I’ve never been a huge fan of sugar cookies, or plain vanilla desserts. But in recent years I’ve come to appreciate the simplicity of a great, buttery cookie during Christmas. I’ve been striving to create a unique Christmas cookie for weeks. So, I developed sugar cookie shortbread with brown butter, baked in a square pan. Right as they finish baking I cut them into square “tiles” and decorate them. Painting sugar cookies like Portuguese azulejos. Ornate, hand-painted blue decorations. These are an ode to Christmas and my recent travels in Portugal.

My mom is especially obsessed with sugar cookies, and buys them from small craft fairs or markets each year. I have come to love the small Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookies with royal icing or sugar balls, sprinkles, and edible glitter. They remind me of a nostalgic time in my life. Baking sugar cookies from a tube with my mom when I was little. The smell of the sugar and touch of nutmeg fresh out of the oven. So, I knew I wanted to develop something delicious and deep with flavor to compensate for the commonness of vanilla cookies. I started these by browning my butter. I infused it with a little vanilla to help the flavor pop.

Portuguese Azulejos + Painting Sugar Cookies

As I waited for my brown butter to re-solidify, I dreamed of Portuguese azulejos. Portugal has a beautiful culture and architecture, showcased by the beautiful facades of buildings. Covered in hand-painted, unique tiles. All different colors, textures, and patterns. I remember a wall near our apartment of black and white small checkered tiles. I took a fragment of a brown and blue painted tile home as a souvenir that I found on the ground. Many of our favorites had shiny emerald green or sapphire blue carved to look like jewels. Probably the most well known and beloved tiles are hand painted with blue on top of white. Azulejos.

I cozied up to my desk as the vision of a sugar cookie azulejos mosaic dominated my thoughts. After nearly two hours measuring and sketching I finalized my design with a sharpie. Symmetrical, but unique, blue, and a little simple. My plan was to decorate them with royal icing. I would dye a portion of my icing blue with food coloring and spend an afternoon painting sugar cookies. Decorating would be the easy part. I’m an artist. I have a steady hand. How hard could it be?

I threw together a sugar cookie shortbread dough using a hand mixer. My brown butter melded into egg and flour and salt, and I wrapped it and threw it into the fridge to chill. Over the next few hours my attention focused on my desk, once again, which I cleared to make room for my first ever online painting class with Uncommon Goods!

Teaching My First Online Painting Class

I cleaned my palate and picked out tubes of watercolor paints for my confetti cake tutorial. I poured water into glass jars and cleaned my brushes. After prepping, going over and over in my head with ideas and tips and anxieties, I was suddenly looking at my laptop, several people listening and watching as I painted. It was a mental challenge, but it turned out to be so worth it. It reminded me that I am good at what I do. I can teach other people. And I have come so far with my confidence and maturing as a person. I’m proud.

Once the class was over, the Christmas season officially began! My nerves melted away into a celebration of hot tea and Christmas lights. I watched the finale of Survivor. Then, I dove back into my sugar cookie shortbread azulejos project. Because I used brown butter in my dough, it became a little more stiff than a typical dough in the fridge. And slightly more brittle. So, I pressed my dough after letting it come to room temp into a parchment-lined square baking dish. It measured to exactly 8” x 8”, so I could make two batches of 4 square azulejos each. I brought out my ruler and a pizza cutter, ready to slice them into perfect tiles after baking.

Baking Brown Butter Sugar Cookie Shortbread

I kept a close eye on them as they baked, the smell of sugar and butter filling the kitchen. It reminded me of those delicate tube cookies with hidden trees or snowmen on the inside. Elevated with a caramel note from the brown butter. I took them out the moment they turned from pale yellow to slightly-darker-than-pale-yellow. About 13 minutes. I carefully hoisted them out of the pan with the edges of my parchment paper and trimmed 1/4” off the edges. Then, I cut them into 4 even squares. I was so excited, and snacked on scraps of rich, warm sugar cookie shortbread dough. I let them cool for about an hour on the counter.

The next step was making a royal icing which I would use as a base for painting sugar cookies, which, admittedly, I’ve only ever done once or twice before. It’s pretty simple. Just whip egg whites and powdered sugar until it has a meringue-like consistency. Then, the trick is to thin it with lemon juice or extract, or vanilla, until it achieves a runny consistency. When you pipe it onto your cookies it pools evenly without having to smooth or spread. I also made a blue color to thin out and use for painting sugar cookies, like a blue watercolor.

Decorating Mistakes

I kept a little bit of my thick white icing for the edges, then thinned the rest with lemon juice. I added a touch of salt. Then I took a small bit of my icing and added blue food coloring until it became a deep, saturated hue.

I started decorating my azulejos, creating a thick white border with my piping bag. I flooded the sugar cookie shortbread with white icing, and it went great. Then, I grabbed my blue, and realized I had to race against the clock to pipe my ornate, intricate lines. It didn’t go well. It turns out royal icing has a steep learning curve. And it was my first attempt.

