Easy Three-way Shortbread Cookie Dough

Melt-in-your-mouth, ultra buttery sugar cookies - this is quintessential holiday baking! Any way you prepare them, people will think they came straight from a fancy bakery.

·         1 bag Gluten Free Pantry Old Fashioned Cake and Cookie Mix

·         ½ cup cornstarch

·         2 sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temp.

·         4 egg yolks

·         1 Tbsp. GF almond extract or flavor*

·         *Optional: Add 3 teaspoons freshly grated lemon or orange rind to dough

Preheat oven to 350°. Toss together mix and cornstarch. Set aside. Mix together butter, yolks, and flavoring. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands until dough is soft and buttery. (May be refrigerated or frozen at this point for later use.

1) Dainty “Melting Moments” – Form dough into small ½ “ diameter balls and press out onto an ungreased baking sheet into small rounds. Bake about 5 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE…cookies will look very pale. Cool and serve with a dot of raspberry preserves or marmalade on top.

Optional: Try making thumbprint cookies with the balls of dough by making a depression in the dough with finger and filling with a small amount of jam. Baking time may be a little longer.

2) Cutout Cookies - Roll dough out between 2 pieces of oiled plastic wrap to about ¼” thick. Cut into shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet, and sprinkle with colored sugar if desired. Bake about 5-6 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

3) Lazy Day Shortbread Cookies – Pat dough evenly into two ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pans. With a sharp knife, score dough all the way through to create diamond shapes. Bake about

8-10 minutes ONLY. While still warm, cut again through score lines. When cool carefully remove shapes from pan for serving.