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Preheat oven to 325 and place rack in center of oven.
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Line cookie sheet with parchment and set aside.
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Using a hand mixer or bowl mixer, mix butter and sugars in a large bowl until well blended.
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Add salt and vanilla paste (or extract)
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Add flour and mix. The dough will look very crumbly.
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Use hands to gently form dough into a ball, then flatten into a disk shape.
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Dust counter top with generous amount of flour, place disk in center, dust top of dough.
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Use a rolling pin to roll dough 1/4 " thick. Shortbread cookies are thick.
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Cut dough with cookie cutters. Form the left over dough into a disk again, roll and cut more cookies.
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Bake on parchment covered cookie sheet for 12-13 minutes.
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Remove from oven, slide parchment off cookie sheet and onto a wire rack, allow cookies to cool. When cool frost and sprinkle with "glitter flakes" if desired.
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To drizzle with caramel: heat caramel, place cookies on parchment, drizzle caramel onto parchment first then onto cookie to prevent caramel from pooling on cookie. Then lightly sprinkle each cookie with sea salt by taking a small pinch and grinding between thumb and index finger.