Chai Shortbread Cookies

I hosted a fun baby shower last weekend and while I sort through the photos and prepare the Big Blog Post on that, I thought I'd share the recipe I used for Chai Shortbread Cookies.

I'm not usually one to brag, but these were really tasty! Scotch Shortbread cookies are kind of my go-to cookie. I roll out the dough, cut whatever seasonal shapes I need and add a little glaze. De-lish! Since the food for this shower had more of  an autumnal flavor, I adapted my usual recipe to the fall flavors that chai tea embodies.

Here is the shortbread recipe:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 Cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground coriander

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well. In separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and spices. Add that to the butter mixture one scoop at a time until combined and the dough holds itself together in the mixing bowl.

Dust a flat surface with flour (along with your rolling pin) and roll out half the dough cutting shapes with cookie cutters. Keep going until you're all out of dough and eat the leftover scraps. Using a spatula, transfer the cut cookies to an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, just before they start to turn golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze:
2 Cups confectioners sugar
up to 1/4 cup of milk
food coloring if you plan on tinting the color
various nonpareils or decorating sugars

Slowly add milk into the sugar until you have a slightly runny consistency. This will take a few tries and some adjustments, but you want the glaze to move over the cookie without running right off. Plan on sacrificing a few cookies for this purpose and eat those too.

Prepare a space on your counter or table by placing a piece of waxed paper under a wire rack. Place a cookie on a large fork or that special thingy with all the prongs. Then use a regular tablespoon of glaze and pour it over the cookie, pushing the glaze to the edges with the back of the spoon. Put the cookie on the rack and move on to another.

I'm a bit of a minimalist when I decorate cookies, so these ones had just a little sprinkle of white nonpareils in the center. Tip: You don't want to add these or sugar sprinkles right after you put on the glaze. Wait about 10 minutes for the top to set a little or the sugar will bleed or drop below the surface of the glaze.