Delicious buttery shortbread is topped with a brazenly pink icing glaze flavored with the bitter Italian aperitif, Campari. Sprinkled with a pinch of golden citrus infused sugar, Campari Shortbread Cookies are the best new cookie recipe I’ve found in years. The dough is easy to make, cuts beautifully, and holds its shape while baking. The finished cookies have a striking appearance making them delightful little bites of holiday cheer.
A New Christmas Cookie Favorite
What cookies do you crave during the holiday season? Do you like tart bits of fruit in a flavorful bar cookie? Is it a spicy crisp Gingerbread Cutout that tempts you? Or are you drawn to Chewy Coconut Macaroons?
I have so many Christmas cookie favorites I have a hard time deciding what to bake first. And still, I keep finding new cookies to fall in love with. A few years ago I discovered a recipe for delightful Chewy Chocolate Meringues that brought me back to blogging after a long absence. Then I fell hard for a spicy traditional glazed Pfeffernüsse cookie topped with the prettiest little flakes of pink peppercorns. They took me back to my baking roots and my German hertitage. I just never know where my baking journey will take me next.
Last year I discovered yet another cookie I had to try – a pretty shortbread cutout with Campari icing. I stumbled over them in the newspaper. The small picture grabbed my attention as I have had a soft spot for pink cookies since I was a child. Back then my mother kept a box of big pink-iced animal cookies in the bottom stove drawer.
These cookies, on the other hand, have a decidedly adult appeal. Their pink icing is flavored with Campari, that bittersweet Italian aperitif that is used to make a Negroni or Boulevardier. While tender buttery shortbread and bittersweet icing may seem like an odd combination at first glance, It reminded me of the bitter notes in a Christmas Salad I posted a few seasons ago. The beauty of bitter salad chicories tossed in a bright dressing add an interesting counterpoint to the sweet and tangy flavors that dominate the season. These cookies add a similar flavor contrast to a Christmas dessert platter.
Why I Keep Making These Shortbread Cookies
This is a great recipe. The cookie dough consists of just four basic ingredients you probably have in the kitchen right now – flour, butter, sugar and salt. If you use salted butter, you can cut that number down to three. These cookies are buttery rich but only mildly sweet, nearly following a traditional 3:2:1 shortbread ratio. There is no need to chill the dough before rolling and cutting. Instead, cut out the cookies first. Then, after arranging them on a baking sheet and pop the whole pan in the freezer for 20 minutes. The cookies can be placed just an inch or so apart and will hold their shape well while baking.
Once cool, ice the cookies by dipping the tops into the bittersweet pink glaze. A quick sprinkle with fragrant orange flavored sugar crystals completes the decoration of this pretty and intriguingly flavored cookies. I simply love the hint of bitter orange in the Campari flavored icing.
These Shortbread Cookies are the best cookie recipe I have discovered in a long time. So far this season I have already made two batches, one with the Campari icing and one with a vanilla flavored glaze. After I rolled the lovely dough to a 1/2-inch thickness, I cut the second batch of dough using some tiny 1-inch cookie cutters. Decorated with colored sugar sprinkles they make delightful little bites of Christmas cheer.
Campari Shortbread Cookies
Course: Cookies and CandyCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
dozen1
hour40
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hour40
minutesButtery Shortbread glazed with bittersweet Campari Icing and topped with sparkling Golden Orange Sugar makes a festive cookie that is unusually delicious.
Ingredients
- Golden Citrus Sugar Topping
2 Tablespoons coarse sugar (turbinado)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- Shortbread Cookies
3/4 lb (1 1/2 cups or 3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar (4.25oz or 120g)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour (15oz or 425g)
- Compari Icing
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar (9.5oz or 270g)
5 Tablespoons Campari
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of kosher salt
Directions
- Golden Citrus Sugar Topping:
- In a small bowl, combine the coarse sugar and orange zest. Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips to release the oil and flavor. Spread the sugar on a plate, or other flat surface. Set aside and allow to dry uncovered while making the cookies.
- Shortbread Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed, or until smooth and fluffy. Add flour and beat another 2-3 minutes, or until dough forms.
- Lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with flour. Transfer dough to parchment paper and press into a ball. Dust the top of the dough with flour and lay a second sheet of parchment paper on top. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Remove top piece of parchment and cut into rounds using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place rounds 1 1/2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Press scraps of dough together into a ball. Roll and cut as before.
- Freeze cookies on cookie sheets for 20 minutes.
- Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 15 – 20 minutes, or until tops of cookies are lightly brown. Cool completely on baking sheets.
- Compari Icing:
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, Campari, vanilla and a pinch of kosher salt. Continue whisking until smooth. Adjust thickness as needed by adding a little more Campari or powdered sugar.
- Dip tops of cookies in icing glaze, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Sprinkle with Citrus Sugar. Allow icing to set.
- When icing is completely dry, store cookies in a single layer in airtight containers.
Notes
- Recipe Source: Parade, December 5, 2021. Originally from Cookies by Jesse Szewczyk.
A Christmas Cookie Assortment
To create gifts from a delicious assortment of homemade cookies and candy you might pair Campari Shortbread Cookies with Cinnamon Coffee Crisps, some flavorful Ginger & Spice Cutout Cookies, decorated Sugar Cookies and a few pieces of Aunt Noni’s Christmas Fudge.
Having had the pleasure of tasting these cookies first hand, I only have one thing to say:
“Nummmmmmm!!!”
🙂
I thought these cookies looked so pretty, and I am always looking for good shortbread cookies. So on Christmas Eve, I got some Campari and made them. Cookies themselves turned out perfectly. Then after they cooled, I made the icing. The color was so pretty. When I finished mixing the short list of ingredients and they were a consistency that would make icing them easy, I tasted the icing. I expected bitter, but not this bitter. Then I thought, “Well, maybe the shortbread will cut the bitterness of the icing. So I iced a cookie and tasted again. I couldn’t imagine who would like these cookies. I had a dilemma: very pretty icing and cookies in need of an enhancing contrast. I didn’t know what to do. I added more sugar but the icing was getting thicker and I didn’t want to add more liquid. So I just worked with what I had and iced the whole lot of them hoping that once the icing hardened, the flavor would mellow. And it did! I missed it if you mentioned that in your recipe. I’m glad I tried your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you liked them, in the end! I love the flavor of Campari but understand that it is an unusual twist for a cookie. I think what I like best about the flavor here is the way the tart citrus in the sugar crystals on top balances with the buttery crumble of the cookie and the bitter notes of the pretty icing. It is similar to the balance of sweet and bitter in a tea ceremony. I feel like the experience of this cookie is a bit thought provoking and kind of reflects on the meaning of Christmas. But maybe that’s just me. I do have a tendency to overthink things!
That said, I also made the same shortbread cookies without the Campari Icing. I love the dough, the way it rolls out nicely and cuts easily. I iced the second batch with a vanilla glaze and topped with holiday colored sugar sprinkles. They made a great addition to our cookie tray too. So don’t feel bound by the Campari glaze. Take just what you need – and enjoy!
Is the math right on the flour? 3 cups usually 375g, 140g per cup isn’t a typical measurement. Very pretty …
Hi, Baker. Yes. The math does work out when using the conversion chart found at AmericasTestKitchen.com. That’s the one I used in my calculation for the weight of the flour. While reliable charts can be found that suggest 1 cup of flour weighs anywhere from about 4.25oz to 5oz I usually use 5oz when I convert cookie recipes. Here I measured by weight and used 15oz, or 425g, of flour in the recipe. The dough rolled and cut beautifully.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. It is always good to double check when your intuition raises a red flag.
Happy Baking!