These melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Shortbread Cookies are buttery, soft, and flavor-packed! Topped with a simple powdered sugar glaze and freeze-dried strawberries, they are incredibly delicious and sure to be a crowd-pleasing treat at any gathering! Find the full printable recipe on BeyondtheButter.com!
Add the freeze-dried strawberries to a food processor and pulse until the texture resembles a fine powder (some tiny extra bits are okay). Set to the side.
1 oz Freeze-Dried Strawberries
In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set to the side.
Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter and powdered sugar together on low speed, then increase to medium-high speed once the powdered sugar is blended with the butter. It should be thick and creamy and resemble frosting. Add in the vanilla extract and freeze-dried strawberry powder.
1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar, 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Add the whisked dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined.
Shape the dough into a disc then transfer onto a sheet of wax paper. Top with another sheet of wax paper and roll out to a 1/4-inch thickness. It helps to have the wax paper on a silicone baking sheet or something that will help keep the wax paper from sliding around while you roll it out. Place the rolled out dough onto a cookie sheet (keep it between the wax paper) and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes or until firm (longer is fine too).
Once the cookie dough slab has chilled, adjust your oven rack to the middle position, preheat your oven to 300ºF, then line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Cut out the cookies using your desired cookie cutter. Place them onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between each cookie. Repeat this process until all the cookie dough has been used. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 300ºF. For reference, mine baked well at the 15-minute mark. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together the powdered sugar and whole milk in a small bowl until well blended. In a separate smaller bowl, add the crushed bits of freeze-dried strawberries.
1 cup Powdered Sugar, 2 tbsp Whole Milk, 1/4 cup Freeze-Dried Strawberry Bits
Dip the top of each cookie into the powdered glaze, shaking off any excess. Carefully place the cookie back onto a cooling rack or parchment-lined baking sheet, then immediately top with the freeze-dried strawberry bits. Let the glaze set completely before storing the cookies in a container.If using a cooling rack for this step, I recommend placing paper towels or parchment paper underneath the cooling rack to catch any run off glaze or freeze-dried strawberry bits.
Keep the strawberry shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, separating each layer with wax paper or parchment paper. They can also be stored in the freezer using the same method.
Keep the strawberry shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, separating each layer with wax paper or parchment paper. They can also be stored in the freezer using the same method.
Do not use fresh or frozen strawberries with this recipe. Only freeze-dried strawberries will work.