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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Cookies

    Shortbread Cookie Recipe

    Updated: Nov 30, 2023 โ€ข Published: Nov 30, 2023 by Sam Merritt โ€ข 266 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    collage of shortbread cookies, top image of cookies stacked, bottom image of cookies on white plate

    My shortbread cookie recipe makes tender, buttery, classic shortbread cookies that hold their shape in the oven and melt in your mouth. Dipping in chocolate is optional, but highly recommended! Recipe includes a how-to video!

    Heart shaped cookies made from a shortbread cookie recipe.

    The Best Shortbread Cookie Recipe

    I’m very excited to be sharing my updated shortbread cookie recipe with you today! While I enjoyed the original for years, my old version started to feel more like a sugar cookie. I wanted to make some tweaks for more tender, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth results that still held their shape beautifully. This is true, classic, perfected shortbread.

    Why Try This Recipe

    • They’re a classic. Everyone should have a good staple shortbread recipe in their repertoire, and now, this is mine. No, it’s not super flashy, but it’s a classic and it’s a good, solid recipe.
    • It’s simple. Shortbread uses only 6 ingredients and comes together quickly with just a brief stint in the refrigerator. No, it’s not as flashy as praline cookies or apple pie cookies, but that’s the nature of shortbread.
    • It tastes good! It has a buttery flavor and a texture that slightly crumbles beneath your teeth and absolutely melts in your mouth.
    • It’s versatile. Include or omit the vanilla extract, or substitute it for vanilla bean paste. Level up the cookies by substituting classic butter for European style. Add chocolate chips or dip in chocolate, and cut them into any shape you’d like (I opted for hearts, but you could skip the cookie cutter and just use a knife to cut into rectangles).

    This is the perfect addition to your Christmas cookie tray. I can’t wait to hear how you like this updated version ❤️

    What You Need

    Classic shortbread is made with just butter, sugar, and flour, but I’ve found a few small adjustments make for even better results. Here’s what you need for my recipe.

    Overhead view of ingredients including butter, flour, powdered sugar, and more.
    • Butter. European butter is a great upgrade here! Since shortbread uses so few ingredients, the quality of each of them can really make a difference in the final outcome. I don’t often splurge for it and you do not have to, but you will have more tender and buttery results if you use European-style butter (this is because it has a higher fat content!).
    • Powdered sugar. Similar to my shortbread-esque crust for my fruit tart, we’ll be using powdered sugar in this shortbread cookie recipe. This is also known as confectioner’s sugar, 10x sugar, or icing sugar.
    • Flour. Use all-purpose (also often known as “plain”) flour. Self-rising flour will not work here. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure this; if not, you could over-measure and end up with a dry dough.
    • Cornstarch. This promotes tender, melt-in-your-mouth results. It also helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, so they hold their shape beautifully!
    • Vanilla extract. This is not a traditional ingredient and you can leave it out if you’d like; however, I love the way it deepens the flavor of the shortbread. Vanilla bean paste or a scraped vanilla bean would also work!

    Note that there is no baking powder or baking soda in this recipe–this is intentional and expected with shortbread cookies!

    SAM’S TIP: Add your dry ingredients gradually! This dough is fairly stiff, and if you add them all at once, you will have a very tough time bringing everything together.

    Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

    How to Make Shortbread Cookies

    Collage of four photos showing shortbread cookie dough being prepared.
    1. Cream the butter with an electric mixer until lightened in color and creamy.
    2. Add the sugar gradually and keep mixing until the mixture is smooth.
    3. Stir in the vanilla extract until well incorporated.
    4. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
    Four photos showing cookie dough being rolled out, cut into hearts, and baked.
    1. Use your hands to form the dough into a flat disc, then wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
    2. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it is ⅛-¼” thick.
    3. Cut shapes with a cookie cutter, making the cuts as close together as possible. Transfer the cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet and space 2″ apart. Re-roll the scraps and repeat this process to make more cookies.
    4. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn a light golden brown. This is about 9-11 minutes for my 2″ cookie cutter, but can vary depending on the size you use.

