Shortbread Cookies Recipe 

Is it really the holidays without a classic shortbread cookies recipe? These melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies are sweet and buttery, with a crisp, crumbly bite. Like shortbread? Try our festive chocolate peppermint shortbread cookies too!

If you look forward to melt in your mouth shortbread desserts during the holidays, then you'll have to try these shortbread pecan bars, butter tart bars with a shortbread crust, apple bars with a shortbread crust, and chocolate dipped shortbread cookies!

I love making these shortbread cookies at Christmas! They're the most classic Christmas cookies and SO easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. They always have a spot on my cookie trays during the holidays, just like these chocolate crinkle cookies and gingerbread crinkle cookies too!

Cup of Flour recipes helps our readers easily make recipes by sharing recipes made with basic ingredients that'll be convenient for you to pick up at any grocery store or, in the case of these cookies, that you may already have in your pantry! Learn more about what to expect from Cup of Flour recipes on the About page!

Reasons you'll love this recipe

• EASY: You only need five ingredients for these cookies! You can also make the cookie dough all in just one bowl!
• FESTIVE: Can't have Christmas without shortbread!
• DELICIOUS: I am telling you, these cookies will seriously melt in your mouth when you take a bite. Powdered sugar is a key ingredient in making this happen. 

Ingredients

• BUTTER: Unsalted or salted butter will do. I always opt for salted, and add the extra salt anyways. We all know salt makes everything taste just a tad better. But if you use salted butter, feel free to omit the extra salt. Use 1 cup of softened butter. 
• SUGAR: To sweeten up these cookies use a ¼ cup of granulated sugar and ½ a cup of powdered/confectioners sugar. 
• SALT: Just a dash to elevate the delicious flavour of these cookies. You need ¼ teaspoon. 
• FLOUR: This recipe uses all-purpose flour. You will need 2 and ⅓ cups. 

Equipment

• BAKING SHEET: You will need at least 1 baking sheet for baking the cookies. It will be even more helpful if you have 2 so you can pop in another batch once the other batch is done baking.
• MIXER: For combining the ingredients/cookie dough use an electric mixer.
• MIXING BOWLS: You will need just 1 medium-sized mixing bowl to combine the ingredients.
• ROLLING PIN: For rolling out the cookie dough before you start shaping your cookies!
• PARCHMENT PAPER: This is key for rolling out the cookie dough to avoid sticking to the rolling pin.
• COOKIE CUTTERS: To make your favourite Christmas shapes! If you don’t have cookie cutters, you can also use the rim of a cup.
• MEASURING SPOONS AND CUPS: For measuring the ingredients.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F or 163° C.
2. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. 
3. Add the butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Do not over-mix. 
4. Add the flour, and mix until combined with the other ingredients. 
5. Place the cookie dough mixture in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. 
6. Form the cookie dough mixture into a rough ball and place it on a large piece of parchment paper on the counter. Add a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. 
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until ¼ - ½ an inch thick. 
8. Use cookie cutters to create the cookies. Carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Place leftover dough in a mixing bowl and place it back in the refrigerator. 
9. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Remove if you see any golden colour appearing. 
10. Once cookies are fully cooled, dust them with additional powdered sugar using a sieve strainer (optional).
11. Repeat steps 6-9 for any remaining cookie dough left in the fridge. 

Recipe expert tips

• Use softened butter. For this recipe, you need to cream together the butter and sugars for the cookie dough batter, and the only way to do this is if your butter is at room temperature. If it's too cold or if it melted, you won’t be able to cream it. If you forgot to pull your butter out, no worries! Just microwave it for 10-15 seconds until it becomes slightly soft. 
• Chill the dough. It's tempting to skip this step, but this will make it much easier to roll the dough property and shape the cookies. Chilling the dough will allow the dough to firm up and be super helpful when shaping the cookies. 
• Don’t overbake the cookies. Check on the cookies a couple of times before the bake time finishes, and if you see any browning pull the cookies out! A little browning is OK, but you want to avoid it as much as possible to have the classic pale shortbread cookie look.
• Use a spatula to transfer the cookies. To transfer the cookie dough shapes to the baking sheets, slide a spatula under the cookie for easy transfer. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

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