Courtesy of Chef Carole Bloom

Traditional Scottish shortbread uses only four ingredients: butter, sugar, salt, and flour. I've taken the liberty of using vanilla sugar and adding vanilla extract to create a scrumptious variation of this classic cookie. I like to use Tahitian vanilla for its distinctive flavor, but Bourbon vanilla is equally delicious. Serve these buttery cookies with afternoon tea or coffee, with ice cream, or as part of an assorted platter of cookies.

Makes 60 cookies

• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup superfine Tahitian vanilla sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the flat beater attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla sugar and mix together until smooth.

Blend the salt into the flour and add the flour in four stages to the butter. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract Continue to mix for another 2 to 3 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft.

Lightly flour a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan. Dust your fingertips with flour and press the dough evenly into the pan. Use a ruler to score the dough into bars 1-inch wide and 2-inches long. Use a fork to pierce each bar on the diagonal 2 times. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds and preheat to 275F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut through the scored lines on the chilled dough and place the bars on the cookie sheets leaving 2 inches of space between them.

Bake 20 minutes, then switch the racks the baking sheets are on. Bake another 20 minutes, until set. Remove the sheets and transfer the cookies to racks to cool. Store in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

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