Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread

Sorry for the delayed post, we have been out of power for four days! We are so glad we have lights and heat again!

I tried making these cookies a bit ago, but I had some struggles with the recipe. I did use vegan butter in place of the traditional dairy-based butter, and I don’t think that was the best choice for a shortbread cookie. I use vegan butter occasionally, and it typically works great, but there are some recipes that just aren’t to be edited. My original batch were too browned on the bottom, but my husband/cookie taster said that they didn’t taste burned. Hmmm.

I wanted to have these cookies so I wanted to get these made. Even though I had to adapt a couple of ingredients, based on what I had, but the flavors sounded great. The recipe called for lemon emulsion, and I had lemon oil and I hoped that was close. I also used orange oil instead of orange peel or orange jammy bits. King Arthur Baking makes pre-diced candied ginger that is diced very finely. It’s the best as chopping candied ginger is very difficult!

So the cookies baked ok, it’s just one of those recipes that you have to watch carefully or they will burn. I figured the glaze would help me out, since that compensates a lot. The glaze was great and in the end the cookies looked just fine. You do sprinkle diced ginger to finish the cookies, which makes these very ginger-forward. I love that I hope that you do too!

Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
 2 3/4 cups flour
 2 tablespoons mini diced ginger
1/4 teaspoon orange oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger

2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
Additional diced ginger

Make the dough: in a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Mix for about 30 seconds until the sugar is fragrant. Add the butter to the mixer bowl and mix on medium until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon oil and mix for about a minute. The mixture may look curdled- don’t worry.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, diced ginger, orange oil, and ginger. Mix on low until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into two logs, each about 2” in diameter. Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, two hours or overnight.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Unwrap the dough logs and slice into rounds, about 1/3”. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once during the process. The cookies with be slightly browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. If the glaze is too thick, add additional lemon juice until you reach the right consistency.

Half dip each cookie in the glaze and wipe away any excess. Place on a lined baking rack (to catch any extra glaze) and then sprinkle with additional diced ginger. Allow the cookies to set before serving.

Recipe from King Arthur Baking