Classic Shortbread Cookies recipe

Sinfully delicious with a buttery tender crumb, snappy to the bite yet melt in your mouth these classic Shortbread Cookies are the best holiday cookie recipe ever!!

Aren't we officially in the cookie season? You can never bake too many cookies in December well is it December already??

Well who cares as long as there is Cookies on the plate and Shortbread Cookies are a Christmas cookie favourite along with my Toffee Cookies well actually all my Christmas Cookies.

What is Shortbread Cookies?

Short here refers to the shortening of the gluten. Since there is no liquid ingredient to bind the dough (the fat in the butter binds it) and since there is no kneading involved there is no formation of gluten (responsible for chewiness in baked goodies) and so these Shortbread Cookies have a crisp and tender texture. Another speciality of these cookies is the proportion of ingredients to one other. There is 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter and 3 parts flour so it is in the ratio of 1:2:3 by weight that is 2 oz sugar, 4 oz butter and 6 oz flour and hence it often known as 1 2 3 or 2 4 6 cookies too.

Everyone needs a good shortbread recipe and this is the BEST shortbread recipe I’ve made, nothing fancy, but PERFECT in every way!

I agree it is easier to buy Scottish Shortbread Cookies from the supermarket especially during Christmas. But ever since I learned how to make shortbread cookies at home I swear there is a difference!!

And that is why you should try to make it too.

Why you will love this recipe?

1. Use of real butter lends it a premium flavour and texture.
2. It is much cheaper and convenient to make at home.
3. You can modify the recipe by adding certain variations (few discussed in the post) to create a whole new cookie recipe.
4. Perfect to curate a cookie box using this recipe as the base.
5. Easy to follow recipe, the dough can be made months in advance and baked fresh when needed.

Bonus your house will smell like Christmas, you won't need candles for sure 😉

Ingredients Needed

There are no long list of Ingredients as this is a very easy 3 ingredients cookie recipe

1. Butter: A good quality butter would make or break the recipe.
2. Salt: Even though the recipe does not call for salt, I prefer adding a pinch of salt to all my baked recipes. So technically that would make this a 4 ingredient shortbread cookies but you can skip it if you like.

Step by Step Instructions:

• Beat the butter and sugar until it is pale and creamy. This would take around 3-4 mins of your time depending upon how soft the butter was to begin with (image 1).
• Then add the flour and mix gently before beating it to avoid flour dust (image 2).
• Do not overbeat or over work the dough. Just beat until it comes together and when you press it between your palms it should hold its shape (image 3-4).

• Shape the dough to form a square. Cling wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 mins (image 5).
• Roll the dough between two parchment paper. Trim from all four sides to form a 6x6 inch square dough (image 6).

• Cut the dough at 1 inch gap interval to form 6 strips then cut the dough in the centre to form 12 cookies (image 7).
• Poke some holes on top using a toothpick or wooden skewer. (image 8)
• Alternatively you can also shape them into sticks to make cookie sticks.

• Lay it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for the second time for 10-15 mins (image 9).
• This is the time to preheat your oven to 180°C.
• Once refrigerated bake the cookies in a preheated oven of 180°C for 13-15 mins until the base is golden brown and the top is pale in colour. (image 10)
• Let it sit in the pan itself for another 3-4 mins and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Air Fryer Shortbread Cookies:

• The instructions for making the cookie dough, shaping and refrigerating the dough remains the same.
• After the final refrigeration, pre-heat your air fryer at 170°C for 3 mins.
• Then place the cookies in your air fryer. Adjust the number of cookies depending upon the size of your air fryer and then bake for 7-10 mins or until the cookies are golden brown from the base and pale on top.

Storage (Make-Ahead) Instructions

Once cooled, store the cookies in an air tight container for about a week at room temperature.

This is one of those cookie recipe that is great for shipping or making in advance because they hold up well.

Can you freeze these cookies?

You can definitely freeze baked shortbread cookies. Simply transfer it to a freezer safe container or zip lock bag and freeze for 2 months.

That being said the unbaked cookies can also be frozen.

• Make the dough and cut out the cookies. Place it on a single layer close to each other but not touching each other.
• If you have a lot of them then simply place a parchment paper on the first layer and stack the remaining cookies on top.
• Cling wrap the entire lot (yes the cookies along with the baking tray) and put it in the freezer. This will stay good for 6 months.
• If you do not have lot of space in the freezer. Then once the cookies are frozen transfer to a zip lock bag and then freeze.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and bake as directed, you don’t have to thaw the cookies before baking. You will need to add a few more minutes to the baking time.

Can I freeze the Cookie Dough?

Yes the dough can also be frozen for 6 months. Cling wrap and keep it in the freezer.

