Rose Shortbread Cookies

4.60 from 5 reviews

These Rose Shortbread Cookies are so pretty and so tasty. The rose on top is made using a cookie stamp painted with tinted egg whites.

Prep Time30

Bake Time20

Aging Time12

Total Time12 50

Servings:24 cookies

Ingredients

1 large egg white
red and green food coloring
8 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 oz confectioner sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon rose water (adjust to taste)
10 oz cake flour (2¼ cups, see note)
granulated sugar for topping

Instructions

The Day Before Baking:

Lightly whisk the egg white to loosen it up then divide it between two small bowls. Tint the whites in one bowl with red food coloring and in the other bowl with green food coloring. Cover the bowls and refrigerate them overnight. The whites will liquify a bit over night and the color will become more even. This makes it easier to paint the cookies. This step can be done several days in advance.

Make the cookies:

Combine 8 oz unsalted butter, 4 oz confectioner sugar, ¼ teaspoon table salt and 1 teaspoon rose water (start with a smaller amount and adjust to taste) in a mixer bowl and mix until softened and combined, do not aerate. Add 10 oz cake flour and mix just until a dough is formed. Taste the dough and add more rosewater if desired.
Line a ½ sheet pan with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface roll the dough to ¼" thick.
Use the cookie stamp to imprint the dough all over, keeping the imprints as close together as possible. Use a round cutter to cut out the stamped rounds.
Line the cookies on the prepared sheet pan about ½" apart. These cookies don't spread much so you can put them fairly close together. Continue re-rolling, stamping and cutting until all the dough is used up.
Use a small paint brush to paint the red-tinted egg whites onto the rose part of the pattern. Use the green to paint the leaves. Sprinkle the painted cookies with granulated sugar.
Put the cookies into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (see note). Meanwhile, preheat the Oven to 350 °F.
Bake the cookies until the center is set and the edges are just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. If you're oven bakes unevenly, rotate the tray halfway through baking.

Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

To work ahead, you can assemble and paint the cookies, wrap the tray and refrigerate for a few days before baking, or freeze up to three months. Defrost and then bake.

Nutrition