When it comes to making shortbread cookies with my children it’s, well, a disaster.

While my children, Ben and Jillian, eagerly drag out the box of metal cookie cutters from the cupboard and sort through them deciding which shapes to use, I pull out Martha Stewart’s Basic Sugar Cookie Dough recipe. My right shoulders begins to knot. As Ben struggles to lift a chair over to the counter for he and Jillian to stand on, the dull ache spreads to my neck. By the time all the ingredients are lined up on the counter, my whole right side is throbbing.

Together we cut in one cup of butter, add a cup of white sugar, then gently turn on the mixer to medium. We stand back and watch the mixer’s big paddle flick butter onto the counter. Both children fight over who gets to crack the egg and add the tablespoon of vanilla. I turn off the beater while Ben adds the first cup of flour followed by some more mixing. Jillian finishes it off by tossing in the remaining cup and a half of flour.

We’re almost done now. A little more stirring and then it will start. The melt downs, their’s and then mine. What comes next is never shown in Martha’s glossy magazine. How do you take the melted glob of dough and make beautiful heart shaped cookies with red sprinkles? Maybe the question should be, how do you make these cookies without suffering a meltdown?

I’ve tried putting the dough in the fridge for two hours. I’ve even put it in the freezer for three weeks, but as soon as I get the buttery mass to room temperature, everything sticks. The dough to the parchment paper; the cookies to the cutter. Try as I may, none of our cookies are uniform, symmetrical or even remotely resemble a heart let alone a angel or Christmas tree.

So instead of posting a fabulous recipe for short bread cookies I am posting an SOS - if anybody out there has a good shortbread recipe that doesn’t stick to everything including the dog, and is child friendly, I would love to hear from you, so would Ben and Jillian.

Cheers,

Julie

PS - Below is Martha Stewart’s Recipe - it’s tasty but it’s trying.

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough

• 1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 1/2 cups of flour

Directions

In a the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt; mix on medium speed until combined. With mixer on low speed, add flour in 2 batches, mixing just until incorporated.

Divide dough into tow equal portions. Place each on a piece of plastic wrap; flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks on upper and lower thirds. Remove one sheet of dough from the refrigerator, and let stand one minute. Using a 3- inch snowflaked cookie cutter, cut into shapes. Place two inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gather scraps, and reroll as above, chill until firm, 10 to 15 minutes, then cut more shapes.

Decorate cookies with sanding sugar or red sprinkles. Bake cookies until golden brown around the edges and slightly firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets. Store in airtight container at room temperature, up to 5 days.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 8:15 am and is filed under Food, Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.