Panera Bread Buttery Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup Real butter (Room temperature)
• 2 cup Cake flour
• 0.75 cup Powdered sugar
• 0.5 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• Parchment paper (For lining the 9 × 13-inch pan)
• Butter or grease for the pan (Optional; grease the pan lightly to keep parchment from sliding)

Steps

1. 1

   Combine the butter, cake flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and vanilla. Knead with your hands until the ingredients are blended.

2. 2

   Line a 9 × 13-inch pan with parchment paper. If needed, grease the pan lightly first so the parchment stays in place while you press the dough.

3. 3

   Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan to about 1/4 inch thick.

4. 4

   Before baking, mark rectangular cookie lines in the dough with a knife. The source also suggests freezing the dough before baking as an optional try.

5. 5

   Bake at 325°F for about 20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. Remove when the cookies are light and not browned; do not overbake.

6. 6

   Let the cookies cool, then cut them into squares along the marked lines.

7. 7

   As an alternative to pressing the dough into the pan, roll it out and cut it into holiday shapes with cookie cutters.

Notes

The source suggests freezing the dough before baking but gives no freezing duration. It also offers rolling the dough and using holiday cookie cutters as an alternative shape.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cookies
• baked
• shortbread
• vegetarian
• kid-friendly
• copycat