I absolutely love making shortbread cookies because they are so so so easy to whip up. And once you master this classic shortbread recipe, you can make any flavor you dare to imagine. These cookies are buttery, crispy and crumbly. I usually keep them simple with a sparkly sugar topping for everyday and go a little fancier with a coating of melted chocolate and festive sprinkles for the holiday.
Needless to day, butter shortbread cookies are one of my go to holiday cookie recipes because they freeze so well, which means you can prepare these well ahead of the holiday rush and enjoy them even beyond the holidays. I made some small tweaks to this recipe recently and they came out even better than they already are!
One very important note that sometimes people don’t realize until they finish making the dough: you need to refrigerate this dough before baking. So while you don’t get immediate satisfaction from baking the cookies right away, I can promise you they are well worth the wait. At the minimum, I recommend refrigerating 1-2 hours. I like to keep it in the fridge overnight so I don’t have to wait around for it.
Key ingredients
I’ve been making these shortbread cookies for years and years. And while you can limit the ingredients list to just 4 or 5 ingredients, maybe even 3 if you’re trying to break some sort of record, I went the opposite direction and made this a 6-ingredient recipe during my most recent testing. As always, you can skip straight to the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantity.
- The most important ingredient is the butter! Since these classic shortbread cookies are so simple, the higher quality butter the better they will taste. For many years, I make these with regular Costco unsalted butter because that’s what I always have on hands. But recently, I started making them with fancy Irish butter, and they are phenomenal.
- Salt – you can likely skip the salt if you use salted butter. I’m just so used to baking with unsalted butter and adding salt separately. But for this recipe, you can go either way.
- Cornstarch – my original recipe did not use cornstarch and many of you have made it and loved it. You can continue to make this recipe without the cornstarch, no modifications needed. But just 2 tablespoons of cornstarch make these shortbread super snappy right out of the oven and I love their texture so much more.
How to shape shortbread cookie dough
Slice and bake method
My preferred method nowadays is to roll the dough into a log about 6″ long and then cut the log into ½” thick slices when I’m ready to bake them. It’s super low effort and streamlined for making ahead. One batch of dough will yield 2 logs or 24 cookies.
Cookie cutter method
For this method, you don’t want to refrigerate the dough too long. An hour is just enough so that it is still soft enough to roll out to about ¼” – ½” thick, then cut it with a cookie cutter. Roll the excess dough up and cut again until you are done.
You’ll need to adjust baking time depending on the size of your cut out cookies. If they are smaller or thinner, they’ll likely need only about 15 minutes in the oven versus 20 minutes. The best way to tell when they’re done is by watching the edges brown.
While this is not my preferred method, it is fun for kids and for different holidays. I like cutting them into Christmas tree shapes or clover leaves for St. Patrick’s Day using my matcha shortbread cookie recipe 👇.
So many variations
Like I said before, once you’ve mastered the classic recipe, you can create so many different shortbread recipes. The possible flavor combinations are endless and are only limited by the ingredients you can source and your imagination!
- Just a simple change like swapping of brown sugar or adding some molasses can give you a whole batch of completely different cookies like these Molasses Shortbread Cookies.
- Another easy one is adding warm spices to make these Spiced Shortbread Christmas Cookies.
- Similar to spices, use citrus peel to infuse a refreshing flavor like these Lemon Shortbread Cookies or these Orange Shortbread Cookies.
- For the more adventurous, adding instant tea or coffee to create unique flavor like these Milk Tea Shortbread Cookies or these Vietnamese Coffee Shortbread Cookies.
- Go tropical with these Coconut Shortbread Cookies.
- Or incorporate dried flower for a floral note like these Lavender Shortbread Cookies.
FAQs and tips
I have never run into this issue with the classic recipe, but some readers have, especially when making shortbread doughs that have more drying ingredients like my matcha shortbread and chocolate espresso shortbread. But if you do encounter crumbly dough, add a splash or two of water and continue mixing, it should come together, similar to the way you would make pie dough.
Yes, as I have mentioned at the beginning, you should refrigerate shortbread dough. And the reason is to allow the dough to hydrate, and the butter to firm up, which will make the cookies tastier and firmer cookie dough will make it easier to cut or roll out.
