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!
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.
- 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
- Cream the butter with an electric mixer until lightened in color and creamy.
- Add the sugar gradually and keep mixing until the mixture is smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla extract until well incorporated.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- 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.
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it is ⅛-¼” thick.
- 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.
- 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Yes! If you’d like to do this, follow the instructions for cut-out cookies in my how to freeze cookie dough post.
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!
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 💜
Shortbread Cookie Recipe
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
- 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
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.
Recipe and photos updated 11/30/23. If you’d like the original recipe, you can find it here.
Jim Kelly
They taste great, but they didn’t hold the cookie cutter shapes. they spread out, what am I doing wrong?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jim! We’re so sorry your cookies spread. 🙁 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!
Michele
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!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
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 😊
Paige Larson
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?
Sam
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. 🙂
Norma Slattery
Very clear. Appreciate all the alternative advice.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Norma!
Tyrian
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
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!
Liz Borzacchiello
Shortbread cookies are so good. Love them.
Madeleine Cogbill
Hi these tasted delicious; however, thee cookies spread out a bit when they baked. Is that normal or did I make a mistake?
Sam
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.
Madeleine Cogbill
I spooned the flour into the measuring cup, and then leveled it, and the butter was pretty soft.
Sam
The butter may have been a little too soft. 🙁
Madeleine Cogbill
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
Hmmm was your butter really soft when you started?
Pam Miller
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?
Sam
Hi Pam! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The dough can crack on the edges if it is too cold.
Kira Prochaska
My cookies keep spreading out in the oven and I’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?
Sam
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. 🙂
Jill Peters
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?
Sam
Hmmm that is really odd. I’ve never encountered this problem before. I hope they were still delicious. 🙂
Evelyn Sandefur
Very good shortbread cookie.
Emma Casey
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 .
Sam
Hi Emma! I actually have a millionaire’s shortbread recipe you can follow. 🙂
Emma
Oh! Great, thanks! I think I’ll try to make it!!
Sarah
Hey they were great but im not sure if it was the measuring cups i used but the sugar turned out to be alot .
Sarah
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!!
Anne Hawker
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.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Anne!
Magda
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 🙂
Thank you again!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Mary
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!
Sam
Hi Mary! Sometimes the dough can be crumbly if the flour is accidentally over-measured, regardless I am so glad they were still delicious!
David E. Valdez
I had the same problem and I weighed the floor to precisely 280g… Suggestions?!
Sam
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 :-/