byStephanieon September 16, 2019 (Updated September 28, 2021)32*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
These soft, sweet, and buttery shortbread cookies only require 4 ingredients! BONUS: the cookie dough is easy to make days or even weeks ahead of time until you’re ready to bake!
I’m not much of a baker, but I don’t know if there wouldeverbe a time that I didn’t have some butter, flour, sugar, and vanilla extract on hand, which isallyou need to make this recipe.
Shortbread Cookies
✔️You can make the dough ahead of time. (See below.)
-Combine the softened butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer until creamy and well combined.
-Add the vanilla extract and the flour and mix again, until a sturdy dough has formed.
–Roll out the dough until it’s 1/2 inch thick:
⭐TIP:Shortbread dough can be slightly crumbly, and needs to berolled out gently.
Take the rolling pin and press your hands down on the top of it and press down slightly as you slowly roll it out. If you place your hands on the handles and roll more aggressively you’ll see the dough start to come apart.
I like to roll the dough out in batches and cut 2-4 cookies out at a time, then gather up the remaining dough and roll again.
-Use a thin spatula to lift the cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
-Chill unbaked shortbread cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes prior to baking in a 350 degree oven for 12-18 minutes. (Check on them at 10 minutes and ever 2 minutes thereafter.)
Can You Make Shortbread Cookie Dough Ahead of Time?
–Yes.Shortbread cookie dough is perfect for preparing days or weeks ahead of time.
⭐TIP:Whether you’re making shortbread cookie dough days or weeks ahead of time, I always recommend that you roll and cut the doughbeforestoring them refrigerating or freezing them.
If you freeze or refrigerate a ball of shortbread dough, the consistency of it becomes very hard and it’s difficult to roll it out after it’s been refrigerated or frozen.
Refrigerating Shortbread
Rolled and cutshortbread cookies can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days prior to baking.
Freezing Shortbread
-If you’re making shortbread dough longer than 3 days ahead of time, it’s best to freeze therolled and cutcookies.
–Flash freeze them on a plate in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Then remove them and stack them in an airtight freezer bag for up to 3 months.
-Frozen cookies may take a few minutes longer to bake than chilled cookies.
Storing Shortbread Cookies
-Shortbread cookies can be stored in a dry, airtight container for a week, or in the refrigerator for 10 days.
-They can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 monthsand allowed to come back to room temperature before serving.
These soft, sweet, and buttery shortbread cookies only require 4 ingredients! BONUS: the cookie dough is easy to make days or even weeks ahead of time until you're ready to bake!
Ingredients
US Customary - Metric
1cupbutter, softened
1/2cupgranulated sugar
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2cupsall-purpose flour
If adding sprinkles:
2Tablespoonsmilk
1/4cupsprinkles
Instructions
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and flour and mix until well-combined.
Roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick and use a cookie cutter to create the shapes (I used a round, 3-inch wide cutter).
Place the cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheets and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. (It's much easier to chill them after you've cut them, vs. rolling out chilled dough.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the cookies for 12-18 minutes, (set the timer for 10 minutes and check them every 2 minutes after that)- they're done when they just begin to get golden brown on the side.
If adding sprinkles,brush just enough milk on each cookie to get it slightly wet on the top, then scatter the sprinkles over it. The milk helps them to stick. Let them cool slightly to prevent the sprinkles from bleeding onto the cookie.
Due to differing ratios, shortbread cookies are crumblier and more "sandy" than butter cookies, which are firm and solid enough to be iced. This mostly has to do with flour and eggs. Shortbread doesn't use eggs, while butter cookies do, making butter cookie dough more pliable and robust than its shortbread counterpart.
The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.
Shortbread is called short because of the traditional ratio of one part sugar to two parts butter that lends a high fat content to the dough. This yields a soft, buttery crumb that melts in your mouth, similar to short crust pastry. This ratio is also what makes shortbread so crave-worthy. 2.
And once you have cut out or shaped your dough make sure you chill it for at least 30 minutes before baking so that the butter can re-solidify before reaching the heat of the oven.
Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.
Shortbread is similar to shortcake but doesn't include baking powder. Lots of rich butter gives shortbread a high fat content, resulting in a fine, crumbly texture. Shortcake and shortbread biscuits are delicious on their own, with fruit and cream, or simply topped with a delicate dusting of sugar.
Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.
Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here. You'll see lots of shortbread recipes using granulated sugar.
The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.
Remove the wrap if you've used it, then use a fork to prick ("dock") the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes. Prick the dough in a random pattern, or create a pretty design.
As shortbread was made with butter, sugar and flour, it would be both expensive and difficult to get hold of the ingredients, and so became synonymous with wealth, luxury and celebrations.
The name "millionaire's shortbread" appears to have originated in Scotland. The "millionaire" prefix to millionaire's shortbread or millionaires slice implies a level of decadence and wealth to the sweet treat, that it is an upgrade from regular shortbread.
Walker's Shortbread Fingers are our most world famous product and have a unique bite – a crunchy yet crumbly texture with a pure butter taste – which is achieved through Walker's 100-year-old family recipe and using the finest natural ingredients.
I'm a firm believer that shortbread cookies should be sinfully buttery and delectably tender. And these are, as great shortbread cookies should be, not that sweet, quite delicate and when you bite into them, they crumble softly, as demonstrated in the VIDEO!
Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out. If the dough does get soft or sticky as you're rolling or cutting it, just put it back in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the butter.
Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.
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