Sharing with you my guide on How To Make Shortbread Cookies. A classic all-butter, tender cookie made with only 3 core ingredients. This timeless shortbread is quick to make, lasts a long time, and is perfect for cookie swaps, festive baking, picnics, and as an everyday treat.
Basic shortbread cookies are the little black dress of the cookie world. Classic, dependable, and can be dressed up or down in all manner of ways. They really are the best cookies to make and I adore making them.
I have other great shortbread recipes for you to try out. My Strawberry Shortbread Cookies are super sweet for Valentine’s Day and Lemon Shortbread is perfect all year round. Then my Pecan Shortbread dipped in Maple Glaze hits the spot in Autumn, followed by my Cranberry Orange Shortbread and Christmas Tree Shortbread to enjoy during the festive season.
Not only do I show you how to make this easy all-butter shortbread dough that comes together in minutes, but I also share an impressive list of mix-in ideas to jazz up your buttery Shortbread Cookies if you wish.
Jump to:
❓ What is Shortbread?
It's a style of biscuit (as called in the UK) or cookie (as called in the US) that originates from Scotland. Due to its high fat content, the formation of gluten is inhibited resulting in shortbread having an extremely 'short' tender texture.
The shortbread in my recipe uses the traditional ingredients of butter, sugar, and flour giving you the most flakey, buttery, crumbly shortbread cookie that you can bite into. And it’s absolutely perfect! This is exactly what a great shortbread recipe should achieve!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple is best. I love this adage, and it’s oh-so true in this case. You can’t beat the familiarity of biting down on a traditional shortbread cookie. It’s like a warm hug!
- Versatile. Shortbread is a fantastic base to use for all sorts of recipes. Along with cookie rounds, fingers, petticoat tails, and slice n’ bake cookies, you can also make thumbprint cookies, stamped cookies, and shortbread caramel bars.
- Build your own adventure. The options are endless as to what you can flavour the shortbread with but also what you can decorate them with. You just gotta have fun with it!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
I've seen many variations of recipes around on the web using rice flour, cornflour, powdered icing sugar or egg in the dough. I’m not here to say that they're wrong. I just keep falling back to my favourite, easy shortbread cookie recipe that uses butter, sugar and flour at its core.
With so few ingredients my biggest tip when buying them is to go for the best quality that you can, especially when it comes down to the butter that you use. Use a good quality European Butter as they have a far superior taste but also lower water content which benefits the shortbread.
- Butter - I recommend unsalted butter so that you can control the level of salt within the recipe. As my method creams the butter and sugar together, ensure the butter is at room temperature for maximum cream-ability! But make sure it’s not too soft verging on melted otherwise, it won’t cream properly and you’ll be left with greasy, dense cookies.
- Sugar - Granulated or caster sugar is used. The recipe states granulated as it's more mainstream, but I personally go for caster sugar every time as it dissolves better into the butter.
- Flour - Plain (all-purpose) flour creates the perfect structure for the cookies to maintain their shape. Don’t bake with self-raising flour for this recipe as we don’t need the added aeration that it provides.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt - Vanilla extract and salt are not part of the core ingredients needed to make shortbread. If you're a purist then by all means leave them out. But I love the additional flavour and balance these two ingredients bring. Vanilla bean paste or the scraped beans from ½ a vanilla bean is a good substitute for vanilla extract. And use fine salt rather than flaked salt for an even distribution of salt throughout the dough.
📖 Variations
Now that you have your shortbread dough nailed, you have the perfect base recipe to then be able to flavour your shortbread. You can add as much or as little as your like! Here are just some ingredients that you can add.
- Nuts: Any type of chopped nuts can be added to your shortbread mix. Lightly toasted or raw nuts as per your preference, chop them up coarsely for even distribution throughout the dough. Examples you might like are walnuts, pecan, pistachio, almonds, hazelnuts and sesame seeds.
- Herbs: Mixing finely chopped herbs into the dough provides a subtle but herbaceous essence that is delightful. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage and lavender are my favourite.
- Spices: such as cardamom, cumin, pumpkin spice, cinnamon or fennel can add an interesting note.
