Teacher Appreciation Coffee Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

Coffee Shortbread

226g (1 cup) Western Family unsalted butter, at room temperature

120g (1 cup) powdered sugar

2 tsp Western Family Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract

280g Western Family all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp instant espresso

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Royal Icing

3 egg whites

480g (4 cups) Icing sugar, or more

1 tsp Western Family Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract

Food colouring of choice

Directions

Coffee Shortbread

1. In a bowl of a standing mixer, beat together butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Add vanilla and beat until well-incorporated.
3. With the mixer on slow, add the flour, instant espresso powder, and salt. Mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. If the dough is too soft at this point, chill the dough in the refrigerator until dough is not sticky to the touch, about 30 – 60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Once the dough has been chilled, roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch in thickness.
7. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes.
8. Chill the cut outs in the freezer for 15 minutes to prevent spreading.
9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer cookie cut outs to baking sheet, leaving 1–2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 11–13 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool completely before decorating with royal icing.

Royal Icing

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a whisk attachment on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute.
2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.
3. The consistency of the icing should be similar to honey. If the icing is not stiff enough, add more icing sugar, one tablespoon at a time.
4. Divide icing among small bowls and dye with gel food colouring. Transfer to piping bags and decorate cookies.
5. Pipe out desired design. Let the designs fully dry before stacking the cookies.