Published: · Modified: by Abeer Rizvi · This post may contain affiliate links · 34 Comments
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The best, old fashioned, classic, homemade, quick, easy shortbread cookies recipe, made with 3 simple ingredients: Butter, Sugar, Flour. Soft and crumbly!
My family and friends love this classic holiday cookie. It's soft and buttery and just melts in your mouth. You can take it over the top by dipping in chocolate, drizzling glaze. They are also great as a homemade gift and perfect for dunking in coffee. These are just as popular as my Classic No Bake Cookiesand my Best Sugar Cookies (Small Batch).
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What is the difference between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie recipe?
Shortbreads have a soft and crumbly texture because of the large quantity of butter whereas sugar cookie are firm, soft and sometimes chewy. The latter also has baking powder or baking soda to help it rise.
How do you make homemade shortbread cookies?
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Mix in flour.
- Roll out dough.
- Cut out shapes.
- Bake and enjoy.
Do shortbread cookies have eggs?
No, they do not have eggs. They are only made with butter, sugar and flour.
Tips and Techniques for Scottish Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- When lining the cookie tray with parchment paper, it's wise to leave a little hanging off the sides to make it easy to lift out the cookies, once they are fully baked.
- This is probably the only time I would ever ask you to use salted butter. It creates that authentic sweet and salty flavor. Of course, you can replace salted butter with unsalted butter, if you like.
- IMPORTANT: THIS COOKIE DOUGH IS SUPPOSED TO BE CRUMBLY. DO NOT ADD WATER OR MILK TO THIN IT OUT BECAUSE IT WILL CHANGE THE TEXTURE.
- Do not over-mix the dough because that will yield tough cookies.
- There are NO eggs in this recipe.
- There is NO baking powder or baking soda either.
- Only all-purpose flour works well in this recipe. Do not replace it with any other flour.
- You must use powdered sugar rather than granulated sugar because it blends together better and more smoothly with the butter.
- The butter must be at room temperature so that it blends together smoothly and evenly with the other ingredients.
Flavor variations for Christmas shortbread cookies
- Lemon- Mix in 1 teaspoon lemon zest and drizzle lemon icing/ glaze, when cookies are fully baked and have cooled down. You can also use lime zest.
- Chocolate- Mix in ½ cup mini chocolate chips. You can also make simple chocolate dipped cookies or drizzle melted chocolate on top of baked cookies.
- Make cookie sandwiches or thumbprints with cherry or raspberry jam filling.
- Icing and glaze- Once the cookies cool down, spread vanilla frosting on top or drizzle a sugar glaze.
- Nuts- Mix in ¼ cup finely chopped nuts such as almonds, pecans, walnuts.
- Herbs- Mix in crushed dried herbs such as rosemary, lavender, roses.
- Cranberry orange- Mix in ¼ cup chopped dried cranberries and 1 teaspoon orange zest.
- Sprinkles- Mix in ¼ cup small colorful sprinkles. You also use seasonal or holiday themed sprinkles to fit the theme.
- Color- Use gel coloring to tint the dough and make it fun for kids birthday parties.
Other Classic Cookies
- Red Velvet Cookies (With Cake Mix)
- Easy Stained Glass Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (Soft and Chewy)
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Soft and Chewy)
- Classic Snickerdoodles Cookies
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Recipe
Easy Shortbread Cookies
Abeer Rizvi
The best, old fashioned, classic, homemade, quick, easy shortbread cookies recipe, made with 3 simple ingredients: Butter, Sugar, Flour. Soft and crumbly!
5 from 25 ratings
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 36 Cookies
Calories 118 kcal
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Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Butter Salted, Room temperature
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add flour and mix until just combined. The cookie dough will be very soft and crumbly. That's the way it's supposed to be!
Now, you have 2 options: 1) Spread mixture on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper. Poke decorative holes with a fork and bake OR 2) Make cut out shapes like I did by kneading the dough a little and then rolling it between 2 sheets of wax paper. Then, use cookie cutters (like a small rectangle cutter) to cut out shapes. Use a spatula to gently pick them up and place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper and bake.
Bake at 325 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are firm and slightly golden brown.
If you went through option 1, remove tray from oven and quickly use a sharp knife to cut rectangle slices. Let the cookies cool down completely then remove from tray and enjoy. If you went through option 2, remove tray from oven and allow the cookies to cool down. Then, enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed cookie jar for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Calories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 67mgPotassium: 13mgSugar: 3gVitamin A: 235IUCalcium: 4mgIron: 0.5mg
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
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Until next time, tata my lovelies!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Jenna
These are melt in your mouth good! The perfect cutout cookie. I’m never making sugar cookies again!
Reply
Yvonne
Best shortbread cookies, easy, delicious, and simple ingredients. I did add vanilla extract.
Thank youReply
Denise
The best!
Reply
Cora
Delicious, I will make it again for sure.
Reply
Muthoni
Delicious cookies definitely recommend for beginner bakers , I added a tablespoon of vanilla essence for extra flavor and came out very well . Takes a short time and little energy. Perfect for family gatherings and birthday parties. Can be very addictive
Reply
Breila
What's the yield on this recipe?
Reply
Abeer Rizvi
It's in the recipe card. The yield is about 36 small cookies.
Reply
Judy Bernard
Can you freeze these cookies?
Reply
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, once they have cooled to room temperature, freeze in a tightly sealed container for up to 1 month.
Reply
Marsha
So easy and delicious. If you need a quick cookie to bake, this is it. I made them with my grandson and we cut out hearts for Valentine’s Day. So happy to find this recipe.
Reply
Marella
I made these with my little granddaughters to go with a tea party, and it was so easy to make! I added 1 tablespoon of vanilla, a pinch of salt, and increased the powdered sugar to 1 1/2 cups instead of one cup since I did not plan to frost or sprinkle the cookies. The cookies expanded more than I expected so they lost some of their shape. We made heart-shaped cookies. The recipe also does not recommend a thickness to which to roll the dough and the thickness may affect baking time.
Reply
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5 from 25 votes (5 ratings without comment)
