Rolled Snowflake Cookies

This easy-to-make cookie looks great and tastes even better! Using only four ingredients, Rolled Snowflake Cookies are for those who love to make holiday cookies with rolling pins and cookie cutters. No frosting skills needed here!

A good shortbread recipe is hard to come by, even though there are many different varieties out there.  What I mean by a good shortbread recipe is one that is not too difficult to master, takes very little time, is inexpensive, and holds its shape when baked – just like these Rolled Snowflake Cookies!

This recipe has all of that, plus one added bonus – it’s adaptable!  You can omit the sprinkles if you want, or, you can top the baked cookies with icing if you’d prefer. You can even tint the cookie dough with food colouring and make a shortbread cookie with more colour and more pizzazz! Additionally, you can roll them out and use your favourite cookie cutter shapes like I did, or cut them into squares with a knife.

Have you ever tried seasoning your shortbread cookies? I do it all the time! It’s so easy to add a little bit of cinnamon to the flour and beat it into the butter and sugar mixture. One of my favourite flavours in shortbread cookies is anise. I use that one quite often! The only thing you cannot do to this recipe is add extracts. Use spices only, because extracts add moisture, which will likely result in a cookie with not so defined shapes.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

• Salted Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! If you do not have salted butter, you can use unsalted butter, but add a half teaspoon of salt to butter and sugar mixture.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Sprinkles – I could write a book on sprinkles!  I love them and I love using them.  Pick sprinkles that are festive, fun, and appealing to you.  Themed sprinkles are a great way to make an occasion pop!

MORE SHORTBREAD OPTIONS

Have you been reading my blog for a while? If so, you might know that I love shortbread recipes. There really are so many of them and you can flavour shortbread with just about anything! Here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen, there are a few shortbread recipes that really take the cake. They have been popular from the first day they were published. That’s probably why I use the same recipe over and over again. When something is just right, there’s really no need to reinvent it!

My Whipped Shortbread recipe is the best recipe for those of us who do not have the patience or the desire to roll out cookie dough and use cookie cutters. The dough is whipped and rolled into balls, pressed with a fork, and baked. Easy, right!? I also have this spicy chocolate shortbread recipe and this peanut butter shortbread that I published a couple of years ago. Those both become really popular at Christmastime.

And, just in case you missed my 12 Truffles of Christmas series this year, you can also use shortbread to make truffles! Yes, you most certainly can! These Coconut Shortbread Truffles were absolutely delicious and probably one of my favourites in the whole series. If you love truffles, try the shortbread truffle – trust me on this!

HOW TO MAKE ROLLED SNOWFLAKE COOKIES

I happen to think that these cookies look wonderful, and usually looking wonderful means lots of steps and/or work, but that couldn’t be further from the truth in this case. To get started, use a mixer to beat the butter and sugar until well blended in a large bowl. Then, add the flour and blend into the butter mixture until just incorporated.  Add 1/4 cup of the sprinkles now, if using, and just beat into the dough. Do not over mix!

Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap tightly.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone mat or parchment paper.  Set aside. Dust a flat surface, such as your counter top, with flour and roll the chilled dough out with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a few sprinkles and roll the rolling pin over them lightly to push them into the dough.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out the desired shapes. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet using a flat, slotted, metal spatula.  Leave 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven promptly and allow cookies to rest for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Re-roll the left over dough, and bake the next batch.  

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Rolled Snowflake Cookies, you certainly can! Once they are completely cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 100 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!