Cashew Shortbread Cookie

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted cashews, finely chopped
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Measure all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. With hand held mixer at low speed, beat mixture just until blended. Scrape bowl with spatula a few times. Increase the mixer speed to medium; beat until well blended. Divide dough into 2 portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 2 hours.
On a lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough into a 9- x 6-inch rectangle (keep remaining portion in refrigerator). With a sharp knife, cut dough lengthwise into 4 long strips, then cut each strip into 6 1 1/2-inch squares. With dull side of knife, lightly mark a criss-cross design in the shortbread squares, or make other designs. Place cookies, about 1 inch apart, on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake cookies in a preheated 350° oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove cookies to a rack to cool. Store in tightly covered container for up to 1 week.
Good shortbread cookie recipe.

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Citrus Spice Shortbread Cookie

Cookies
1 cup corn starch
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp mace
2 cups flour
3 sticks corn oil margarine

Don't use butter in place of margarine; the cookies will flatten out too much.

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Then work in the margarine, either by hand, or with a wooden spoon, or with an electric mixer using dough hooks. It will blend into a smooth ball of dough and not be sticky. Don't chill unless you don't want to bake all of the cookies at once. Roll into balls of desired size. If a dough baller is used, press it against the side of the mixing bowl to compress the dough to give a nice round shape. A cookie press also works pretty well with these.

Bake on an ungreased sheet at 325° until edges are golden - about 20 minutes for 1-inch balls. Note that the color of the baking sheet makes a big difference in cooking time (the shinier the sheet, the longer).

The cookies won't rise much, but they do flatten out a bit.

Frosting
1½ cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp lemon or lime juice
Optional:
1 tsp of citrus oil. This gives a stronger flavor. You can buy citrus oils in three-packs: orange, lemon and lime. A selection of orange, lemon and lime frosted shortbreads is great!

Food coloring for the frosting (approximate):
Orange 3 drops red, 5 drops yellow
Lemon 6 drops yellow
Lime 4 drops green

Add the food coloring (and citrus oil if you use it) to the juice. Heat the mix in a microwave oven until hot.
Mix about 1 tbsp in with the sugar and mash it with a round spoon until it is a paste with no lumps. Add the rest of the liquid, or more or less to get the desired consistency.
Dip the cookies into the frosting top-first or apply the frosting with a squeeze bottle or similar means. If the frosting starts to harden up reheat it in the microwave and stir it.

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Shortbread Cookie Recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a separate bowl combine the flour with the salt. Set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer cream the butter (about 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Set oven to 300 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds or shapes with cookie cutters. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned on their bottoms. Remove from oven and cool on a baking sheet for 2- minutes before removing to wire cake rack to cool. Let cool completely before frosting or decorating.

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more here:cookie.allrecipes.com/directory/713.asp
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more here:southernfood.about.com/od/shortbread/r/bl11201d.htm
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