Shortbread Cookies Recipe
on Apr 19, 2012, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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These easy homemade shortbread cookies are crunchy, crumbly, and sweet. I love making this cookie recipe around the holidays or on chilly winter days when I want my home to feel extra cozy. They’re perfect for gift-giving or for enjoying with your favorite warm beverage!
Shortbread cookies have my heart. They’re super simple and have only a few ingredients, and you can make them for special occasions, holidays, or just a normal day when you need something sweet to munch on! They’re no frills, which I love because it means they’re tough to mess up.
This recipe makes a subtly sweet, buttery, and crunchy cookie that the whole family will love to snack on. They’re super fun to bake alongside a variety of other cookies for a holiday cookie tray or end-of-year plate of goodies for teachers!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Shortbread cookies are great for enjoying plain or mixing it up with various additions such as chocolate chips, nuts, or citrus zest. Their simplicity allows for creativity to flow.
- Shortbread has a long history, particularly in Scottish and British culture, where it is often associated with holidays and celebrations.
- These cookies have a rich, buttery flavor that’s comforting and satisfies our taste buds, making them perfect for a nice treat.
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Butter — Irish butter is perfect for this recipe!
- Powdered sugar
- Granulated sugar
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Shortbread Cookies
Step 1: Beat the butter and the powdered sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the flour and salt, and mix together on low until combined.
Step 3: Pour out crumbly dough and knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is very smooth.
Step 4: Roll the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until 1/2-inch thick.
Step 5: Cut into shapes, and place the cut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 6: Score the cookies with a fork to prevent any bubbles and bake.
Recipe FAQs
Sugar cookies are usually much sweeter than shortbread cookies and have far more ingredients. Sugar cookies are also commonly decorated with frosting and sprinkles, while I prefer to keep shortbread cookies plain.
Sometimes using granulated sugar in shortbread cookie recipes makes for a hard cookie if it doesn’t dissolve all the way while baking. That’s why I use powdered sugar, to ensure it dissolves as they bake and creates a soft crunchy consistency.
Shortbread cookies will last for up to a week in an airtight container stored at room temperature, and frozen they’ll last for about 3 months.
This is so important! After you’ve cut out the cookie shapes and placed them on a baking sheet, do not skip chilling them in the fridge for 20 minutes. This keeps the dough nice and firm as it bakes, allowing it to hold its shape.
Expert Tips
- Since butter is a primary ingredient and contributes significantly to the flavor and texture of shortbread cookies, use high-quality unsalted butter for the best results. European-style butter with a higher butterfat content works particularly well.
- After forming the dough into a disk or log, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (or longer) before baking. Chilling helps the dough firm up, which makes it easier to slice and helps the cookies maintain their shape during baking.
- Before baking, prick the surface of the cookies with a fork. This helps steam escape during baking and prevents the cookies from puffing up too much.
- Feel free to have fun with the shapes, but do pay attention to the baking time. If you have various shapes, make sure to bake the same-sized ones on the same cookie sheet so they turn out right. Happy baking!
More Cookie Recipes to Consider
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Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and the powdered sugar together with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour and salt, and mix together on low until combined.
- Press the dough into a ball and knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is very smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Roll the dough out, between 2 pieces of parchment paper, until 1/2-inch thick.
- Cut into shapes, and place the cut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Gather the dough scraps, re-roll, and cut again.
- Score the cookies with a fork to prevent any bubbles.
- Refrigerate the dough on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Sprinkle the cookies with the granulated sugar, and bake until lightly browned on the edges, about 8 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then move them onto a wire rack.
- Let them cool completely before eating.
Notes
- Don’t use margarine (ever).
- Don’t skip chilling the cookies; it is integral for the texture of the finished cookie.
- The baking time varied a lot depending on the size of the cookie. I suggest making them all a similar size or baking different sizes on separate sheets for different times.
- Roll out the chilled dough to a uniform thickness (typically around 1/4 to 1/2 inch). This ensures even baking and consistent texture across all cookies.
This is definitely the best recipe I’ve found, the cookies turn out sooo good
Yowza….I am singing it….
Oh….so yummy, yummy, yummy
In my tummy, tummy, tummy!
Eat another and repeat and repeat!!!!
Thanks for the great recipe!!!
oh my gosh! my husband is the same way, he is not a lover of sweets. I don’t even understand how that is possible. If I make a cheesecake he’ll eat maybe one piece-maybe. It’s not very helpful for healthy eating 🙂 He doesn’t eat maple syrup on pancakes either-he prefers yogurt and applesauce. He does love shortbread cookies though!
We need to be neighbors 🙂
Hehe, we DO need to be neighbors that we can share treats! Those silly husbands… we can make them plane-jane desserts and make us fancy things. DEAL!
Love shortbread cookies and yours are SO pretty!
Those are gorgeous! Ok, so I have made the salsa… and the tortilla chips, about four times now. I’m not even kidding. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to buying it! I’m going to fit it into a post somewhere 🙂
I’m so glad you liked them. Are they helping with the cravings?!