Candied Ginger Shortbread Cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer on low speed, combine butter and sugar for about 30 seconds. Beat in egg yolk, then mix in the flour, cornstarch and salt until the mixture barely holds together. Do not over beat. Gently fold in the candied ginger.

Lay out 2 pieces of plastic wrap that are about 12″ long. Divide dough in half. Place each half in the center of a separate piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, gently shape each piece of dough into a 6″ long log, about 2″ in diameter. Wrap the dough tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 275°F.

With a sharp knife, slice cookies 1/4″ thick and place on a baking sheet, spacing them 1″ apart. Bake cookies until just firm but still quite tender and not at all brown, about 30 minutes. Then remove the pan from the oven and cool cookies for a minute on the baking sheet before removing them to a rack to finish cooling.

Source: Adapted from The New York Times recipe by Mark Bittman.