Hands down, the best shortbread cookie recipe - It is perfectly buttery, very lightly crispy, and not overly sweet. The shortbread dough can be made in about 5 minutes by mixing the 6 simple ingredients you can get at any grocery store. Enjoy the delicious cookies in different shapes & sizes during the Holiday season, tea time break, and more!
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Why You'll Love This Shortbread Cookies
- Incredibly light yet crispy - It delicately breaks in a mouth when you bite. It has the lightest crispiness out of all the shortbread I've ever had.
- Very easy to make - There is no complicated process; just follow the simple steps and tips, and anyone can make it successful at home!
- It can hold shapes pretty well - It's perfect for cut-out cookies!
- It is not overly sweet - Just enough sugar is added to enjoy the flavor.
- Perfectly buttery - The generous amount of butter creates a satisfying crumbly texture. The amazing flavor spreads in your mouth!
- Eggless cookies - It would be a perfect little snack for anyone who is looking for an easy eggless dessert recipe!
This is my go-to cookie recipe for making holiday cookie boxes, in addition to my butter cookies and icebox cookies recipe. I also made a lemon shortbread cookie recipe recently for anyone who loves lemon desserts like me!
I made these cookies with my daughter during this Christmas time. It was our first time making shortbread cookies together, and I loved watching her being so into rolling and cutting it!
She asked, "Is this a cray dough?" The dough is not so sticky and easy to shape - really like a cray dough!
Tips For The Ingredients
Butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour are the basic ingredients to make classic shortbread cookies. To them, I am adding 3 more ingredients to make the cookies taste exceptional.
- Unsalted butter: It's important to use room-temperature butter for all the ingredients to incorporate well.
- Powdered sugar: Check below to learn what difference it makes when using granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract: Use regular vanilla extract. You can omit it if you like.
- All-purpose flour: Use regular all-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch: The cookie feels more lightly crispy when a little bit of cornstarch is mixed in. Alternate it with all-purpose flour when you don't want to use it. You can also use rice flour or almond flour instead.
- Salt: The little bit of saltiness goes well with the buttery cookies.
Should I use confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar in shortbread cookies?
Ultimately, it depends on what kind of texture and look you'd like to achieve - The confectioner's sugar creates a very delicate, light crispiness while granulated sugar creates crispier cookies that break more roughly in a mouth. In addition to that, the dough spread slightly more in the oven when using granulated sugar.
Step By Step Instructions To Make Shortbread Cookies
Step 1: Combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
Add them to a mixing bowl and mix them with a paddle attachment at low speed initially to prevent the powdered sugar from scattering everywhere, and gradually speed up. Stop as soon as it looks smooth.
Should I whip the butter?
There is no need to whip the butter a lot - The more you whip, the more the cookies expand in the oven due to the air incorporated inside. I like the lighter texture, but I wouldn't do it to hold the clear cut-out shape in the oven.
Step 2: Mix in all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Mix them until evenly incorporated. Scrape off the sides and bottom of the bowl, a paddle attachment, and a rubber spatula are on the way to remove the butter and flour attached to them.
Step 3: Roll the dough.
Divide the shortbread dough in half and sandwich each of them with plastic wrap to roll them. By doing that and not dusting additional flour on the working surface, cookies remain very lightly crispy.
Spread the dough into about ¼ inch thickness with a rolling pin.
Tip
When the parchment paper is slippery, lay a thin, rough cloth underneath it. Pushing the surface of the dough over parchment paper and making it flatter before rolling the dough also helps with this.
Step 4: Chill the dough and cut it with a cookie cutter.
Chill the dough for more than one hour to rest the glutens in the flour. By doing it, you can prevent the dough from shrinking or puffing up while baking it, which leads to more even cookies.
Cut it with your favorite cookie cutters and line them on parchment paper, a mesh silicone mat, or a regular silicone mat on baking sheets.
