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Aug 18, 2015

Demerara Shortbread Cookies

Demerara Shortbread Cookies

These Demerara Sugar Shortbread Cookies have a wonderful faint salted caramel flavor that will call you back to the cookie jar all day long.

Demerara sugar you ask? It is a coarse, large crystal raw sugar that is native to Guyana. Unlike brown sugar, it is not flavored with molasses, but is naturally golden brown.

The edges of these cookies are rolled in the sugar before baking, and then the sugar melts and hardens to create a lovely rich tasting coating.


You can find the sugar in the natural sugar section of your supermarket, gourmet shops, or online. If you can't find it, you can try substituting turbinado sugar (the stuff that's in those brown "sugar in the raw" packets in the coffee shop).

Demerara Shortbread Cookies

The balance of flavors from the Demerara sugar coating on the edges of the little cookies and the salt in the cookies definitely reminds me of salted caramel. It's subtle, and really tasty.

Demerara Shortbread Cookies

For another recipe using Demerara sugar, check out this Demerara sugar honey challah!.

This month, the #CreativeCookieExchange bakers have made cookies perfect for a picnic. After the recipe, check out the links to the rest of the amazing cookie recipes.

Demerara Shortbread Cookies

Recipe adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, 2004

Ingredients

8 ounces unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/3 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water
1/4 cup (approximately) Demerara sugar

Instructions

  1. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter, salt, granulated sugar, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed and pale.
  2. Slowly beat in the flour until just combined. 
  3. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a 1 1/2 inch wide log. 
  4. Brush each log with the egg white, sprinkle with the Demerara sugar, and wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper. Refrigerated for at least an hour. 
  5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F with a rack in the middle. 
  6. Line two baking sheets with parchment, and slice each log into 3/8 inch slices. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for about 22 minutes. 
  7. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. 


The theme this month is Pack for a Picnic Cookies--any kind of cookie that sounds great for a picnic! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links. You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:

Would you like to comment?

  1. I could not wait to see this recipe. I love shortbread and want to try all kinds of variations. The demerara sugar in and on them sounds lovely.

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  2. Oh my this sounds divine - I had "make a healthy shortbread cookie" on my baking list, and now you've done the work for me!

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  3. Shortbreads are always a hit and these are picture perfect!

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  4. I'm with Renee. Any kind of shortbread is good shortbread but I especially love your demerara sugar version, Karen.

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  5. It's lunchtime and I have decided to go and look at cookies! I love your version of shortbread: I am a shortbread fool.

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  6. Yum yum yum. You and I both went for shortbread (or shortbread-like in my case) cookies, and with good reason. They are perfect! And these look WONDERFUL!. Pinned!

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  7. These are just so gorgeous. Demerara is my favorite sugar to bake with and these cookies just show why!

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    1. Thanks Ansh! It's definitely my new favorite!

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  8. These sound really good. I love shortbread!

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  9. Your cookies look perfect and your photos are wonderful, as always! I'll type of lens do you typically use? I need to take another photography class to boost my skills. I learn something every time I pick up my camera.

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    1. Thanks so much Holly! You made my day! I use a 60mm macro on a Canon 60d. I need to learn Lightroom myself =)

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  10. I am definitely putting these cookies on my baking list. The flavor of salted caramel with a crunchy sugar coating in a shortbread cookie is something I don't want to resist.

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  11. Looks yummy... Love shortbreads....

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  12. These look positively SCRUMMY! (she says, channeling the Great British Bake Off.) How can you go wrong with shortbread AND demerara? Beautiful as always, Karen! BTW, there are loads of really good Lightroom tutorials out there. CreativeLive, lynda.com, KelbyTraining, Craftsy, Tyler at Business of Creatives, Rob and Lauren at Photography Concentrate… Can you tell I'm as addicted to online learning as I am to kitchen gadgets and cookbooks?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the nudge I need. I need to get started!!! I've got the cookbook and gadget addiction down!

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  13. These cookies look amazing! I am putting these on my to bake list!!

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  14. Lovely recipe!!:) Can I make the dough one day ahead and keep it in the fridge?

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  15. Can I substitute Turbo for the Dermerara?

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  16. How many cookies does this recipe make?

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    1. Boy, I should really update these old posts! This makes 42 cookies!

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