    SAM’S TIP: If you don’t want to bake your dough right away, you can let it sit in the fridge for up to five days. It might be a bit tough to roll if chilled longer than an hour though, so you may need to let it warm up at room temperature a bit before rolling.

    Overhead view of heart shaped shortbread cookies half dipped in chocolate on a cooling rack.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can I make this shortbread cookie recipe with chocolate chips?

    Absolutely! I’d recommend mini chocolate chips as regular-sized ones could be too thick and bulky in the dough. I’d probably add around a cup, fold them in using a spatula after adding all the dry ingredients to the dough.

    Can shortbread cookie dough be frozen?

    Yes! If you’d like to do this, follow the instructions for cut-out cookies in my how to freeze cookie dough post.

    What’s the difference between a sugar cookie and shortbread cookies?

    The main difference between these two cookies is the ingredients and the ratios of the ingredients. Sugar cookies typically contain eggs, while shortbread cookies do not. Shortbread also has a higher ratio of butter to flour and are usually more crumbly and tender as a result.

    If you’re on the hunt for a great sugar cookie recipe, try my easy sugar cookie recipe!

    Stack of shortbread cookies with the top cookie missing a bite.

    I’d love to hear how you like this new shortbread cookie recipe, especially if you were a fan of the old one!

    Enjoy!

    Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜

    Heart shaped cookies made from a shortbread cookie recipe.

    Shortbread Cookie Recipe

    This shortbread cookie recipe makes tender, buttery, classic shortbread cookies that hold their shape in the oven and melt in your mouth. Dipping in chocolate is optional, but highly recommended!
    Recipe includes a how-to video!
    4.91 from 98 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: cookie, Cookies, Dessert, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Chilling Time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes
    Servings: 44 cookies (see note)
    Calories: 67kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt
    YouTube video

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
    • ¾ cup (95 g) powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
    • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
    • ½ teaspoon table salt

    Recommended Equipment

    • Mixing bowls
    • Baking sheet
    • Rolling Pin
    • 2” Cookie cutter

    Instructions

    • In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until lightened, smooth and creamy.
      1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
    • Gradually add sugar, stirring until light and creamy.
      ¾ cup (95 g) powdered sugar
    • Add vanilla extract and stir well.
      1 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt and whisk until combined.
      2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon table salt
    • Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.
    • Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.
    • Once cookie dough is nearly done chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface until the dough is between ⅛”-¼” thickness. Press a cookie cutter directly into dough, making cuts close together, and place cookies on baking sheet spacing at least 2” apart. Combine any remaining scraps of cough into a ball and re-roll to make more cookies.
    • Transfer baking sheet to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn a very light golden brown (bake time will vary depending on thickness of dough and size of cookie cutter).
    • If desired, melt 1 cup/6 oz/170g chocolate and dip completely cooled cookies into chocolate. Place cookies on a wire rack and allow chocolate to set before serving.

    Notes

    Number of cookies

    This will vary depending on the size of the cookie cutter used and how thick or thin you roll the dough. I use a 2” cookie cutter and get about 44 cookies.

    Butter

    Upgrade to European-style butter for richer-tasting, more buttery cookies.

    Vanilla

    Elevate your cookies by substituting 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste or the seeds of a scraped vanilla bean for the vanilla extract.

    Variations

    Make a brown sugar shortbread by reducing the powdered sugar to ½ cup (63g), cream ¼ cup (50g) of brown sugar with the butter, and increase cornstarch to 3 Tablespoons.

    Original recipe

    Original recipe can be found here.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 8mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.3mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    Recipe and photos updated 11/30/23. If you’d like the original recipe, you can find it here.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jim Kelly

      December 21, 2021 at 4:04 pm

      They taste great, but they didn’t hold the cookie cutter shapes. they spread out, what am I doing wrong?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 21, 2021 at 5:19 pm

        Hi Jim! We’re so sorry your cookies spread. ๐Ÿ™ There are a few things that could cause this:
        Did you properly measure your flour?
        Was the butter very soft/nearly melted when it was used?
        Did you chill your dough long enough?
        Was the oven completely preheated before the dough was added?
        Were the cookies put on a warm baking sheet?
        These would be my best guesses as to why your shortbread cookies spread. We hope it helps!

