Shortbread Cookie Recipe
There's nothing quite like the buttery crumb of homemade shortbread to bring the holidays to life. With their melt-in-your-mouth texture and simple sweetness, these classic cookies are the kind that disappear quickly from any cookie tray. Whether you're baking for a holiday party, gifting to friends, or simply enjoying with a cup of tea by the tree, this Christmas shortbread recipe is sure to become a festive favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Salted Butter 226g
- ¾ cup Confectioners Sugar (spooned and levelled) 78g
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour (spooned and levelled) 244g
- ¼ cup Cornstarch (spooned and levelled) 35g
Decorations (optional)
- sprinkles
- melted chocolate
- glace cherries
- chopped nuts
Instructions
- Combine the all-purpose flour and cornstarch together in a bowl and set aside.
- With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter for about 1.5 minutes, until it becomes light and fluffy. Add in the confectioners sugar and beat for another minute until they are well creamed together.
- Slowly add the flour/cornstarch mixture in ½ cup increments until the dough comes together.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a thick disc. Enclose it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill or 30 minutes in the freezer.
- Remove the dough from the fridge or freezer and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to about a 1/3 to 1/2” thick (see tips). For rectangular cookies, roll the dough into a 9x9 inch square. Along one edge, mark every inch; repeat on the opposite edge. On the other two edges, mark every 3 inches. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut straight lines from mark to mark to form 27 3"x1" cookies. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about a half inch apart. Dock the cookies with a toothpick (I did 6 little holes per cookie).
- If using cookie cutters you can roll out the dough to any shape but keep a thickness of about 1/3”, then use cookie cutters to cut out decorative shapes and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet about ½” apart.
- If decorating with sprinkles alone you, can sprinkle them on top of the uncooked cookies and give the sprinkles a little press to help them attach to the cookie.
- Once the pan is filled, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Once the oven reaches temperature and the cookie shapes have finished chilling, place the baking sheet into the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20-23 minutes. The cookies will just barely take on a golden hue.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then remove them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- If you prefer to bake with unsalted butter that is no problem. Substitute salted butter for unsalted and just add 1/2 teaspoon of salt in with the dry ingredients.
- When forming the dough into a disc, it will chill faster if the disc isn't too thick. It will also be easier to roll out if the disc isn't too thick.
- You can alter the thickness of your cookies by changing the thickness of the dough you roll out to. I used between a 1/3 and 1/2" thickness. The thicker the cookie the longer the baking time and vice versa.
- Docking the cookies with a toothpick helps to prevent the cookies from puffing up when baking.