Gingerbread Shortbread with a Nutmeg Glaze ~ a holiday shortbread spiced with all the best seasonal flavors! Perfect for gifting, or squirreling away for a quiet cup of coffee or tea.
Flavors have seasons just like vegetables and fruits do. I’m slowly working through my gingerbread obsession this month. I’ll have to put it aside come the New Year, but that’s ok with me. I get how it works, and I like the twinge of urgency that the short season brings to my favorite tastes. It’s eat it or lose it, so let’s get to it!
This is a subtle gingerbread shortbread with a really wonderful nutmeg glaze. The glaze really makes it. I’ve been so excited by spice glazes and frostings this season.
The intense sweet combined with the warm spice is unexpected and lingers on the palate.
Gingerbread is defined by a combination of spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, along with the distinctive presence of molasses. It can range from a moist cake, to super spicy dense cookies. I like to take those defining ingredients and use them to bring the essence of gingerbread to other things, like scones, pancakes, and this shortbread. As gingerbreads go, the flavor of this shortbread is comparatively mild. You can also form this dough into a log, chill it, and slice into cookies. But don’t forget to glaze them. It’s the combination that makes this recipe so good.
I think gingerbread is my favorite fall and holiday flavor, and I’ve got lots more where this came from ~
-
Soft Glazed Gingerbread Cookies
-
Homemade Gingerbread Ice Cream
-
Glazed Gingerbread Bundt Cake
-
Easy Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
-
Gingerbread Snickerdoodles
Gingerbread Shortbread with Nutmeg Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp each: cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
for the glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- milk or cream to thin
- freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the spices, molasses, and vanilla.
- Mix in the flour until a soft dough forms.
- Spread the dough into a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Use your fingers at first to distribute the dough and then smooth it out evenly with a spreading knife.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. The shortbread will still be pale in color.
- Make the glaze by mixing the sugar with enough cream or milk to form a spreadable glaze. Add freshly grated nutmeg to taste. I like quite a lot. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and adjust to your liking.
- Let the shortbread cool before glazing.
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Gingerbread Shortbread with Nutmeg Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp each: cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
for the glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- milk or cream to thin
- freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the spices, molasses, and vanilla.
- Mix in the flour until a soft dough forms.
- Spread the dough into a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Use your fingers at first to distribute the dough and then smooth it out evenly with a spreading knife.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. The shortbread will still be pale in color.
- Make the glaze by mixing the sugar with enough cream or milk to form a spreadable glaze. Add freshly grated nutmeg to taste. I like quite a lot. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and adjust to your liking.
- Let the shortbread cool before glazing.
OMG! I just made this and couldn’t wait to try it. It is absolutely delicious. I used a little cinnamon instead of nutmeg in the glaze. Amazing recipe. I think I will probably make a couple more in the next week for Christmas and an upcoming potluck. An easy and super delicious recipe. Thank you.
Thanks so much for the feedback Esther, I’m so glad you were happy with it. It’s an older post and you’ve inspired me to make it again 🙂
I know this recipe was posted 3 years ago but I am crossing my fingers that someone can answer this question for me. Just wondering if this dough can be rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters. Looking for something yummy for a cookie swap.
I use my basic shortbread recipe in all kinds of ways, Debby ~ I sometimes bake it in a pan, like this, and other times I roll it out, or even form it into a log and slice and bake. I think that should work fine with this recipe. You might refer to one of my shortbread cookies for instructions ~ https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/?s=shortbread+cookies
Thanks Sue, I am going to give these a trial run this weekend. I ultimately have to bake 7 dozen cookies. I am hoping that I can get at least some of them baked ahead of time and freeze.. Then get them frosted and package for the cookie exchange a day ahead of time.
Have a great weekend!
This looks so yummy! Thinking of making it for a cookie swap. Do these slice cleanly (like in your photos) and does the glaze harden enough to stack? Thanks!
I believe these did harden enough to stack, Faye! You have to leave them out for a while though. It’s a little tricky because it depends on how thick you make the frosting layer. If you want to stack them I would suggest being extra careful to make a good indent in the cookie with the sugared glass. Another trick is to re-do the indentation with the same glass right as the cookies come out of the oven.