Tip
I like to chill the dough before cutting it when using a regular cookie cutter. When using a traditional style cookie cutter with a closed top, cut the cookie dough while they are soft and chill it in the fridge since the firm dough often gets stuck in the cookie cutter and harder to take it out!
Poke them with a fork, or make patterns with cookie cutters, and have fun!
Collect the remaining dough and repeat the process. One batch of the recipe makes about 3 dozen 2.3-inch (6 cm) circle cookies.
Step 5: Bake cookies.
Bake at 350ºF (175ºC) (Preheated) for about 13 - 15 minutes or longer until the edge gets lightly golden brown. Adjust the baking time depending on the thickness and size of the cookies, oven, etc.
And that is it!
Enjoy the freshly-made shortbread cookies with your family and friends with your favorite drink.
Coat It With Chocolate.
You can dip the cookies in melted chocolate to make fancy, decadent cookies. As an option, sprinkle any topping you like while the chocolate is wet.
Should we temper chocolate?
I recommend tempering chocolate when using couverture chocolate since it cannot be set properly or get fat/sugar bloom without tempering it. Check out how to temper chocolate to learn it step by step.
It's unnecessary to do it with compound chocolate, such as chocolate chips.
Pressed Shortbread Cookies
Make half a batch of the recipe for the 8-inch (20 cm) tart pan. You can also use a round cake pan instead - Lay parchment paper on the bottom so the cookies come out more easily.
Add any patterns you like. Divide it with a knife and poke the surface with a fork. The dough will spread in the oven anyway, but you can use the lines as a guideline to cut the cookie later.
Bake (Preheated) at 350ºF (175ºC) for 35 - 40 minutes or longer until the surface gets lightly golden brown.
Cut and divide them while it's hot. Remove it from the pan after it cools down.
Tips
- Chill the dough for about one hour before baking to let glutens in flour rest. (If you have time!)
- I recommend cutting the cookies within 10 minutes after being baked. It gets harder to cut it as it cools down.
- As an option, bake it again at 300ºF (150ºC) for 25 - 30 minutes to make the texture a little bit flakier. It still has a crispy texture without baking it twice. (See the images below.)
Uses For Shortbread
Enjoy the easy shortbread cookies in different ways, such as:
- A small gift: Wrap them nicely in gift bags to share with friends, coworkers, teachers, etc!
- A cookie box: Bake lots of them to make a holiday cookie box for your family and friends!
- Tea time snack: Enjoy them during your tea or coffee break. What's your favorite drink to pair with shortbread cookies?
- Kids' activity: It is a great recipe to make with kids! The dough is not too sticky and relatively easy to roll and cut. As my daughter said, it feels like playing with clay dough!
Frequently Asked Questions
By docking the dough, the cookies get baked more evenly in the oven. It also helps to keep the surface flat while baking the dough, preventing it from shrinking or getting winded during the process.
Store them in an airtight container. I like to store any crispy type of cookies with 
Yes. I tested baking both chilled and room temperature cookies, and the room temperature cookies spread slightly more in the oven, but the difference was minor with this recipe. But I still recommend chilling the dough in the fridge for about one hour before baking to rest glutens in flour so the surface stays more flat while baking it in the oven.
Yes, you can - Add the same amount of all-purpose flour
instead. I highly recommend adding cornstarch if you love a light crispiness.
Store the cookie dough for up to 4 - 5 days in the fridge.
Yes, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap
and store it in the freezer for up to a few months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before using it. The dough gets pretty hard when it's chilled due to the butter inside, so it's important to leave it at room temperature for some time to soften it.
VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
To learn how to make shortbread cookies visually and have a deeper understanding of each step, watch the video!
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More Cookie Recipes
If you love this homemade shortbread cookie, also try other delicious cookies!
Printable Recipe
💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.
