Brown Butter Shortbread Mahjong Tiles
Elegant, tile-shaped shortbread cookies inspired by mahjong, made with nutty brown butter and finished with minimal, graphic decorations. Designed to be visually refined and not overly sweet, these cookies use a restrained palette of dark chocolate, matcha white chocolate, pistachios, and cranberry accents to subtly echo traditional mahjong suits.
Ingredients
Shortbread:
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract (optional, but highly recommended)
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 1–2 tsp water (to replace moisture lost from browning)
Decoration Options:
- 6–8 oz dark chocolate
- 6–8 oz white chocolate
- 1–2 tsp matcha powder
- Pistachios, finely chopped
- Dried cranberries, finely chopped
- Round sprinkles or white chocolate wafers (for “dots”)
Instructions
1. Brown the butter
Cook butter over medium heat until golden and nutty. Transfer to a bowl, including browned bits. Add 1–2 tsp water to return to 1 cup. Cool until soft-solid.
2. Make the dough
Cream butter with sugars until smooth. Mix in vanilla (and almond extract). Add flour and salt; mix just until dough forms.
3. Chill
Flatten dough into a disk and chill 45–60 minutes.
4. Roll and cut
Roll dough between parchment to ¼-inch thickness. Chill briefly, then cut into rectangles (mahjong tile size or slightly larger).
5. Bake
Bake at 325°F for 16–20 minutes, until edges are lightly golden. Cool completely.
6. Melt chocolate
Melt dark and white chocolate separately. Stir matcha into white chocolate if using.
7. Dip
Dip one end of each cookie into chocolate. Place on parchment.
8. Decorate
While chocolate is still soft, add toppings:
- chocolate disks for dots
- chocolate pearls for lines
- pistachios or cranberry accents
Let set completely before serving.