Shortbread Butter Cookies

This is a good, basic cookie dough that is easy to make and is very versatile. You can pat the dough into a pan fairly thickly and cut it in bars, and you have shortbread. Roll them thinner and cut with cookie cutters and you have sugarless "sugar" cookie cutouts. You can even use a "cookie stamp" to impress these cookies with a pattern.

The number of servings depends greatly on what size and shapes you choose to make the cookies. This recipe makes about 2 dozen 1" cookies.

I have tested this recipe with four sweeteners:

• rice syrup--a personal favorite, subtly sweet with no extra flavor
• unrefined cane sugar (such as Sucanat or Rapadura)--very nice, like a brown-sugar cookie (cookies are light brown, not white)
• agave nectar--a nice low-glycemic option. Very good.
• xylitol--this was my husband's favorite, another low-glycemic choice

A friend made these cookies with barley malt syrup and liked them a lot. I think honey and maple syrup would work fine. I'll continue to test different sweeteners and post the results.

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sweetener
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cups flour
small pinch of salt

1. Put butter out to soften. This could take 20-30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
3. In a mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the soft butter until fluffy. This step is important to make the cookies light and crispy.
4. Add sweetener and vanilla and continue to beat until both are incorporated.
5. Add flour and salt slowly, mixing until a stiff batter is formed.
6. Put parchment paper or a silpat on the cookie sheet.
7. Flavor and cut as desired.
8. CHILL before baking. Cover the shortbread tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours or up to 4 days. If you don't chill, the shortbread will spread.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly browned just around the edges. Thicker cookies need a little more time, very thin cookies need less.
10. Remove the cookies to cooling racks.

VARIATIONS:

* any extract and bits of nuts, citrus peel, dried fruits, coconut, chocolate chips can be added.

* top with spices such as cinnamon sugar

* Sandwich any plain or flavored cookies together with fruit-sweetened jam, flavored cream cheese, nut butters...

* place dough in parchment paper, roll into a cylinder, then chill and cut as refrigerator cookies. Edges can be rolled in nuts, coconut, etc.

* Add any desired ingredients and bake as bar cookies.

    Variations: • Shortbread Yule Bannock • "Sugar" Cookies for Cut-Outs • Pecan Sandies