55 short bread recipes

European-style apple cake presses a rum-spiked shortbread base into a sheet pan, then tops it with grated tart apples, raisins, nuts, and cinnamon sugar. A sliceable, freezable bar-style cake.

Lemon cream and nut cookies, buttery shortbread ovals spread with homemade lemon curd and crowned with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, prunes, rum-soaked raisins, and candied orange. A jewel-box holiday cookie.

Buttery cinnamon nut squares baked low and slow with a shortbread-like base topped with egg white glaze and pressed pecans or almonds. A crisp, spiced bar cookie that ships and stores beautifully.

Pecan pie bars: shortbread crust topped with classic gooey pecan pie filling, baked in a sheet pan and cut into 36 holiday bars. All the flavor of pecan pie, none of the slicing drama.

Pecan oat sandies are tender, snowball-style shortbread cookies rolled in powdered sugar with rolled oats and chopped pecans for chewy texture. Three dozen from one batch. The cookie tin classic with an oatmeal upgrade.

Layered blueberry dessert with a baked pecan shortbread crust, fluffy cream cheese and whipped topping filling, and glossy blueberry pie filling on top. A potluck favorite that chills in the fridge and slices into neat squares.

Lemon cinnamon cookies are crisp rolled shortbread-style cutouts scented with fresh lemon zest and warm cinnamon, glazed with egg wash and sparkling sugar. Old-world cookies leavened with baking ammonia for a shatter-crisp snap.