These delicious shortbread cookies are a must for the Italian Holiday season and cold winter days. The whipped shortbread pastry, in Italian FROLLA MONTATA, is a buttery pastry used for the preparation of desserts that require a cookie press or a pastry bag.

Enjoy these melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a warm cup of tea, espresso, or cappuccino. Merry Christmas!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups flour type 00

1 pinch of salt

9 ounces unsalted butter, softened

5 ounces powdered sugar, sifted

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

festive sprinkles, to garnish

powdered sugar, to dust

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.

Sift together flour and salt, set aside.

Cream the butter with a hand or stand mixer at medium speed until very smooth.

Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue to mix until well blended.

Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.

Reduce the speed then add the flour little by little and mix until well incorporated.

Transfer the cookie dough to a cookie press fitted with the Christmas tree disk.

Press the dough over a baking sheet (no grease or parchment paper).

Sprinkle with festive sprinkles.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a couple of minutes in their baking sheet then move over a cooling wire rack and cool completely.

Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!