour on one of the parchmentpieces. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of dough into your hand, sprinkle it with a bit offlour, roll it into a ball, and then shape dough into a 4-inch log. Place the log on the floured parchment paper. Sprinkle a little more flour onto the dough log, press it with the palm of your hand lightly and place the second sheet of parchment paper on top of it.
Rotate the parchment paper 90 degrees counterclockwise. Use a French rolling dowel or glass bottle and roll the dough out to a rectangular shape with approximate dimensions of 9-inch length x 4-inch width. Slowly peel off the top parchment paper.
Use a long chef’s knife and trim the edges so that you end up with a clean rectangle. Dimensions should be about 7-inch length x 3-inch width. Place four apple slices staggered along the long, top edge of the rectangle, leaving the bottom half of the dough exposed. Use the parchment paper as a guide to fold the bottom dough up and on top of your apple slices. Smooth the folded dough and slowly peel back the parchment paper.
Turn dough 90 degrees counterclockwise. Start rolling by pulling on the parchment paper with one hand and rolling the apple rose with the other hand at the same time. This rolling method helps keep the shortbread cookie dough intact. Adjust the "petals" by slightly opening them up if they are rolled too tightly. Carefully place the rolled cookie into a muffin pan. No need to grease the pan since there is enough butter in the dough to prevent it from sticking. Repeat this step until your muffin pan is filled. Refrigerate the muffin pan for 15 minutes. This will help the cookie dough firm up before it's baked.
Bake cookies for 20 to 25 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a cooling wire rack for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle a bit of icing sugar on top if desired.

Video

Notes

Can I use a basic sugar cookie dough instead of shortbread dough?

The difference between shortbread and basic sugar cookie dough is that shortbread is dense and has a higher amount of butter than sugar cookie dough. Usually, there is a leavening agent such as baking powder or soda, so if you decide to use a sugar cookie dough, make sure to omit the leavening agent.

Is it possible not to make the shortbread dough too dry & dense?

As with most cookie doughs, the trick is to not over mix your dough after adding flour to the butter. Minimizing the mixing time prevents the flour from forming gluten strands, making your cookie lighter in texture. Also, mixing your butter and sugar until most of it dissolves is crucial in making softer cookie dough.

What should I use to roll out shortbread dough?

I used a French rolling dowel because its light weight gave me more control over how thick I could roll out my dough. The dough is not pliable, so I do not recommend a heavy rolling pin. It will make it more difficult to control thickness. If you do not own a french dowel, you can use a large glass bottle (such as a wine bottle) or a tall drinking glass.

How should I store leftovers?

Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days on your counter or up to 7 days in your refrigerator. To reheat cookies, bake them at 325°F on a baking tray for 10 minutes.

Nutrition