Vanilla Bean Shortbread Tea Cookies

If you're looking for a soft spoken, elegant cookie to pair with coffee or tea, look no further. These demure cookies speak in the hushed tones of floral vanilla bean, they quietly crunch and then melt away in your mouth.

After you eat one or two, you'll wonder why you'd ever need anything else in a cookie.

I made them for the book group ladies, to balance out the decadent chocolate truffles and Belgian Chocolate Cake.  I didn't want to be responsible for anyone going into shock from chocolate overload.

Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies
makes approx 2 dozen
oven to 350
1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

• Cream the sugar and butter together with the vanilla bean seeds.  Blend in the flour and vanilla extract.  Keep stirring until the dough comes together.  
• Turn the soft dough out onto a floured surface and for into two disks, like for pie dough.  Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the cookies.  Place them on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
• Put the baking sheet in the refrigerator while you clean up.
• Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes until firm.
• Cool on a rack