When ready to bake, let it thaw at room temperature until ready to roll, then follow the instructions mentioned in the recipe card.

Variations

1. Chocolate Dipped Cookies - This is the most common variation. Once the cookie is cooled dip half of the cookie in the melted chocolate allow it to set. You can sprinkle the top with nuts or sprinkles.
2. Try adding extracts like vanilla, almond, coconut, coffee, rum or even Indian extracts like Saffron, Cardamom, Rose etc.
3. Finely chopped nuts and chocolate chips would lend a unique texture.
4. Give a citrusy touch by zesting some lemon or orange.
5. Add sprinkles to the dough to give it a celebration feel.
6. Adding cardamom powder would give it a unique flavour. Dip it in rose flavoured chocolate and top with dried rose petals to turn it into an Indian Cookie recipe.
7. Decorate it with royal icing to suit the theme of choice.
8. Shortbread cookies with Jam: Perfect base to hold jams of choice. Just sandwich a little jam in between for a flavour burst

Consider checking our 9 flavoured cookies from 1 cookie dough for additional inspiration.

Baker's Tips:

1. Use softened butter but not melted. Softened butter will blend easily with icing sugar and turn into pale and creamy quickly. So the risk of incorporating air into the batter becomes less.
2. Using good quality ingredients is the key to classic recipes.
3. Adding a pinch of salt would elevate the flavour quotient.
4. Do not overmix or overknead the cookie dough you do not want to develop gluten.
5. Thickness of the cookie dough is also crucial for it to hold its shape. Use a scale to measure it if need be. Or simply keep in mind to not roll it thin.
6. Refrigerating as stated in the recipe is key to harden the butter which prevents it from spreading too much while baking.
7. If you are a homebaker looking to sell these cookies, then my Cake Pricing Guide tutorial is something you need to check to charge your baked goodies the right way.

Troubleshooting Shortbread Cookies Problem:

Why did my Shortbread Cookies spread?

1. This happens if your butter was not soft enough so you ended up overbeating it and accidentally incorporated too much air which spreads while baking. 2. You did not measure the flour properly. This recipe has a lot of flour which helps in structure building if not measured properly the cookies will spread.3. You skipped refrigerating the cookies. Butter hardens on refrigeration so a cold butter will spread slowly in the oven as compared to a room temperature butter.

My Cookie dough is too crumbly?

1. Again you did not start with soft butter so it was not creamed properly and when flour was incorporated there was no moisture to bind it.2. Try combining the dough with your hands; that way the warmth from your hands would melt the butter and would help in binding the dough to the right consistency. 3. Adding too much flour. Are you sure you are measuring the flour correctly. Check out my video on how to measure the flour the right way for best results.4. If the dough is cracking while rolling, then it is absolutely fine. All cookie dough does that just press them together, keep rolling and you should be fine.

I have a detailed video explaining the common cookie problems. Consider checking that to understand more.

Recipe FAQ's

What is the difference between a Shortbread and Sugar Cookies?

Sugar Cookies as the name suggests has a high amount of sugar in it as compared to the shortbread ones. Sugar cookies are made in a way that it does not spread and makes it the perfect base for icing on top. Also since sugar cookies are not creamed as much as shortbread they often need a binding agent like eggs which makes the cookie light and also sturdy enough to hold the icing on top whereas a shortbread cookie is often dense.

Then is Butter Cookies same as Shortbread Cookies?

Again No. Butter Cookies has the highest fat to flour ratio. A lot more buttery and so they are not crumbly as the shortbread cookies are. Plus butter biscuits are often baked for a less duration whereas the shortbread ones are baked low and slow to retain the pale colouration on top.

Is refrigeration necessary?

Yes absolutely. Little time in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This avoids the risk of spreading too much while baking. Also, it helps concentrate those flavors for your best ever shortbread.

Why do you poke holes in shortbread?

Poking holes in the top of the shortbread dough allows the heat to evenly circulate which helps it bake evenly. Making sure your shortbread is evenly cooked through will ensure that you don't end up with parts that are still not entirely cooked and some parts that are overcooked and dry. The concept is same as baking doughnuts or our simple Indian Medu Vada.

How do you know when the Shortbread is cooked?

Well I understand its kind of tricky as sometimes the brown colouration of the cookie is enough to indicate that it is baked. But here in this case look for the sides especially the bottom part a slight browning and the crisp edges indicates that it is cooked. When you take it out of the oven it will be soft but will firm up upon cooling.

Related Recipes:

1. Cookie Sticks
2. Butter Biscuits
3. Egg free Sugar Cookies
4. Nankhatai - Indian Shortbread Cookies

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