- Teas: Earl Grey tea has to be my favourite to add to the dough, but others might include English breakfast, mint tea, or camomile. (Use crushed-up tea leaves rather than hot water and the leaves.)
- Citrus: Orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit are incredible flavours to add to your shortbread. Do this through the zest, and top tip - make sure to rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils in the zest. Then carry on and cream the sugar and butter as per the instructions. You get maximum flavour this way.
- Extracts: Add coffee, lemon, lavender, orange, peppermint, maple or rum extracts to intensify flavour. Be warned, a little goes a long way.
- Dried fruit: A fantastic addition to any shortbread biscuit is by adding dried fruit. They add amazing sweetness but also amazing little pockets of chewiness too. Make sure to chop the fruit up into small pieces to make it easier to stamp or cut the dough. Dried cherries, raisins, apricots, cranberries, and dates are great options.
- Confectionary: Sweets! The kids (and adults!) are going to love you! Have fun and think of all the fun sweets such as Jelly Beans, M&M's, Smarties, Marshmallows, Sprinkles, and chopped chocolate bars like Mars Bars, Twix, and Snickers Bars. Just typing this list brings a smile to my face!
- Chocolate: Any and all chocolate works incredibly well with the buttery shortbread. Add coarsely chopped chocolate bars, chocolate chips, or chocolate callets into the dough for little pockets of melted heaven throughout! Or the cookies can be dipped or drizzled with chocolate or a combination of various types. Don't just stop at dark, milk, or white chocolate, think about ruby or blonde chocolate and mint or orange chocolate. It's a great chance to have fun and put your own spin on your cookies.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
I can’t wait for you to dive headlong into this section showing you how to make butter shortbread cookies. Here, you’ll find process images and stepped instructions to make classic shortbread so you know exactly what to expect. This really is the perfect recipe for beginner bakers. You'll see just how simple it is.
Make the All-Butter Shortbread Cookie Dough
You can use either a stand-mixer or hand-held electric beaters. Whatever your preference works great.
STEP 1. Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Now cream the butter for 2 minutes so that the sugar crystals dissolve. You’ll know it's ready when the creamed mixture is lovely and pale. Beat in too much air and that air will cause the surface of the shortbread to puff up and bubble (Images 1 & 2).
TIP: How to soften butter quickly
If you need to soften it quickly, place chopped or sliced butter around the outer edge of a dinner plate, microwave for 10 seconds, and check. If the butter needs a little longer, continue in 5-second bursts.
Add the vanilla extract and give it a quick mix together. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
STEP 2. Add in flour and beat them together.
TIP:
At the start of mixing, it can look like the dough is too dry and will never come together. Be patient and keep the mixer going on low. The flour basically has to start to become coated with the moisture of the creamed butter and sugar. It can take a minute for this to happen.
With your hands, bring the dough together in the bowl by squeezing it into one cohesive lump (Image 4). Try not to knead it. Simply squeezing it gently together and pressing the crumbly bits at the bottom of the bowl will bring together the dough. Then, using your hands, shape it into a rough disk.
Roll Out the Dough and Stamp
STEP 3. Roll out the shortbread dough. On a lightly floured surface roll out your dough with a lightly floured rolling pin (Image 5). Note: I tend to only flour the surface and the rolling pin and not the top surface of the dough itself. This adds even more flour which can dry out the dough.
TIP: Is my dough too soft and what do I do if it is?
It's important to note that if the dough is too soft then it will be impossible to cut out the cookies in the next stage. The air temperature, how soft the butter was to start off with, and whether the exact amount of flour was measured all come into play with how soft the dough is at this point.
How will you know if it's too soft? You'll find it really tricky to roll out. It will stick to your rolling pin and to your work surface and not roll out evenly. When you try to stamp out the cookies it will stick to the stamps and lose shape when you try to transfer the cutouts to a baking tray.
What to do if the dough is too soft. If it's too soft to roll out then pop it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to firm up a little (but not too much otherwise the dough will crack when you try to roll it out). Living in the UK, I find in the heat of summer I have to refrigerate the dough at this point, but in Autumn/Winter, I can roll it straight out. If you live in a hot, humid climate then this tip is particularly important.
