Brown Butter Shortbread

4 ingredients is all you need to make this rich, tender, and flavorful brown butter shortbread.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings cookies

Calories 90

Author Annalise Sandberg

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Continue to cook the butter until it turns deep golden brown, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn. Pour the butter into a bowl and chill until solidified.
Preheat oven to 300°F and grease a 8-inch square pan and line with parchment paper if you want.
Remove the butter from the fridge and let it come back to room temperature. Cutting it into smaller pieces speeds this process up. You don't want it to be liquid at all, but it should still be soft.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and powdered sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract. Add the flour and mix until just combined to make a crumbly dough.
Press the dough into the prepared pan. Use a knife to cut dough into 16 squares, and then cut each square in half so you have 32 small rectangles total. Prick the dough with a toothpick or fork (this will keep it from puffing up during baking).
Bake until edges have turned lightly golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Use a knife to re-cut the shortbread while it's still hot and soft (if you wait till it's cooled, it will not slice well). Let cool completely in pan.
If desired, top with sanding sugar or a drizzle of melted chocolate.
Store shortbread at room temperature in an airtight container for several days.

For best results, use a high quality butter. If using unsalted butter, at 1/2 teaspoon salt along with the flour.
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.