Indulge in these easy, buttery, with a slight crisp melt-in-your-mouth goodness SHORTBREAD COOKIES made with just SIX simple ingredients you surely have in store! Bake some more to make an awesome gift this holiday season.
Can you feel the cool breeze or the white cold snow scattered everywhere? For me, these are signs that the holiday season is so close. During these times, the most frequent question to ask is, “What gift should we buy?”.
You might want to cross out “buy” and replace it with “make” because nothing beats a gift made with so much effort and love. And as a home cook and baker, I really love creating the gifts I give.
One of my most commonly made gifts is these shortbread cookies. You can make lots of it with just simple (and quite cheaper) ingredients, and give enough for all your family and friends!
What is Shortbread?
Everything about shortbread started in the 12th century where it was originally known as “biscuit bread” (not only in Scotland but over the whole British Isles). It is made from left-over bread dough which is sometimes dried out in the oven, forming a dry and hard rusk.
As time goes by, leaving agents on dough was replaced by a huge amount of butter, making shortbread “short” due to the lack of liquid that helps in the development of gluten into long strands of protein.
Keeping the gluten “short” results in a tender-crumbly cookie, biscuit, or pastry.
Are Shortbread Cookies and Sugar Cookies Similar?
Shortbread and Sugar cookies might look similar, but yeah, they are two different cookies – they differ in texture, taste, and uhmmm, cost.
Sugar cookies have more ingredients and use eggs and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda, making it lighter and sweeter, while shortbread cookies are more on the buttery taste, and are less sweet and kinda denser.
Unsalted or Salted Butter
You can definitely use whichever you want. But for salted butter, remember to omit the added salt on the recipe, or else it will ruin your cookie.
However, in my recipe, I always use unsalted butter to have a similar result on all my baked shortbread cookies, since salt content in salted butter varies on the brand you’ll use.
Dairy-free Shortbread Cookies
Want these lovelies, but want a non-dairy alternative? Try replacing butter with coconut oil, and the cow’s milk with any preferred plant-based milk. The coconut oil may add flavor to the cookies, but you can give it a try anyway!
Fail-proof Tips in Making Shortbread Cookies
Although these cookies are as easy as 1,2,3 to make, there are still some things you have to consider to ensure you’ll have the best result. I listed some for your convenience:
- Frozen butter? Cut the sticks into a few slices and microwave on 50% power for 5 seconds. Flip butter until soft.
- Don’t overwork the dough. Even we’re using a short dough, an overworked dough is possible and may cause hard cookies. You can use a food processor to work quickly!
- Making cut-out cookies? Cut as many as you can on the first roll, gather scraps, and re-roll once.
- Have fun with shortbread cookies! You may add chocolate chips or toasted nuts for extra crunch!
Storage and Make-Ahead Instructions
Yes! You can make the dough in advance then pop it in the oven and enjoy it anytime you want! Just wrap the dough nice and tight and pop it in the fridge for a week.
Want them to last longer? Put the dough in an airtight, freezer-safe container and put it in the freezer for up to three (3) months. Just allow it to warm just enough to cut before baking.
You also store these baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 weeks or freeze them for 3 months.
How to Make Shortbread Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside while you make the cookies. Using a hand mixer, mix the butter and confectioner’s sugar until the mixture is fluffy – about 3-5 minutes. Pour in the vanilla extract into the mix and blend. Then add flour and salt and thoroughly mix on low speed until flour has been fully incorporated. Add milk starting with one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together.
Divide dough in half, flatten each half into a disc and place in the fridge for it to firm up for about 20 minutes or more. Lightly flour cutting board or surface and roll out the dough, one half at a time, to about 1/4- ½ inch thick.
Cut with a 3-inch cookie cutter or use the desired cookie cutter. Transfer to the baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch apart from each other. Bake for about 13- 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. It all depends on the thickness of the dough. Do not let it brown. Let cookie cool completely before serving or dipping in chocolate or icing.
Shortbread Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
Line a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper. Add chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stop and stir often every 20-30 seconds so that it does not scorch or burn. It usually takes about 2 minutes. Stir the chocolate continuously until it is smooth, shiny, and completely melted.
Add about a teaspoon of oil to add shine to it. Dip one side of the cookie into melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off, then transfer to the lined parchment paper.
Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226.8g) unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 1 cup (125g) confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4.2g) vanilla extract
- 2 ⅓ cups (312.5g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5g) kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (30g) milk (mixed half whole milk, and half cream)
Optional Ingredients
- 6-7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate , finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon oil
- lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside while you make the cookies.
- Using a hand mixer, mix the butter and confectioner's sugar until the mixture is fluffy - about 3-5 minutes.
- Pour in the vanilla extract into the mix and blend. Then add flour and salt and thoroughly mix on low speed until flour has been fully incorporated. Add milk starting with one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together.
- Divide dough in half, flatten each half into a disc and place in the fridge for it to firm up for about 20 minutes or more.
- Lightly flour cutting board or surface and roll out the dough, one half at a time, to about 1/4- ½ inch thick. Cut with a 3-inch cookie cutter or use the desired cookie cutter.
- Transfer to the baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch apart from each other. Bake for about 13- 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. It all depends on the thickness of the dough. Do not let it brown. Let cookie cool completely before serving or dipping in chocolate or icing.
Shortbread Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
- Line a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper. Add chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl.
- Melt chocolate in the microwave, stop and stir often every 20-30 seconds so that it does not scorch or burn. It usually takes about 2 minutes. Stir the chocolate continuously until it is smooth, shiny, and completely melted.
- Add about a teaspoon of oil to add shine to it. (You add some lemon zest into it for that added hint of citrusy)
- Dip one side of the cookie into melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off, then transfer to the lined parchment paper.
Tips & Notes:
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Yvonne says
Can I use make margarine?
Sibongile says
I love baking maybe I pls have rules recipe
Jean says
I had a shortbread cookie recipe that I thought was great . Nevertheless, i decided to try yours.
It was fantastic!
Whenever I need a recipe I always search to see if you have one available because your recipes are always the best..
Keep them coming..
ImmaculateBites says
This really warms my heart ! Thank you so much for taking time out to let me know.
Happy Cooking!!
Angela Shihela says
Yes. Me too..