- The dough is pretty forgiving to re-roll until you've used as much of it as you can.
- Try not to knead it each time. Simply pressing it together will form it into a disc.
- Also be aware that every time you re-form the dough, it will pull in the flour from the work surface and hence may dry out the dough. If you find this happens, then sprinkle a couple of drops of water onto the dough as you bring it together.
Prick shortbread. Once all the rounds are on the lined baking tray, then use the tines of a fork to press holes about halfway down into the dough (Image 8). This helps the dough from bubbling up whilst baking and allows the steam to release, plus it gives it quite a traditional, signature look!
Refrigerate. Now chill those cutout cookies on a baking sheet for 30 minutes minimum, or until the cutouts have hardened. By doing this, the butter won't melt out when it hits the hot oven and the cookies will retain their shape. The result will be perfectly shaped, buttery cookies.
Note: Make this ahead of time by covering the tray in plastic wrap and then refrigerating it overnight (or even for a couple of days!). You can then pop them in the oven as and when you want.
Bake the Shortbread Cookies
Smooth out cookie tops if needed. If the shortbread has bubbled slightly on the surface, then as soon as you take the tray out of the oven, and I mean as soon as you do this, then very, very gently smooth the surface with the base of a flat glass or measuring cup (Image 13).
Sprinkle with sugar (optional). Then sprinkle with some granulated sugar over the top when still warm (Image 12). Leave the cookies to cool down on the baking tray. There is no need to transfer them to a wire rack.
How Do You Know if Shortbread is Baked Properly?
It can be hard to know when shortbread is baked through. Not baked for long enough and it's wet and claggy, too long and it's dry and crisp.
Aside from the slightly golden edges, another way to tell if the shortbread is cooked through is to lift one up and look at the bottom. If the cookie still looks wet underneath then they are underdone. Pop them back in for another minute or two to bake right through.
Refer to my image below to get a visual idea as to when the shortbread is done. That being said, everyone has their own personal preference on how flakey or crispy shortbread should be. I prefer mine verging on only just baked for that full-on melt-in-the-mouth, tender texture.
TIP: Variables
There are quite a few different factors that will affect how long you bake your cookies and the outcome. Here are points to look out for:
- Different oven temps: Your oven can run at a different temperature to mine and with such a short bake time overall, just a couple of degrees will change the length of bake time.
- Measurements: Were the ingredients measured out properly? Too much flour will dry out the cookie dough and then bake time may need to be reduced.
- The thickness of dough: The thinner you roll out the dough- the crispier it will be.
- Bake time: Use the recommended time in the recipe but my biggest tip is to go by sight. Buttery and 'short', or crisp. I like my shortbread soft and buttery so bake them the minimum time stated. But if you'd prefer yours on the crisper side then leave them in the oven for a couple of minutes longer.
Your best bet is to use your eyes as a guide. (Refer to my image above for visual clues.)
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Re-roll the dough. Once you've cut out the first round of cookies, make sure to bring the dough back together again with your hand, re-shape it then re-roll and cut out more cookies. I do this twice to get the maximum number of cookies from the dough.
- Flour your cookie cutters. When making the Shortbread Cookie Rounds, this stops the dough from sticking to them and avoids you from having to peel the dough from the cutter, ruining the cookie shape.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough. Unless you what a tray of odd-shaped cookies that have spread all over the place, the dough needs to be chilled where stated in the recipe.
- Keep an eye on the bake time. Everyone's oven runs at a slightly different temperature. With such a short bake time, a minute or two either way will make a difference.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Scottish shortbread traditionally uses shortening as the fat or a combination of both butter and shortening. This results in a slightly different flavour, but also texture which is a little firmer and crisper than regular shortbread.
True, they do look the same! The main difference is in the ingredients list. Sugar cookies have baking powder in them acting as a leavener making them lighter in texture. Shortbread doesn't have this making them more crumbly and denser.
