With only six ingredients (plus sprinkles, of course), these Whipped Shortbread Cookies may be the easiest recipe you’ll make this holiday season. They take less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish–NO chilling required! Recipe also includes a how-to video tutorial.
Whipped Shortbread: The Easiest Holiday Cookie
Today I’m sharing a new addition to my collection of Christmas cookie recipes, and I think you’re really going to like this one! These whipped shortbread cookies are simple and quick, use less than 10 ingredients and there’s no chilling required!
These cookies have a classic, buttery flavor that’s reminiscent of my butter cookies, only lighter. They’re great served alone or with a mug of hot cocoa, and they’re sure to stand out in any cookie exchange. They’re perfect for the upcoming holidays (and simpler than classic sugar cookies) but really, they’re delicious any time of year.
You may be familiar with my standard shortbread cookies; even though they share a name, these whipped shortbread cookies are more airy. Thanks to some extra corn starch, they truly melt in your mouth!
Let’s get started!
What You Need
Since this recipe has so few ingredients, the quality of each one is particularly important. Keep this in mind as you gather your ingredients. Here’s what you need!
- Butter. While standard butter will work fine, this is a recipe where European butter will really shine (if you can find it).
- Powdered sugar. Using powdered instead of granulated sugar contributes to the airy, melt-in-your mouth consistency of these cookies.
- Vanilla. This is the time to use your good vanilla extract, if you have some.
- Salt. Use plain table salt–no need to get fancy here!
- Flour. Make sure to measure your flour properly and use a kitchen scale if you have one, because it’s easy to accidentally use too much flour. Too much flour will make the dough dry, crumbly, and difficult to work with.
- Cornstarch. Powdered sugar already contains cornstarch, but we up the ante by using a bit more to give these cookies an even better, more melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Sprinkles. For decoration, you can use nonpareils, jimmies, or colored sanding sugar. Or you can skip them entirely! The sprinkles make these easily customizable for whatever holiday or event you happen to be celebrating!
SAM’S TIP: Almond extract would also taste lovely in these cookies! You could substitute some of the vanilla (I’d start with just ¼ teaspoon since it’s quite potent, adding more according to your taste preference) for a twist on the classic whipped shortbread flavor.
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 Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Beat together butter and sugar for several minutes until you have a light, airy, pale yellow and fluffy mixture. A stand mixer is great for this, if you have one!
- Stir in vanilla and salt then gradually add flour and cornstarch with mixer on low-speed.
- Scoop dough into balls and roll each briefly between your palms to make a smooth ball. into before placing on your prepared sheet about 1-2 inches apart.
- Use a fork to gently flatten each cookie (sort of like a peanut butter cookie, but we’re only using our fork one way instead of making a crosshatch pattern). Top with sprinkles (mandatory) and bake for 12 minutes. Don’t over-bake these cookies or they’ll be dry and crumbly.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure you whip your butter and sugar really, REALLY well. I like to use a stand mixer for this step, because it gets the job done much faster (just make sure to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl periodically!). Once I get to the point of adding the flour, I like to be much more gentle with the dough to avoid overdoing it, which can not only make the cookies a bit tough, but it can also make the dough greasy and difficult to work with.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are very similar; however, butter cookies are more rich and tender where whipped shortbread cookies are airy and light.
Cornstarch is one of my favorite secret ingredients! In these cookies, it keeps them from spreading too much, and it contributes to the melt-in-your-mouth texture that whipped shortbread is known for. Note that powdered sugar already contains cornstarch, but by increasing the amount and adding additional, we improve the texture even more!
While I largely prefer using unsalted vs. salted butter, you can use salted if that’s all you have on hand. Just reduce the salt that is called for in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter¹ softened
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar (plus additional for imprinting cookies)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons (17 g) cornstarch
- Nonpareils jimmies, or colored sanding sugar for decorating, optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (165C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer) and beat on medium-high speed (use high speed if using a hand mixer) until lightened in color, fluffy, and creamy. This will take at least 5 minutes with a stand mixer and possibly a bit longer if using a hand mixer. If needed, pause occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the butter and sugar are being well creamed.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter¹, ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- Add vanilla extract and salt and stir until combined.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and cornstarch.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons (17 g) cornstarch
- Turn mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add flour, stirring until just combined.
- Scoop dough into tablespoon-sized scoops and briefly roll between your palms to make smooth balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 1-2 inches (2.5-5cm) apart.
- Use a fork to gently, slightly flatten each cookie. If the cookie dough is sticking to the tines of the fork, dip the fork in a bit of powdered sugar first to prevent sticking.
- Sprinkle cookies with nonpareils, jimmies, or sugar, if desired.Nonpareils
- Transfer to 325F (165C) oven and bake for 12 minutes. Cookies will still be light in color when finished baking. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet before removing.
