Crispy Brown Sugar Shortbread

By
Emma Kobolakis
Emma Kobolakis is a contributing writer for Serious Eats.
Emma Kobolakis
Emma Kobolakis is a freelance writer whose foundation lies in food, with a love for baking and desserts.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated Apr. 15, 2020
12102013-btb-brownsugarshortbread.jpg
Evan Sung

With brown sugar for sweetness and turbinado sugar for crunch, this One Bowl Baking shortbread is crisp, yet rich, and can be cut into any holiday shape you like.

Excerpted from One Bowl Baking by Yvonne Ruperti. Copyright © 2013.

Recipe Details

Crispy Brown Sugar Shortbread

Active 10 mins
Total 30 mins
Serves 12 cookie wedges

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan

  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 3/4 ounces; 80g) packed light brown sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 cup (5 ounces; 140g) all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top

Directions

  1. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

  2. In a large bowl, stir the butter, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour until combined.

  3. Press the dough into the bottom of the tart pan (don’t go up the sides). Sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar. Using a fork, poke the dough several times.

  4. Bake until a deep and uniform golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

  5. Remove the pan from the oven. With the shortbread still in the pan, use a pizza cutter to cut into 12 wedges. Then use a small paring knife to finish cutting the slices to the edge of the pan (if the pizza cutter doesn’t reach).

  6. Allow the shortbread to cool completely in the pan, then remove the sides of the tart pan and use a metal spatula to release the cookies.

  7. If a crisp cookie has gotten a little stale, a brief toasting in the oven will restore much of its crunchiness.

Special equipment

9-inch tart pan with removable bottom

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
146 Calories
8g Fat
18g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 146
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 5g 24%
Cholesterol 21mg 7%
Sodium 91mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 18g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 10mg 1%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 25mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)