Magnolia Shortbread Cookies
Rich, buttery, tender cookies with a delicate floral hint and the ginger-y warmth of magnolia flowers. Finished with a soft pink blood orange glaze and fresh edible flowers!
Servings: 16 cookies*
Equipment
- Cookie cutters/biscuit cutter/pastry wheel optional
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter soft
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 teaspoons dried magnolia powder**
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
Blood Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
- 1 teaspoon dried magnolia powder
Instructions
- Cream the butter. Beat the 8 oz unsalted butter for a minute or two, until it’s super soft, creamy, and lump-free, like thick whipped cream.
- Add the salt & powdered sugar. Beat in ⅓ cup sifted powdered sugar and ½ tsp salt, mixing until well combined.
- Fold in dry ingredients. Fold the 1 ¾ cups flour and 2 teaspoons magnolia powder in gently, just until incorporated. The mixture may be a little bit dry. You can gently knead any loose flour in with your hands until it all comes together, but avoid vigorous mixing or over-mixing here.
- Roll. Place cookie dough between two pieces of parchment and roll it out until it’s about ½ inch thick. (Don't roll the dough out on a floured surface, we don't want to add any extra flour to these cookies! A silicone mat is another great option.)
- Cut out shapes. Use cookie cutters, a biscuit cutter, or a pastry wheel to cut into any desired shapes. You can re-roll the dough to continue cutting shapes up to 2 more times, but after that it will start to get a bit tough.Place cookies about an inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Chill. This part is really important so the cookies hold their shapes! Chill the dough for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator or freezer, until cookies are solid.
- Preheat the oven to 325° F
- Bake. Bake cookies until just lightly golden on the bottoms and the tops give a little resistance when pressed, about 13-15 minutes (for flower shapes). Adjust time as needed depending on size and shape of cookies. Let cookies cool completely.
- Glaze & decorate. Whisk the glaze ingredients together in a large bowl. Start with just 2 tbsp blood orange juice. You want a glaze that's thick but pourable. If you need to thicken the glaze, add more sifted powdered sugar, about 1 tbsp at a time. If you need to thin the glaze, add a little more juice, about ½ tsp at a time.Dip cooled cookies in the glaze, tilting to allow excess glaze to drip off. Alternatively, you could pour the glaze into a piping bag and drizzle it on the cookies or simply spoon it over them. Decorate glazed cookies however you like!
Notes
*Yield: The amount of cookies you end up with will vary depending on what size and shape you make them.
**Dried magnolia powder: Dry magnolia petals until crisp, the blend into a powder. For more info, see notes in the blog post above or see my magnolia flower guide.
Find more ideas and inspiration for shaping, glazing, and decorating your cookies in the blog post above.
If you're making these cookies ahead of time, don't glaze & decorate the cookies until the day you plan to serve them!