Notes
¹Butter
Butter is the most important ingredient in your whipped shortbread and the better quality you use, the better your cookies will taste. If you can get your hands on European butter, I recommend using that for this recipe (though they’ll still be delicious if you can’t!). The butter should be softened, but not so warm that it appears melty or oily.Salted Butter
If using salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.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.
Bruce
I just made these with Kerrygold butter, and I don’t see enough difference to warrant the higher cost. They are already so good with regular butter.
A note about the whipping. I am lazy, and I currently don’t have a bowl for my stand mixer so I make these with an electric hand mixer. I mention that I am lazy, because I don’t like standing there beating the butter and sugar for 5 minutes or more, so in the past, I’ve just beaten them until they’re pretty fluffy, and gotten wonderful results. Today I wanted to see what the difference would be, and I will never be lazy with these again. I beat the butter an sugar a long time, until the texture changed, then finished the recipe, and the more you whip it, the more melt-in-your-nouth these cookies become. They were so great the lazy way, but the whipping just elevates them to a degree you wouldn’t think possible until you compare them.
Jody
I thought whipped shortbread are supposed to be chilled prior to baking? to prevent spreading flat?
Can this recipe be halved successfully?
Sam
Hi Jody! There’s no need to chill this dough. I haven’t personally halved the recipe, but I don’t foresee any issues doing so. 🙂
Bruce
I just found out that they’re still amazing even if you forget to add the vanilla.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! So glad they were still enjoyed 😊
Michelle H
Followed recipe using a kitchen scale. Only minor change was using lemon extract and the zest of 1 lemon to change the flavor profile. My oven required 13 1/2 min of baking time. Taste tested a warm cookie and was very pleased with the results.
Court
Just made these for fun! The dough was crumbly because I didn’t weight it, but I eventually got it to stay together. I also used the back of the tablespoon to press them. Coated some in powdered sugar and put a small bit of chocolate in some after baking, SOOOO good!
Dee
Delicious flavorful cookies! These will be a crowd pleaser!!
Kelly O
Just made these for the first time and they were excellent. I got 23 cookies at about 25 grams each. In my oven, they took approximately 14 minutes at 325 degrees. After rolling the cookies into balls, I did flatten slightly before indenting with a fork. They do not spread much. Great looking cookies on the tray and delicious.
Tracey Seaber
so made these for the first time they turned out perfect I omitted the sprinkles and put Hershey kisses on them they are light and airy perfect 🥰
Lauren Pfister
I made the dough exactly as instructed, and it turned out yummy. I did not use a fork to imprint them. I rolled them into balls and then pressed them into a plate of sprinkles to make a pretty thick disc with sprinkles stuck to the top. That worked really well. My first batch definitely spread a little bit. I put the next batch in the fridge for a little while before baking and they held their shape very well. They needed maybe one more minute in the oven because they stayed a little thicker. I will make them again.
Danielle M
This was my first time making this type of cookie, but following the recipe and using high quality ingredients, they turned out perfectly!
Sarah Boswell
Well I don’t know what went wrong but the recipe looked great up to the imprinting and then they all melted into a puddle. Would love to try again but I have NO idea what happened. Maybe chilling the dough would have been a good idea?? I have a tasty puddle in my cookie sheet and am soooo glad I chose one with sides. lol.
Sam
Hi Sarah! That’s so crazy, that definitely shouldn’t have happened. Did you substitute any ingredients by chance? Was real butter used?
Sheila
What did I do wrong, can’t roll them, they won’t stay together
Sam
Hmmm did you make any substitutions? Did you weigh your flour? Were they mixed together well enough? These are my best guesses. I hope this helps. 🙂
Diana
Do these freeze well?
Sam
Hi Diana! These will freeze just fine. 🙂
Diana
Thank you for your reply! I’m looking forward to making these 🙂
Sam
I’m fairly certain that 1 cup = 250g not 2cups =250g…
your measurements don’t make sense gram wise.
Sam
Hi Sam! 1 cup of flour is 125 grams. Here is a post on how to measure flour that might be helpful. The measurements listed are correct and what I personally use.
Dianne Buckel
So good! Melt in your mouth buttery cookie. Will be making again soon.
Kathleen Wilson
Just made these tonight, love them. I got about 50 out of my batch.
They are a good size . Might have to make another batch tomorrow.
Karen Hatzileris
I would live to make your Whipped Shortbread Cookie recipe. Would I be able to refrigerate the dough and make cutout cookies with it? Thank you for your reply.
Sam
Hi Karen! I’m honestly not sure how they would hold their shape. The whipping could potentially cause it to spread a little bit. I would recommend my traditional sugar cookie recipe. 🙂