Buttery, bright and bursting with berry flavor, these raspberry shortbread cookies are anything but ordinary. Freeze-dried raspberries are pulverized and blended into the dough, giving each bite a naturally vibrant pink hue and an intense, tangy-sweet raspberry flavor.
What makes this recipe extra fun is that the dough is divided into 3 portions to create 3 delicious variations. One stays purely raspberry for a classic fruity shortbread that rivals my strawberry shortbread cookies. Another gets a handful of sweetened coconut folded in for a sweet, slightly chewy, tropical twist. And the third is studded with roasted macadamia nuts, adding a rich buttery crunch that pairs beautifully with the tart berry flavor.
Crispy at the edges, tender in the center, and full of fun flavor, this is one base dough that turns into three batches of amazing cookies – perfect when you want variety without too much extra effort! Similar to all my shortbread recipes, this recipe is fairly easy. It does take an extra 5 to 10 minutes to divide and make 3 different doughs but totally worth it. And yes, you do need to chill the dough!
Key ingredients and substitutions
You’ll need 9 ingredients to make 3 different raspberry shortbread cookie doughs in this recipe. As always, for the full list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions, skip straight to the recipe card.
- Freeze-dried raspberry is the key ingredient here to impart sweet and tart raspberry flavor to these cookies. I usually get the Good and Gather (Target’s store brand) freeze-dried fruits – pineapple for these pretty pineapple shortbread cookies and blueberries for this vibrant blueberry frosting. You should be able to find freeze-dried raspberries at any grocery store.
- Cornstarch gives shortbread cookies a subtle melt-in-your-mouth texture. You can skip it if you don’t have any without needing to make adjustments to the other ingredients.
- I used sweetened shredded coconut in this recipe. Unsweetened coconut will work as well.
- If you don’t have macadamia nuts, try almonds or pistachios.
Baker’s tips and testing notes
Butter temperature: room temperature butter is typical for any recipes calling for softened butter. But I would let it soften a bit further than that. I like using extra soft butter for shortbread dough because it’s easier to beat, the flour incorporates into the butter quicker, and you’ll less likely encounter the issue of “crumbly” dough, which some readers have experienced with my matcha shortbread and chocolate espresso shortbread.
Crumbly dough: if you 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.
Note on freeze-dried raspberry powder: once you process the freeze-dried raspberries into powder, you need to use it the same day. If not stored properly, the powder will absorb moisture in the air and clump together.
Like I mentioned above, I usually get freeze-dried fruits from Target. They typically come in a bag of 1 oz but for some reason the raspberry one comes in a bag of 1.25 oz. I first tested this recipe as a batch of 24 cookies, the raspberry flavor was very strong and tart, not a bad thing! But I was able to stretch it and make a batch of 36 cookies without compromising the flavor at all. My coworkers devoured both batches without any complaints! 😂
Hungry for more?
Raspberry Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Raspberry shortbread dough
- 1 (35 g) bag of freeze-dried raspberries, 1.25 oz, see note
- 12 oz (340 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon (8 g) pure vanilla extract
- ¼ (3 g) rounded teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ⅓ cup (450 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon (27 g) cornstarch
For coconut raspberry shortbread
- ½ cup (43 g) sweetened shredded coconut
For macadamia raspberry shortbread
- ½ cup (70 g) macadamia nuts, roasted and unsalted or raw, chopped
Topping
- Extra granulated sugar for topping
Instructions
- Roast the macadamias – In a skillet over medium heat, roast the macadamia nuts for 3 to 5 minutes until toasty and fragrant. Spread them on a cutting board to cool and then chop into small pieces.½ cup macadamia nuts
- Process the freeze-dried raspberry – Grind one 1.25-oz (35 g) bag of freeze-dried raspberry in your food processor or high speed blender until a fine powder forms. Set aside. Drape a towel over the food processor in this step to prevent the powder from puffing up.1 bag of freeze-dried raspberries
- 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.12 oz unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ rounded teaspoon kosher salt
- Sift dry ingredients – Sift flour and cornstarch into a medium mixing bowl. Then sift the freeze-dried raspberry powder to remove the seeds. Whisk to distribute evenly.3 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 bag of freeze-dried raspberries
- Add dry ingredients – Add the dry ingredient 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.
- Divide the dough – Scoop out the dough and divide into 3 equal portions, about 347 g each. Store them on a tray or in smaller bowls.
- Make the coconut raspberry shortbread dough – Place one portion back into the stand mixer and add the sweetened coconut. Stir to incorporate and slowly increase the mixer speed and beat until the coconut is fully incorporated and evenly distributed. Remove the dough.½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- Make the macadamia raspberry shortbread dough – Place the second portion back into the stand mixer and add the roasted and chopped macadamia nuts. Stir to incorporate and slowly increase the mixer speed and beat until the macadamia is fully incorporated and evenly distributed.½ cup macadamia nuts
- Form the logs – Roll each portion on top a piece of plastic wrap into a log about 6” in length. Wrap them up and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Slice the cookies – Use a sharp knife to slice each cookie dough log into 12 cookies about ½” thick. Wrap the cookies back up and freeze for at least 15 minutes before baking, while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Bake – Place 12 cookies on a large lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top and bake 1 batch at a time for about 20 minutes, until the edges on the cookies are golden brown.Extra granulated sugar for topping
- 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.
Notes
- Raspberry powder weight: once sifted with seeds removed, you’ll end up with about 23 grams of freeze-dried raspberry powder. Use this weight if you are using packaged freeze-dried raspberry powder directly instead of making your own powder from whole freeze-dried raspberries.
- Storing baked cookies: store your raspberry 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 dough before freezing for long term storage.
- Baking frozen dough: no need to thaw frozen cookie dough, you can bake directly from the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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