        Reply
    2. Michele

      December 14, 2021 at 11:11 pm

      5 stars
      This is a great recipe for shortbread. If crumbly, just warming the dough with your hands while shaping it into a disc for chilling seems to work well. My problem was in the baking time. 15 minutes was too long for my oven. They over browned but when I shortened the baking time, they turned out golden on the edges and bottoms. Shortbread cookies are so much fun to make, especially during the holidays with holiday and various animal cookie cutters. The vanilla makes the kitchen smell lovely especially on cold days. Thanks!!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 15, 2021 at 11:44 am

        We’re so happy you liked the cookies, Michele! Sounds like your oven may be running hot (most ovens are not accurate, unfortunately). Glad to hear they still turned out well and you had fun making them ๐Ÿ˜Š

        Reply
    3. Paige Larson

      November 26, 2021 at 2:42 am

      5 stars
      My dad LOVES shortbread after traveling in Europe. I don’t lean towards it, but since I never see my parents and was heading there for Thanksgiving I knew Sam had to have a recipe. Of course she did!
      I didn’t realize that it was SO SIMPLE. My dad also loves dark chocolate so I drizzled them with it and he said that these didn’t need it.
      Since I was making so many cookies this week I texted my husband to put out 2 sticks of butter on the counter so they were ready for me when I got off of work. I told him NOT on the oven because the overhead light makes the butter start to melt. Well, he took that as I wanted him to put the butter there. So the sticks were on the verge of melting when I used it. My dough was super crumbly and hard to get together to wrap for refrigeration and then harder to roll out but I got it done. Wondering if the almost melted butter made that happen or if I over worked the dough?

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 26, 2021 at 1:03 pm

        The almost melty butter could certainly cause some issues. There may have also been a little too much flour if they were crumbly. Sounds like your dad still enjoyed them which is a good thing. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    4. Norma Slattery

      November 11, 2021 at 10:10 am

      5 stars
      Very clear. Appreciate all the alternative advice.

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 11, 2021 at 2:23 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed, Norma!

        Reply
        • Tyrian

          December 08, 2021 at 5:11 pm

          In the middle of making the dough and I’ve followed this video word for word but my dough is coming out crumbly in the bowl. What am I doing wrong? I’m using weights and grams

        • Sam

          December 08, 2021 at 5:36 pm

          Hi Tyrian! If the flour was added too quickly it can make the dough quite crumbly, make sure to add gradually, but even if it was all added at once you should still be able to salvage the dough if you keep mixing. I hope that helps!

    5. Liz Borzacchiello

      July 11, 2021 at 5:05 pm

      5 stars
      Shortbread cookies are so good. Love them.

      Reply
    6. Madeleine Cogbill

      April 20, 2021 at 12:04 am

      5 stars
      Hi these tasted delicious; however, thee cookies spread out a bit when they baked. Is that normal or did I make a mistake?

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 20, 2021 at 12:59 pm

        Hi Madeleine! They should not be spreading, I would make sure the flour was measured properly and that the butter wasn’t too warm, sometimes that can make them spread.

        Reply
        • Madeleine Cogbill

          April 20, 2021 at 2:41 pm

          I spooned the flour into the measuring cup, and then leveled it, and the butter was pretty soft.

        • Sam

          April 25, 2021 at 9:45 pm

          The butter may have been a little too soft. ๐Ÿ™

        • Madeleine Cogbill

          April 22, 2021 at 12:18 am

          I made these cookies again, and this time I weighed the flour, and they spread in the oven and became bubbly. Any idea what the problem is?

        • Sam

          April 25, 2021 at 9:27 pm

          Hmmm was your butter really soft when you started?

