In this post:

Recipe of Shortbread Cookies
List of Ingredients
Instruction
How to Make Royal Icing
How to Measure Grams of Egg
Raw Egg White and Salmonella

Shortbread cookies is a surprisingly never-boring chameleon cookies, isn’t it?

In spring it lands on the Easter table, painted with cocoa patterns and ornaments.
In summer the very same recipe turns into cookies pressed with edible flowers such as bright pansies or modest field daisie.

Autumn asks for a cutter in the shape of a maple leaf and a good pinch of warm spices, and winter is the time for white “snow” royal icing and a coat of finely chopped almonds.

One buttery base recipe, a crisp embossed pattern and a delicate shortbread crumb — with endless variations built around it.

Today let’s make the winter edition with an almond “coat” and snow royal icing.

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Shortbread Cookies with Royal Icing and Almond

timeless recipe

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Ingredients

Ingredients For Dough

200 g softened butter
150 g powdered sugar
1 egg
390 g all purpose flour
a pinch of salt

Ingredients For Royal Icing

140 g powdered sugar
30 g egg white –this is not a joke
Optional: 3-4 drops of lemon juice

Decoration

50 g finely chopped almond

Making Dough

1. Preheat oven to 190 °C.

2. Grind butter and icing sugar until smooth.
3. Add egg and grind until incorporated.
4. At last add a mixture of flour and salt. Knead a smooth dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Lay out a sheet of baking parchment. Roll out the dough on top of the parchment to a thickness of 3 mm, and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Remove the excess dough, knead it together with the remaining dough until smooth, and repeat the process.

TIP: To roll out the dough to an even thickness across the entire surface, it’s convenient to use guides — metal strips that are 3 mm thick.

6. Bake for 8-9 minutes until the edges are browned.

Making Royal Icing

1. Beat egg white with whisk until frothy or use a mixer on medium-low speed.

2. Add sugar in small portions. Beat thoroughly after adding each portion.

3. When the mixture will incorporated, increase mixer’s speed and beat until strong peaks. You should get a shiny, smooth white mass.

4. Adjust the consistency of the icing by adding lemon juice drop by drop and mix thoroughly after each adding.

Decoration

1. Dip the edge of each cookie in the icing.

2. Then dip it in finely chopped almonds, making sure the almond pieces stick to the edge of the cookie.

3. Dry on a wire rack.

How to Measure Egg Parts in Grams

I will never trade my kitchen scale for measuring spoons – if you know what I mean.
In serious baking situations, this rule also applies to “countable” ingredients like eggs.
So if you see a note that says “take 30 g of egg white” and feel slightly panicked, this short paragraph is for you.
Read it to the end, and you won’t have any doubts left.

To measure a specific amount of egg white in grams, follow these simple steps:

1. Separate the egg white from the yolk, collecting it in a separate bowl.
2. Whisk the egg white lightly to break up its structure.
3. Measure out the required amount of egg white.

Let’s continue with the topic.

How to measure egg yolk in grams

1. Separate the white from the yolk and place the yolk in a small bowl.
2. Lightly beat the yolk with a fork to break it up and bring it to a liquid state.
3. Weigh out the required amount using a kitchen scale.

And finally, to fully close the topic:

How to measure a whole egg in grams

1. Crack the egg into a small bowl.
2. Lightly beat it until the mixture is uniform.
3. Weigh out the required amount using a kitchen scale.

Raw Egg White and Salmonella

In Finland, due to a strict national Salmonella Control Programme since the 1990s, raw eggs are generally considered safe, even for raw consumption, as Salmonella is practically eliminated from poultry production. Finland has a “zero tolerance” policy, with comprehensive testing and measures like the Nurmi Comcept to keep flocks free of the bacteria, earning special EU guarantees. While extremely rare recalls can occur, the overall risk from standard Finnish eggs is very low, though vigilance is always advised.

So to eliminate the risk of salmonella contamination when using raw eggs, use pasteurized eggs or pasteurized eggs or egg products.