Ovaltine Shortbread Cookies

Today's post is my 100th post on Talida Bakes! That means in the past three years, I've baked nearly 100 new recipes. I know that may not be a lot to some of you, but it's an accomplishment to me, to know that my hobby and passion has only grown stronger since I started this blog.

I wanted to make a cookie that meant something special to me, so I came up with Ovaltine shortbread. Ovaltine is my absolute favorite childhood drink. I associate it primarily with my visits to my grandparents in Thailand, and I keep a jar of the stuff in my cabinet when I want to taste my maternal grandmother's kitchen. I drink it with condensed milk, and on one visit to Thailand, I mistook an unlabeled squeeze bottle of mayonnaise for condensed milk. I drank that Ovaltine-mayonnaise concoction for two days before realizing why my Ovaltine tasted off. It tasted much worse after I knew what I had done, and now I double check before adding anything to my Ovaltine.

I also mailed these cookies off to my group for Vané's Brooklyn Bride Card Swap - hope you enjoyed them, ladies! And here's hoping my next 100 posts won't take another three years!


Ovaltine Shortbread Cookies
adapted from previous recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Ovaltine
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. With a stand mixer, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the vanilla and reduce the mixer speed to low.
2. Sift together flour, Ovaltine, and salt, then add to butter mixture, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it does not cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpat.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one four times with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. This recipe makes about 40 cookies.