Yes, shortbread will spread a little during baking. The dough contains a lot of butter and butter will melt when the dough goes into a hot oven. Refrigerating or freezing the dough will curb the spreading, but will not prevent it entirely. Hence, this recipe is not for making cookies with very detailed shapes.
When the cookies come out of the oven, they will still be soft. Don’t move them just yet, allow the cookies to finish baking from the residual heat for 5 – 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool. The cookies will harden as they cool down.
When you bite into a shortbread cookie, it should have a little crunch at the start and a melt-in-your-mouth effect. It should be a little crumbly, but the cookie shouldn’t crumble and fall apart. Some have complained that my shortbread cookies are too dry, well they are supposed to be dry 🤷🏻♀️. If you’re looking for something moist and chewy, these are not it.
As with all homemade cookies, these shortbread cookies are best the day they are baked and will last up to a week, stored in an airtight container. Beyond this, the cookies will start to go stale but to be very honest, they will still taste pretty darn good after 2 weeks if you store them well!
You can freeze the dough for 3-6 months ahead of the holiday rush. Once you make the dough, decide whether you want to use the slice-and-bake method or the cookie-cutter method to shape it. Refrigerate per the instructions and cut the cookies before freezing.
With the log, you can cut and roll them right back up using the same plastic, wrap them in foil and freeze. If you’re cutting the dough with a cookie cutter, layer the cut out cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper in between so they don’t stick together and freeze. You can bake the cookies straight from frozen.
Hungry for more?
Classic Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies
- 8 ounce (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅔ cup (135 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cup (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon (18 g) cornstarch
Toppings
- Extra sugar for sprinkling
- Extra salt for sprinkling, optional
- ¾ cup dark chocolate melting wafers, optional
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Make the cookies
- Cream wet ingredients together – Add softened butter, sugar vanilla, and salt to a stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated and creamy.8 ounce unsalted butter, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Add dry ingredients – Sift flour and cornstarch into another mixing bowl, and whisk to distribute evenly. Add the mixture into the stand mixer bowl with the creamed butter. Stir to combine, then increase the mixer speed and beat until no trace of flour remains and the dough is formed.2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- Form the logs – Place 2 long pieces of plastic wrap flat on the countertop. Divide cookie dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion on top of the plastic wrap into a log about 6” in length. Wrap it up and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before baking.
- Slice the cookies – Use a sharp knife to slice each cookie dough log into 12 cookies about ½” thick. Rewrap in the same plastic and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Bake – Mix 1-2 tablespoon of granulated sugar with a few pinches of kosher salt in a small bowl. Place 12 cookies on a large lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top and bake 1 batch at a time for about 20 minutes, until the edges on the cookies are golden brown. You don't have to add salt to the sugar topping but I highly recommend it for that pop of saltiness.Extra sugar for sprinkling, Extra salt for sprinkling
- Cool – Remove the baking sheet from the oven, but allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet to finish baking from the residual heat for 5-10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate the cookies (optional)
- Melt chocolate – Melt chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water over medium low heat, double boiler style. Or melt it in the microwave in short burst.¾ cup dark chocolate melting wafers
- Coat cookies in chocolate – Cover the cookies half way with melted chocolate by dipping them into the bowl or spooning the chocolate over the cookies. Let the excess chocolate run off back into the bowl and place the cookies back on the parchment lined baking sheet to harden.
- Add sprinkles – Add them as soon as you place the cookies on the baking sheet before the chocolate hardens.Sprinkles
Notes
- Upgrade to high quality butter for more amazing taste.
- Storing baked cookies: store your shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to a week.
- Storing cookie dough: Unbaked shortbread dough can be kept refrigerated for 3-4 days, or freeze for 3-6 months. It is best to slice the log first before freezing.
- Baking frozen dough: no need to thaw frozen cookie dough, you can bake directly from the freezer.
- Nutrition facts are for non-coated cookies.
- Alternate way to shape shortbread: instead of rolling the dough into a log, you can roll it out into a sheet and cut into shape with cookie cutters. Adjust baking time as necessary. See the post for more details and example.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
First of your recipes I tried and it was a hit! Made them plain with sprinkles, so pretty and yummy 🙂 Thank you, looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Thanks Chrissy! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit, yay!