This is to resolidify the butter. The butter is at room temperature when making the dough resulting in a soft dough. If baked straight away, the butter would melt away immediately when hitting the hot oven and the shortbread would spread. By chilling the dough, the butter takes a lot longer to melt in the heat, and this allows the outside of the dough to set in place before the butter fully melts inside, leaving you with perfectly cut-out shortbread cookies.
It's all in the quality of the ingredients. With such a short ingredient list, the quality makes a big difference. The perfect shortbread cookie should be crumbly, but not dry, buttery but not greasy and sweet but not sickly.
❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions
To store: The shortbread cookie dough itself can be made well in advance. Wrap very well with plastic wrap and store the dough for up to a week in the fridge. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 10 days and in the fridge for up to one week.
To freeze: Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe airtight container. Freeze the dough for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. To freeze baked shortbread cookies, store them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Allow cookies to come to room temperature before serving.
If you tried this Shortbread Cut Out Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
The Best All Butter Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 130 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 60 g granulated sugar, caster sugar is preferred if you have access to it.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Line one or two baking trays with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and cream for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed until pale and light. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through. Add in the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Add in flour beat them together. Sift in the flour and add the salt then mix at low speed until they are combined and the dough starts to come together. The dough will look quite raggedy but you’ll know it's ready when it starts to clean the sides of the bowl and clumps in the middle.With your hands, squeeze the shortbread dough together into a mass. Shape it into a rough disc.
- Roll out the shortbread dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll it out to a ½ cm (¼ inch) thick. Note: if the dough is too soft at this point then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or longer until it firms up slightly and makes it easier to roll out. Keep an eye on it as if the dough is too hard, it will crack when you try to roll it out.
- Cut out cookie shapes and chill. Once the dough is rolled out, use a cookie cutter (I used a round one) to stamp out the cookies. Lay the cutouts onto the prepared baking tray. Bring together any scraps, re-roll and stamp out more cookies. And then, do it again if needs be. Just be aware that every time you re-form the dough, it will pull in the flour from the benchtop and hence may dry out the dough. Add a couple of drops of water to the dough if this happens. Try not to overwork the dough by kneading it. Just press it gently together each time.Once all the rounds are on the baking tray, use the tines of a fork to pierce holes into the top. This stops it bubbling up as much. You can make any pattern!
- Now refrigerate the stamped cookies for 30 minutes minimum or until the cutouts have hardened. This means the butter has resolidified and will give you the best possible chance of the cookies retaining their shape in the oven.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F) whilst the cutouts are chilling. Remove the cookies from the fridge, then bake for 10-12 mins or until just golden around the edges. Cool on the tray for ten minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.Option: Sprinkle the shortbread cookies with sugar as soon as you remove them from the oven when they are still hot.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Nila
I adore all butter shortbread and can't wait to make these. You made the process look so simple to make cutout cookies. Thanks so much for these amazing process images.
Emma
You are welcome Nila - hope that you enjoy them 🙂
Stacey
Can you use royal icing on these?
Natalie
The best shortbread recipe that I have come across! My now go to recipe. I added dark chocolate chips to mine. looking forward to trying out more recipes.
Emma
Amazing Natalie- Thank you so much for your comment- it totally made my day!
Samantha
The best shortbread recipe and easy step by step method with hints and tips along the way. This will be my go to website for all things bakes!
Emma
Thanks so much for such a fab comment Samantha- made my day!
KJN
I made these this morning. Doubled the recipe and my word.. truly scrumptious! This will be my new go to recipe for shortbread. I can't wait to try others on your site. So happy to have come across a reliable, easy to follow recipe site that uses British measurements. Thank you for this great recipe and a delightful day of snacking on these divine biscuits!
Emma
Hi Kezra, Thank you so much for your fabulous comment- so happy that you love these delicious cookies!
Tiegan
An amazing recipe, I’ve done it twice in a week. I added some chopped glaciers cherries and a touch of almond essence. It’s like a Bakewell shortbread!
Emma
Hi Tiegan. So glad that you love the recipe.- Makes me super happy to hear. And adding that flavour variation sounds incredibly delicious!
