I live in Southern California where there is no shortage of amazing Mexican restaurants, and I love me some agua fresca, but horchata is my absolute favorite. There really is nothing better than street tacos and horchata!
Horchata is a popular Mexican plant-based beverage. It is made by soaking rice and cinnamon overnight, sometimes also almonds or coconut, and running that thru a blender with sugar and vanilla.
I incorporated rice flour, cinnamon, and horchata extract, and these taste like a horchata, rice pudding, snickerdoodle.
If your local grocery store doesn’t carry rice flour, you can find it at Mexican or Asian markets, or online. I used white rice flour, but you can also use brown rice flour, which has a nuttier taste.
Are these technically shortbread or sugar cookies?
They’re kind of both. It’s fine to call these either “decorated sugar cookies” or “decorated shortbread cookies.” But I’m going to refer to any of my cookie recipes that can used as a base for cookie decorating as “shortbread sugar cookies.”
Shortbread Cookies
- 2 parts flour to 1 part fat
- No eggs
- No leavening agent
- Dense and crispy
Sugar Cookies
- 3 parts flour to 2 parts fat
- Contains eggs
- Contains a leavening agent
- Light and Chewy
All of my shortbread sugar cookie recipes don’t rise or spread, can be used for cookie decorating, have egg, but no leavening agent, and have a 2 ¼ parts flour to 1 part fat. Which makes them fall somewhere between a shortbread and a sugar cookie. They’re both shortbread and sugar cookies, and neither shortbread or sugar cookies, at the same time. They’re Shrodinger’s cookies!
All of my shortbread sugar cookie recipes can be used for slice-and-bake cookies as well!
If you would like more info on my preferred ingredient brands, tips and tricks, FAQs, and a little cookie science, I cover all of that in my No-Spread Lemon Shortbread Sugar Cookie Recipe.
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Horchata Shortbread Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- measuring spoons and cups
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- spatula
- cling wrap
- cookie cutters
- large knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons horchata extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rice flour
Instructions
- Whisk dry ingredients (flours, cornstarch and cinnamon) together and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment, on medium-low speed, until fluffy and pale in color (about 5 minutes).
- Add egg and extracts and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the paddle with a spatula, and then continue to mix on low speed for another 30 seconds to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients, all at once, and mix on low speed just until dough starts to come together and no dry bits remain. Do not overmix.
- Turn dough out onto cling wrap, tightly wrap, and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).
- Knead, roll, cut out cookies, and return to fridge or freezer until firm. Leave a couple inches between cookies.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 1-5 minutes until edges are starting to turn golden brown.
Notes
- The reason for adding 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch to your dough is to prevent your cookies from shrinking or spreading during baking.
- If making slice-and-bake cookies, split dough in half, roll into logs, wrap tightly in cling wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate before slicing and baking.
I could tell from the smell of the dough that these were going to taste incredible. The consistency of the baked cookie is really interesting because it is shortbread-like, but not as sweet, which I love!