Description
Delightful Irish Shamrock Cookies bring festive cheer straight from Ireland’s emerald landscapes. Sweet butter-rich shortbread shaped like charming green clovers will enchant holiday gatherings with traditional Celtic charm.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
Binding and Flavoring Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Seasoning and Leavening Ingredients:
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Decoration:
- Green sanding sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
- Craft a velvety dough by whipping softened butter and sugar until airy and pale, then incorporate egg and vanilla extract, ensuring a smooth, homogeneous mixture.
- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a separate vessel, then gradually fold dry ingredients into the creamy base, gently kneading until a supple dough emerges.
- Encase the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, allowing it to firm and develop robust flavor.
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Dust a clean surface with flour and roll the chilled dough to a uniform 1/4-inch thickness, creating an even canvas for cutting.
- Utilize a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter to delicately stamp out festive shapes from the rolled dough.
- Spread verdant sanding sugar on a flat plate, then tenderly press each shamrock’s surface into the sparkling crystals, ensuring complete coverage.
- Arrange the sugar-coated cookies on prepared baking sheets, maintaining space between each delicate morsel.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching for subtle golden edges that signal perfect doneness.
- Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to stabilize, then transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling, preserving their crisp texture.
Notes
- Chill dough thoroughly to prevent spreading and maintain crisp shamrock shapes during baking.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant green sugar if traditional sanding sugar isn’t available, ensuring even color coverage.
- Swap butter with plant-based alternative for vegan version, maintaining same creaming technique for soft texture.
- Handle delicate cookie shapes gently when transferring to prevent breaking, using thin offset spatula for precise movement.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Irish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg