Classic Shortbread Cookies made with only takes 3 ingredients, mouthwatering, buttery and melt in your mouth delicious. A classic holiday cookie, made two ways!
Let the baking begin!
I love this time of year. I get to bake lots of cookies and share it with all my friends and family. Baking around the holidays is so nostalgic for me. I love to bake in my kitchen as I listen to Christmas music. Sometimes the same song over and over, because I have a handful of Christmas songs that I absolutely love or simply watch Christmas movies.
I got this recipe years ago from a friend of mine who got it from her mom, so I know this recipe works as it’s been made over and over again over the years. I, myself, make every single year around the holidays, multiple times and it’s one of my family’s favorite cookie recipes now.
SHORTBREAD COOKIES
These shortbread cookies are simply the best around. Your house will smell incredible, I couldn’t wait till they came out of the oven, just desperately needed to put one in my mouth as soon as possible.
These cookies are great with a glass of milk, and I personally love them with my coffee in the morning. That’s my kind of breakfast, a yummy cookie and a good cup of joe.
But let’s face it, who can have just one cookie? You need to have at least a couple cookies, and I usually do.
HOW TO MAKE SHORTBREAD COOKIES
This simple recipe for classic shortbread cookies calls for only 3 ingredients my friends, only 3 ingredients and you get to have the most delectable, buttery and sweet shortbread cookie you’ll ever have in your life. We’re talking butter, sugar and flour, that’s all!
And if you’re really brave, unlike me right now, dip them in some melted chocolate, that’s my husband’s way of eating them. Are you with me?
Or, simply drizzle some caramel sauce, or chocolate sauce, or a light dusting of powdered sugar. And dip, dip in your coffee, or tea, or even hot cocoa. I think I need to go downstairs, I have an appointment with my cookies.
Help me!
.
CAN YOU FREEZE SHORTBREAD COOKIES
Yes, absolutely! These cookies freeze incredibly well. To freeze, place shortbread cookies in an airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
CRAVING MORE COOKIES? TRY THESE:
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookies
Classic Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups butter salted and softened at room temperature (3 sticks or 12 oz)
- 1 cup icing sugar same as confectioner sugar or powdered sugar (4.4 oz)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (13.2 oz)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
- Add the butter to a large bowl and blend it until smooth using an electric mixer set at medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Add the icing sugar and continue mixing until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and combine thoroughly.
- Add flour and mix at low speed until well blended. The mixture will be crumbled and soft.
- Pat dough into an ungreased cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper, with the parchment paper hanging off the sides to make it easy to lift out the cookies. Alternatively you can roll out the dough so that it's about 1/4 of an inch in thickness, you can knead it a bit just so that the dough comes together, but don't overwork it, then cut into your desired shape.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until just done (slightly golden in color). Do not let them get brown. Remove from the oven. If using a cookie sheet, lift out the cookies from the sheet using the parchment paper and cut into desired shapes. Finish cooling the cookies on a rack.
Video
Notes
- Because I'm using salted butter there's no need to add salt to the recipe, if you only have unsalted butter, add about 1/4 tsp salt to the recipe.
- I used this shortbread cookie cutter.
- For the video I divided the dough in half and used one half in an 8x8 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper, and rolled the rest to use with the cookie cutter.
- This recipe will yield about 36 cookies.
- To freeze, place shortbread cookies in an airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
Originally shared Dec 3rd, 2013
Trying these with gluten free flour. Hope it works! They were delicious with regular flour.
This is a true shortbread…easy to make and and they taste perfect…if anyone has an issue with making these cookies…it has nothing to do with this recipe
This is wonderful cookie. my favorite. I love making them. I have made all kinds and types of cookies. Church bake sales, training meetings, run-walk-thons, gift giving, etc. With this recipe make it plane or use nuts or a variety of Morales or a small amount of raspberry or strawberry preserves my favorite, added in at the last minute so that each cookie will have a taste of the sweetness. Thanks for letting me share.
So good!! It’s best to use a salt grinder over top of the cookies before you put them in the oven(if you use unsalted butter) the best shortbread cookies ever!!!
Holy f*** these came out good! Such an easy, foolproof recipe. I even just split it and made 1/3 of the recipe, still came out great!
I only had 1/2 cup of butter ready to go and was too impatient to wait for more to soften so I reduced everything by 1/3 and made a batch. Put it into an 8×8 pan and cooked for about 20 minutes (they were thicker than a cookie sheet would be so that added time). Delicious and so easy!!
My original Shortbread recipe calls for fruit sugar, which has become almost impossible to find. I will definitely be doing your recipe this year! Would it hurt to add an egg yolk to help them hold together better as I do with my Old English Recipe?
You can definitely add the egg yolk, I’ve done it before and they still turn out great.
Yummy! Do you think they would be good dipping in chocolate?
Oh yes, we do that all the time, it’s my husband’s favorite way to eat them!
Could almond flour be replaced for the regular flour?
Hi Lucy! I’m not a gluten-free expert, and I don’t usually use almond flour much. I definitely haven’t tried making these shortbread cookies with almond flour, however I think in this cake it will work, since the cookies are already a bit crumbly. If you do try it, I would love to hear how they turned out.
Hello,
You put the cuisine as “American” but I recall Shortbread is a Scottish creation and is widely associated with Christmas and Hogmanay
Have a great day!
Hi!
You said you used half the dough and out it in an 8×8. If you were using all the dough, what size pan, cookie sheet size? 9×13? And how long would you bake?
You’d use a regular cookie sheet, 16.5 x 11.38 x 1 inches and the same baking time.
Hello beautiful pictures on all your recipes. I wondered the deminsions of the cookie sheet you lined with parchment paper to lift them out ?
Oh that one was a 8×8 inch baking pan.
I made these after misplacing the recipe I used around Christmas. Shortbread are my husband’s favourite and after finishing the last batch he hinted for more so I tried this recipe. Though slightly different he finds them excellent which means I better bookmark this page. Thank you. This saved me a major search.
I made these tonight. They are awesome!
These cookies turned out so well! Very delicious, I will definitely be making them again!
I just got done making these, but I just rolled them into balls & sprinkled tops with green & red sugar & they look very festive as for Christmas. Very tasty too!
In the video when you dipped the cookie in milk i saw i have the same cup! I tried this recipe it was great
First time I have made shortbread in many many years. Made them for a Christmas Afternoon Tea Party and they were a huge success. I used Christmas cookie cutters and sprinkled with granulated sugar.
This is such a great recipe! The cookies turn out super flaky and buttery. I had to bake mine for about 24 minutes, but I used a different sized pan than in the video so that could be why. This is my second year making these for Christmas and I’m pretty sure it will not be the last 🙂
I will be using this short bread recipe as the base for making homemade Twix candy bars.