Trial and Error

After a frustrating few hours of piping shapes that didn’t live up to my expectations, I decided to stop and try again later. I made another batch of sugar cookie shortbread the next day. I piped my leftover white icing on, which didn’t look as nice. It bubbled and smeared. So, I scraped it all off and made another batch of royal icing. After many days of working on my sugar cookie shortbread azulejos, I almost gave up. But, I decided to experiment by painting my blue icing on with a paint brush. I thinned it out with water and used it like watercolor paint. I played to my strengths. And it was much easier. Easier to control. I felt like a student in my own watercolor class at first, adjusting to the viscosity and flow.

Once I covered my last batch of sugar cookies with icing, I let them dry for over a day. Days had passed at this point since my first attempt. Many meals, buying Christmas gifts, emails, outings, and a painting class. Finally, I planted myself in front of my azulejos with my plan handy. A cup of water for my brushes. Blue icing pooled onto a small plate. I went for it. Taking my time while watching TV in the background. I kept going and going without making a mistake, and started to like what I saw. I ended up with 4 cookies that connected into a larger image. Just like my drawing. In a beautiful, Portuguese blue.

Finally Tasting my Sugar Cookie Shortbread

These sugar cookie shortbreads are a hybrid of sugar cookies and shortbread. Both of which I love. The brown butter adds so much depth of flavor, which you don’t really notice or appreciate until you have a “regular” sugar cookie. It’s so crave-able, with a touch of salt in the dough to enhance everything. The lemon in the icing is so pleasant and subtly acidic to cut through the sweetness of the cookie and powdered sugar glaze. And I’m so proud of how these look. I’m thinking back to my time in Portugal. Wandering through streets. The smell of fish wafting over the tourists and street performers.

On one of our first days we visited a tile maker. It’s such an important art form in Portugal, and I wanted to make these to honor that tradition. So, this was a really great project, despite all the complications and impediments. I really loved getting to sit down and slow down. To take time and focus only on decorating cookies. Something mundane, but completely magical and special. Each bite is infused with perseverance, artistry, and effort. I could make these again and again each year and decorate them with a different pattern.

Christmas Excitement

I’m so proud of how these came out and how I didn’t give up through it all. And how I managed to find a way to honor my beloved Portugal this Christmas. If you decide to make them, please let me know! You can use any color or design. But blue is traditional.

I’ll be at home wrapping presents, struggling with the idea of eating this painting I’ve made. I’m feeling proud of how far I’ve come with the confidence to share my art, and to teach, and the opportunities I have to connect and show people my love for art and food. I’m so excited for Christmas. To spend time with people I love. And to remember how magical, simple, and relaxing life can be. Next week’s recipe will be a special one – our favorite Christmas food, which I make every year for breakfast.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recipes and paintings, be sure to check out Etsy for 25% off art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING. Happy holidays!

Print Pin

Painted Sugar Cookies (Portuguese Tiles)

A brown butter sugar cookie baked into squares and decorated like ceramic tiles

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Portuguese

Keyword christmas cookie, shortbread, sugar cookie

Prep Time 4 hours hours

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/3 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 egg whites
• 3 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 – 1 tsp blue gel food coloring

Instructions

• In a stock pot or sauté pan, cook 2 sticks of butter until golden brown and bubbly. Turn off heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
• In another large bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
• Once brown butter has come to room temperature and regained a softened butter texture, beat with a hand mixer with granulated sugar and 2 tbsp powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add your eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract, until a smooth batter forms. Then, add your dry ingredients and mix until a stiff dough forms.
• Split dough in half and bring each into a cohesive disc. Wrap each with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough discs from fridge and let come to room temperature, for about 15-30 minutes.
• Line two 8×8" baking pans with parchment paper. Take each dough and press into the bottom of each pan until you fill the entire bottom evenly.
• Chill each pan of dough for 10-15 minutes before baking. Then, bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown.
• Once done, immediately remove each cookie square from the pans using the parchment paper as a handle. Trim off the edges (about 1/4") and cut each large square into 4 equal 4×4" squares using a ruler and knife or pizza cutter.
• In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat 3 2/3 cup powdered sugar with 3 egg whites, salt, and lemon zest until smooth, being careful not to splatter your sugar.
• Beat on high speed until a stiff meringue forms, about 5 minutes. Remove 1/4 of your icing and transfer it to a piping bag to use as your border icing. Then, add your lemon juice to the rest of your icing.
• Separate your remaining icing into two bowls, one with 3/4 of the total and one with 1/4 of the total. Add blue food coloring to the smaller amount until you achieve a saturated phthalo hue. Cover and reserve for decorating.
• Transfer your white flood icing to an another piping bag and label with “flood” or “thin”.
• Once your cookies are cool, flip squares over onto the flat side. Start with one square and pipe a border of your stiff icing around the outer edge. Then, flood the inside of the cookie completely with your white flood icing, using a toothpick to fill in gaps. Let dry completely, for at least 1-2 hours or up to a day.
• Once your white icing has hardened completely, decorate your tiles with your blue icing. Mix with more lemon juice or water to thin into a desired paint consistency and use a clean paintbrush to apply designs of your choice. Let dry and serve.

Notes

• I recommend sketching a tile design on a piece of paper to plan out your pattern before decorating.
• Snip the end of your piping bag thicker for your thick icing and smaller for your flood icing to gain more control. 
• Use a new, small watercolor brush to paint your icing onto your tiles. I mix my royal blue icing with lemon juice to thin it out as I paint for a lighter blue color.