Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies are a simple, buttery, and utterly delicious cookie perfect for afternoon tea, an after school snack, or any occasion.
vanilla bean shortbread cookies are subtle but delicious!
If you’re looking for a soft spoken, elegant cookie to pair with coffee or tea, look no further than vanilla bean shortbread cookies. These demure cookies speak in the hushed tones of floral vanilla bean, they quietly crunch and then melt away in your mouth. After you eat one or two, you’ll wonder why you’d ever need anything else in a cookie.
5 simple ingredients for vanilla shortbread
- butter ~ I use unsalted
- sugar ~ confectioner’s or granulated
- flour ~ all purpose
- vanilla bean
- vanilla extract
easy step by step for making vanilla bean shortbread dough
- Cream the butter and sugar along with the vanilla and vanilla bean seeds. This can be done by hand, or with electric beaters, or in a stand mixer.
- Blend in the flour until a soft crumbly dough comes together.
- You can chill the dough in a disk for cut-out cookies, or in a log form for slice and bake cookies.
more shortbread please
- Lemon Shortbread
- How to Make Pansy Topped Shortbread Cookies
- Sparkly Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Lilac Sugar Shortbread
- Butter Pecan Shortbread
Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies
Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies are a simple, buttery, and utterly delicious cookie perfect for afternoon tea, an after school snack, or any occasion.
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F.
- Cream the sugar and butter together with the vanilla and the vanilla bean seeds. Blend in the flour. Keep stirring until the dough comes together.
- Turn the soft dough out onto a floured surface and for into two disks, like for pie dough. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the cookies. Place them on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
- Put the baking sheet in the refrigerator while you clean up.
- Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes until firm.
- Cool on a rack.
Nutrition
Calories: 117 kcal · Carbohydrates: 11 g · Protein: 1 g · Fat: 8 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 20 mg · Sodium: 1 mg · Potassium: 14 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 3 g · Vitamin A: 236 IU · Calcium: 4 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Did You Make This?We love seeing what you’ve made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.
When using the thermometer do you balance the tip of it against the bottom of the pan or just not touching? I simply love your posts, thank you so very much. This question is one I have had since I started baking, many, MANY years ago!! Have a wonderful day!
When you use a candy thermometer (or deep fry thermometer) they generally have a clip on them that allows you to clip it to the side of the pan so the tip doesn’t touch the bottom. If you’re using something else, then it should not touch the bottom of the pan. Hope this helps.
I wonder if you could just slice these after rolling into a log & chilling, Instead of rolling out the dough & cutting out with a cookie cutter? Sometimes I’m just lazy! Thank you.
Absolutely, I get lazy too 🙂
Yes, certainly does. Thank you dear!!
Two questions have you ever used a cookie press with the dough instead of rolling them out. And if we’re using the vanilla bean paste it replaces the vanilla bean and the extract?
I haven’t used a cookie press but I often roll the dough into a log, chill, and slice and bake. And yes, the paste takes the place of the bean and extract.
So I am making these for my grandmother who Celiac so she cant have gluten. I cant find a straight forward recipe with out having to buy a million things. Will this recipe would if subsgiting with gluten free flower and a binder?
I’m not sure, Trinity. I’ve made my basic shortbread in a square baking pan with a gluten free flour mix, but not these cookies, sorry.
Hi, when you say confectioners sugar are you meaning powdered sugar or regular granulated sugar?
I mean powdered sugar!
could you use these for cut out/ royal icing cookies? do they spread?
These don’t spread, so yes, I think you could.
Instead of using only vanilla flavoring I used half almond, and I also replaced the vanilla bean with fresh orange peels (two of the little cutie peels chopped up because that’s what I had in the house) and they tasted just like marmalade!
Nice! I adore almond, and the combination with the Cutie zest sounds amazing!
Would they be good made into a sandwich cookie with marmalade, too??
Baked them for a tea party with some friends and everyone absolutely loved it! They smell and taste absolutely amazing! So simple but so delightful
These cookies really are as simple as a cookie can get ~ glad you liked them!
These look amazing! I just got an embossed rolling pin – any advice on how to use that with this recipe? Should I chill dough first before rolling out or after cookies are cut so it holds the stamp? Thanks!!
I was wondering the exact same thing.
I haven’t tried these with an embossed stamp or rolling pin, but I would definitely chill the dough first.
Do you think the dough would hold up if I refrigerated over night? I have a massive baking day coming up with a girlfriend and like to make my doughs the night before to keep things moving when it comes to the oven. Thanks in advance.
Oh absolutely!