If you have a question about the tutorial, leave it in the comment section below, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Simple Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Spatula
- Parchment paper
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie cutters The rectangle cookie cutter
- Fork
- Baking tray
Ingredients
- 226 g (2 US sticks) Unsalted butter
- 90 g (¾ cup) Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 290 g (2 ⅓ cups) All-purpose flour
- 25 g (3 Tablespoons) Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
NOTE: For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements (US customary units) are provided for your convenience.
Instructions
- Combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract:Add them to a mixing bowl and mix them with a paddle attachment at low speed initially to prevent the powdered sugar from scattering everywhere, and gradually speed up. Stop as soon as it looks smooth.226 g Unsalted butter, 90 g Powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Mix in all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and salt:Mix them until evenly incorporated. Scrape off the sides and bottom of the bowl, a paddle attachment, and a rubber spatula on the way to remove the butter and flour attached to them.290 g All-purpose flour, 25 g Cornstarch, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Roll the dough:Divide the shortbread dough in half and sandwich each of them with plastic wrap to roll them. By doing that and not dusting additional flour on the working surface, cookies remain very lightly crispy.Spread the dough into about ¼ inch thickness with a rolling pin.
- Chill the dough and cut it with a cookie cutter:Chill the dough for more than one hour to rest the glutens in the flour. By doing it, you can prevent the dough from shrinking or puffing up while baking it, which leads to more flat cookies.Cut it with your favorite cookie cutters and line them on parchment paper, a mesh silicone mat, or a regular silicone mat on baking sheets.Poke them with a fork, or make patterns with cookie cutters, and have fun!Collect the remaining dough and repeat the process. One batch of the recipe makes about 3 dozen 2.3-inch (6 cm) circle cookies.
- Bake cookies:Bake at 350 F | 175 C (Preheated) for about 13 - 15 minutes or longer until the edge gets lightly golden brown. Adjust the baking time depending on the thickness and size of the cookies, oven, etc.
Video
Notes
How to store it:
Store them in an airtight container. I like to store any crispy type of cookies with silica gels to keep them perfectly crispy for longer days.You can store them for about a week at room temperature or about 10 days in the fridge. I usually store them in the fridge if we are not consuming them within 1 - 2 days.To make pressed cookies:
Bake at 350ºF | 175ºC (Preheated) for 35 - 40 minutes or longer until the surface gets lightly golden brown. Adjust the time and temperature depending on the thickness and size of the cookies, oven, etc.- Cut and divide it while it's still hot, and let them cool enough before taking them out from the pan.
- Bake them again at 300ºF | 150ºC for 25 - 30 minutes if you want the texture to be slightly flakier. (optional)
- Make a half batch for an 8-inch (20 cm) tart pan.
Rebecca says
Hi Aya,
I love your recipes! And thank you for always responding to comments.
I have never made biscuits before - always stuck to breads, cakes and pastries.
Decided to venture into biscuit making with this recipe! Is the dough supposed to be a bit fragile and very moist? I found it hard to shape.
I live in a tropical climate, so right after removing the chilled dough from the fridge it becomes a bit ‘melty’. Will adding more flour change the taste and texture?
Having said the cookie once baked tasted lovely -light and crunchy yet buttery. But it was a little pale - any ideas to improve the aesthetics? Makes better gifts when its a nicely browned cookie.
Thanks so much!
Mark McPherson says
Hi, when you say to add ½ teaspoon Salt, do you mean regular table salt (Morton's) or kosher salt?
ayacaliva says
Hi! I used a regular table salt. You can use any of your favorite salt!
Alexandrea Kelly says
I made these this Christmas dipped 1/2 in dark chocolate for family and friends, and have now been told I have to supply them every year that’s how fabulous they are!! So easy to make with good quality butter. Thank you for the recipe!!
ayacaliva says
Thank you!! I'm happy to hear that!
Sumaiya says
I’ve made the cookie tonight..it tasted amazing!but my cookies did spread a little though I’ve chilled it more than 2 hours before baking