    7. Pam Miller

      February 15, 2021 at 11:10 am

      5 stars
      This recipe turned out wonderful, I did have issues with dough cracking when rolling out. I did leave dough in fridge longer than directions, wondering if this was my issue?

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 15, 2021 at 12:22 pm

        Hi Pam! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The dough can crack on the edges if it is too cold.

        Reply
    8. Kira Prochaska

      February 13, 2021 at 8:26 pm

      My cookies keep spreading out in the oven and Iโ€™m not sure why! I chilled for at least 30 minutes before putting in the oven. And my second time around I thought maybe there was too much butter and upped my flour. But still no luck. Spreading like crazy! Any suggestions?

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 15, 2021 at 12:38 pm

        Hi Kira! You may still need just a little bit more flour or a little longer chilling time. Make sure the dough looks like the consistency of the one in the video. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    9. Jill Peters

      February 09, 2021 at 5:40 pm

      4 stars
      I made these and the cookies came out very bumpy on top – looks like there are air bubbles. Could this mean that I beat the butter too much, or is there something else I did wrong?

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 16, 2021 at 9:48 pm

        Hmmm that is really odd. I’ve never encountered this problem before. I hope they were still delicious. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    10. Evelyn Sandefur

      February 05, 2021 at 7:31 pm

      5 stars
      Very good shortbread cookie.

      Reply
    11. Emma Casey

      January 14, 2021 at 2:08 pm

      I have a question! I am going to try to make Millionaire Shortbread, which is s layer of shortbread, then caramel and then chocolate. I was wanting to use this recipe, but should I change anything considering they won’t be 2′ cookies, but will be on the bottom of a pan. Should I change the cook time, temperature, ingredients, etc .

      Reply
      • Sam

        January 14, 2021 at 9:11 pm

        Hi Emma! I actually have a millionaire’s shortbread recipe you can follow. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
        • Emma

          January 15, 2021 at 8:14 pm

          Oh! Great, thanks! I think Iโ€™ll try to make it!!

        • Sarah

          June 26, 2021 at 11:29 am

          4 stars
          Hey they were great but im not sure if it was the measuring cups i used but the sugar turned out to be alot .

    12. Sarah

      December 27, 2020 at 11:16 pm

      5 stars
      Y E S!!! Finally found the perfect shortbread recipe, after trying a couple of recipes with powdered sugar that resulted in a slightly dry/powdery cookie. These are exactly what I have been looking for. Thank you!!

      Reply
    13. Anne Hawker

      December 19, 2020 at 7:58 am

      5 stars
      I really like the taste of these. I sprinkled some confection sugar to make it more festive using a star cookie cutter. Bake time I used was towards 10 to 12 minutes but it depends. So watch out for them cooking. Instrucions are good to follow.

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 19, 2020 at 3:32 pm

        Iโ€™m so glad you enjoyed, Anne!

        Reply
    14. Magda

      December 17, 2020 at 9:49 pm

      Thank you for sharing this easy and quick recipe! I made the cookies tonight with my 2 boys for their teachers. Cookies are simply delicious. Just like shortbreads should be.
      I measured everything to a dot. I think next time I try to mix in almond crunch, to add a bit more texture, maybe ๐Ÿ™‚
      Thank you again!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 17, 2020 at 10:21 pm

        I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    15. Mary

      December 12, 2020 at 11:27 am

      I had a hard time bringing these together, the dough was super crumbly. I added a bit of water which helped, but rolling them out was a show. That said they were delicious!

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 12, 2020 at 9:56 pm

        Hi Mary! Sometimes the dough can be crumbly if the flour is accidentally over-measured, regardless I am so glad they were still delicious!

        Reply
        • David E. Valdez

          December 22, 2020 at 9:45 pm

          I had the same problem and I weighed the floor to precisely 280g… Suggestions?!

        • Sam

          December 24, 2020 at 2:41 pm

          I’m honestly not sure, I made these over the weekend using weights and they turned out as indicated so I’m just honestly not sure what might’ve happened :-/

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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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