variations on cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

This cookie is a customizable queen. She can really do anything and be anything simply by changing the filling. The ratio for the filling is roughly 55g (1/4 cup) of sugar with 1-2 Tbsp of dry flavoring. Here are some ideas:

• pumpkin spice: Use 55g of brown sugar with 1 Tbsp of a pumpkin spice blend. Or use this blend of pumpkin spice sugar that has vanilla.
• vanilla spice sugar: This sugar has cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• vanilla sugar: You could take out the spices entirely and use this sugar blended with Madagascar vanilla. If you want to make your own vanilla sugar, add a sliced vanilla bean to a small jar of sugar and shake it up. Leave it alone for about a week.
• maple sugar: Try an entirely different sugar, like maple sugar, which is just boiled maple syrup. Add cinnamon to it, or use this maple sugar that already has some cinnamon added in.
• cocoa coffee: This is the cocoa coffee blend I used that has cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon.
• coffee cake: This is the coffee cake variation I used that has brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and coffee in it. I want to repurchase this one and use it on oatmeal! If you don’t have this, you could use the classic recipe and add a little espresso powder and vanilla powder to it.
• vanilla lavender sugar: I’m not a lavender girlie myself, but this is so pretty and would be a great option if you are a lavender girlie.
• nutmeg-cinnamon: I like to add a little (1/4 tsp) ground nutmeg to my classic brown sugar-cinnamon recipe sometimes.
• chai: Add some chai spices to the classic brown sugar-cinnamon recipe. This one is great because it is also vanilla-infused.
• gingerbread: add 1 tsp of ginger and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg to the classic brown sugar-cinnamon recipe. You could also add a little allspice and cloves, but I usually leave those out.

success tips for making cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

• Don’t over mix the dough! It shouldn’t come together as a big dough ball like sugar cookie dough. Just mix it until the dough is no longer floury and looks like pebbly gravel. A test to see if it is done is to squish a bit between your fingers. If it can be squished into a dough, it’s perfect.
• Chill your dough log for at least two hours or up to a few days. It can also be frozen for a few months if you’d like to make them ahead. This cookie is amazing for cookie boxes since the dough can be made in advance.
• Remember to soften your butter! It shouldn’t be cold right out of the fridge for this recipe. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have a few hours to let your butter naturally come to room temperature, microwave the butter for 2-3 seconds, rotate it, and microwave it for another 2-3 seconds. Keep doing this until it is a nice pliable and slightly soft texture without making it squishy or liquid-y. If you accidentally go too far, put it in the freezer while you prep the ingredients. It’s a fine balance.
• Mise en place’ is a French phrase with the idea of putting everything in its place before beginning to make a recipe. It helps everything to go smoothly and eliminates so much possible stress. Getting all of your supplies and ingredients together beforeever starting the recipe will help tremendously.
• Weigh your ingredients, particularly the flour. It is the most important measurement in this recipe to weigh. Flour can be off in volume measurements by up to 30g, which is a quarter cup! Having incorrect flour measurements can cause your cookies to spread too much or, alternatively, be dry and crumbly. Weighing your ingredients makes everything so much easier, as you don’t have to wash all the measuring cups at the end. However, I do not use the scale to weigh out teaspoon or tablespoon measurements for things like baking powder, salt, vanilla, or cornstarch, for example.