Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Shortbread Cookie Recipe or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from white sugar, butter, and plain wheat flour. Unlike many other cookies and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda. It is easy to bake and can be made into any flavour combination as you prefer. In this blog post I have shared a basic shortbread cookie recipe along with 5 variations of shortbread with step by step pictures and video. Make these easy biscuits for delicious edible presents for Christmas.

Shortbread Cookies

These cookies are such an easy recipe to make and enjoy with your family. I love making shortbread cookies because they are so versatile and they hardly take few minutes to cook and bake. You will love it. This can be baked into any shapes and decorated as per your kids wish. Since it is Christmas. I used Christmas sprinkles to decorate my cookies.

This particular recipe has just three ingredients. but i added vanilla for flavour.  You can skip vanilla if you want to or even add some almond extract. I dipped my cookies in chocolate after it is baked, but you can skip it too.

About Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies is delicious buttery and simple cookies which you can make for your little ones. It is very versatile and can be customised to your preference.

Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda. Shortbread is widely associated with Christmas and Hogmanay festivities in England and some Scottish brands are exported around the world.

I made a double batch of this dough and made a variety of cookies just to show you the different versions. Meanwhile check out my Thumbprint Cookies & Millionaire's Shortbread.

Watch Shortbread Recipe Video

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Shortbread Ingredients

All Purpose Flour - You can use plain flour or wheat flour in the cookie. 

Sugar - Powder regular sugar in a blender or use icing sugar in the cookie dough.

Butter - use softened butter in your cookie dough. I used unsalted butter, if you are using salted butter, you have to skip the salt in the cookie.

Vanilla Extract - use good quality vanilla in cookie dough. If you prefer yu can use almond extract, coconut extract for different flavoured shortbread.

Salt - adding a pinch of salt will enhance the taste of the shortbread.

Shortbread Cookies in 3 Easy Steps

Shortbread pastry dough

Take butter, sugar in a bowl and cream till fluffy. Add in vanilla, salt and mix well. Add in flour and mix well to form a dough. Wrap this in cling wrap and chill in fridge for 1 hour.

Rolling & Shaping

Now roll this dough between two sheets of parchment paper or cling wrap. Use cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Pop this cut cookies in fridge for 15 mins.

Baking Cookies

Preheat oven to 180 degree C / 350 degree F. Now arrange it in a baking pan lined with parchment and bake for 12 to 15 mins depending on the thickness of the rolled cookies. The cookies should get light golden around the edges. Now remove from oven and let it cool for 5 mins. Remove and cool it on a wire rack completely. Store in an airtight container.

How to Make Shortbread (Stepwise Pictures)

Making shortbread pastry

1)Take softened butter in a bowl. Make sure the butter is softened at room temperature. I am using unsalted butter. If you are using salted butter, then you might have to skip the extra salt in this recipe.

2)Add in powdered sugar. I just powdered normal sugar in a blender till fine and used it. You can use confectioners sugar (icing sugar).

3)Cream both butter and sugar till creamy.

4)Add in salt.

5)Add in vanilla extract.

6)Cream all this together till creamy.

7)Add in plain flour.

8)Mix well to shape it into a soft dough. The dough has to be soft. If you find the dough dry, you can add a tsp of milk.

Chilling Cookie Dough

9)Take the dough and place it over a sheet of plastic wrap. You can use plastic wrap or use parchment paper.

10)cover it tight. Place it in fridge for few hours before using. You can keep the dough in fridge upto 4 to 5 days.

Rolling Out Dough

11)Place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper.

12)Roll it thin using a rolling pin.

Cut-out Cookies Using Cookie Cutters

13)Peel the plastic off the top layer. Now lets cut out small cookies using a cookie cutter.

14)If you don't have cookie cutters, you can just cut into bar like shape.

Baking Cookies

15)Arrange the cookies in a baking tray. Place it inside a preheated oven and bake.

16)Shortbread cookies baked. Let it cool completely.

Icing Cookies & Decorating

17)I melted some chocolate in a sauce pan for icing. You can go for royal icing too.

18)Take the melted chocolate and drizzled over the cooled shortbread cookies.

19)Decorate with sprinkles and let the chocolate set completely.

20)Serve.

Shortbread Flavours

• Scottish Shortbread: Use 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and ½ cup white rice flour.
• Vanilla Bean Shortbread: Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a knife to scrape out the pulp. Pulse the pulp into the flour-sugar mixture before adding butter. Or add up to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the butter.
• Citrus Shortbread: Add 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon, lime or orange zest with the flour. Add up to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water with the butter if desired. These are classic with poppy seeds.
• Nut Shortbread: Grind ½ cup toasted nuts in the food processor with the flour before combining with remaining ingredients.
• Toffee Pecan Shortbread - add ½ cup toffee bits and 1 cup chopped toasted pecan to the dough.

Shortbread Variations

1)Slice & Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies

Delicious buttery shortbread cookies with orange zest and cranberries. I added zest from two orange (around 1 tbsp) and 1 cup of dried cranberries in the cookie dough. Mixed it gently and shaped into a log like. Wrapped the log with plastic wrap and chilled for few hours. Slice the log into pieces, arrange in baking tray. Place it inside a 180 degree C preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

2)Almond Shortbread Cookies

This nutty shortbread cookies with nuts which taste so delicious and filling with toasted nuts. I added nuts in this and made this in a muffin pan. So you get perfectly shaped cookies. For making this, finely shop almonds and sprinkle into muffin pan. Place a small ball of shortbread cookie dough over the almonds and press firmly. Now bake in a 180 degree C preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

3)Cut-Out Shortbread Cookies

I used mini cookie cutters to cut out cookies. Since I used mini cookie cutters, these take just 5 minutes to bake in a 180 degree C oven.

4)Cinnamon Sugar Shortbread

This cinnamon sugar shortbread bars is a delicious buttery and melt in mouth cookie bar which taste so delicious. Preheat oven to 160 degree C / 320 degree F. Take the dough and flatten it in a square baking pan. Mix ¼ cup sugar and 1 tbsp ground cinnamon together, sprinkle this all over the dough. Bake for 30 to 40 mins. Now remove from oven and let it cool for 5 minutes and slice into bars.

Expert Tips

• Instead of plain flour, you can use ½ wheat flour and ½ plain flour. You can also use whole wheat flour entirely, the texture might vary a little but still it will taste great.
• You can use icing sugar or powder regular sugar and use.
• Any flavoured extract can be used in the cookie dough like coconut or almond.
• Shortbread cookie dough can be made and stored in fridge for 4 to 5 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is shortbread different from cookies?

Shortbread is made from butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, plain flour. Cookies usually has raising agent like baking soda, baking powder.

Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted butter?

If you are using salted butter, then you might have to skip the extra salt in this recipe.

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