Eloise
These are the best shortbread I have ever had before
Emma
Amazing! Thank you so much for letting me know Eloise. 🙂
Saira Younie
This shortbread recipe is fabulous! The dough comes together so easily and better yet they taste amazing! This will now be my go to recipe for shortbread!
Emma
Hi Saira, Thanks so much for leaving this fantastic comment. - so glad you loved my shortbread!
June Slann
I have just baked a batch of these for the first time and they are delicious.
I mixed it up by hand and followed everything as you said. I was a little worried at first that my pastry was cracking as I rolled it but I rolled it around in my hands for a little bit and it was fine.
I doubled up on the ingredients and I'm so glad I did because I don't think they are going be around for long.
A BIG THANK YOU to you for your step by step instructions.
I know this will be a well used recipe in this house. God help the waistline 😉
Emma
Hi June- that's fantastic to hear! Thank you so much for letting me know!
Joanne
I’ve just tried your recipe for the first time and this shortbread is delicious! I will be using this to make shortbread cookies as favours for my daughter’s wedding. Lovely recipe!
Emma
Oh wow June- that's such a huge compliment to know my recipe will be part of your daughter's milestone day. Thank you SO much!
Julie Bailey
Thank you for a wonderful and comprehensive recipe, Emma. It was a pleasure to read.
I’m off to make your recipe for my daughter’s baby shower. Thank you so much
Emma
Hi Julie- Oh that's so kind of you to say. That's super kind of you to say. x
Elise
Hi Emma! This looks fabulous! It will definitely be added to my Christmas cookie lineup!I knew we were indeed spirits when you said you add vanilla and salt to your shortbread; the recipe I was using doesn’t have those ingredients but I also add them anyway! I also like that your recipe uses granulated sugar and no cornstarch as my old recipe did, and I especially like that the cookies are refrigerated before baking and the sugar on top! But I saw that Thida Bevington posted shortbread wedges attributed to you…is that something I can make with this recipe? Or do you have a book with that recipe in it?
Thanks-
Elise
Emma
Hi Elise! The vanilla and salt, whilst not being make or break ingredients to the recipe, are SO needed for flavour to stop it from being bland. Glad you agree! Regarding the shortbread in the pan that Thida shared on IG- yes it's from my cookbook 'Simply Sweet Nostalgic Bakes'. You can use this shortbread recipe to make wedges - just press the dough into the base of a tart pan and bake. I haven't tested the quantity of dough from this recipe in a tart pan so you'll have to use your judgment as to whether it should go all in one large pan or be split into two smaller ones. Let me know how you go!
Sheelagh
YIPPPEEE! At last! I have NEVER been able to successfully make shortbread - ever. Until now. I couldn't believe it when edible shortbread actually appeared from the oven. THANK YOU! I will keep practising to perfect it even further, but now I'm getting somewhere!
Emma
That's amazing to hear Sheelagh! So glad that you found a recipe to enjoy. 🙂
KJN
Hi Emma, back again to say thanks as I'vw made these countless time since the first time I tried (and reviewed) them back in August. I've made them with all sorts of additions (chocolate, dried fruit) and also given bagged up biscuits as gifts. Your recipe never fails me- BIG THANKS!
Shaan
Hey I love these made it several times to try a choc version - would I just add cocoa? Or reduce flour and add? Thank you!
Emma
Hi Shaan- So happy you love the recipe! I would remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. (If you added the cocoa powder without reducing the flour, then the dough would become too dry. Thanks!
Shaan
Fab thank you soo much I’ll try it xx
Nigel
Hi
I came across your excellent recipe when trying to find one to replicate some marmalade shortbread biscuits I was given from Harrods. Do you have any thoughts on how much marmalade to add in to them instead of just zest. Many thanks
Emma
Hi Nigel, So glad that you have stumbled across my recipe. I've never made marmalade shortbread before , or even tried it...sounds delicious though! I've only ever seen it as a filling to shortbread sandwich cookies. I would maybe add a couple of table spoons, but it could change the texture of the dough. It's hard for me to advise without testing it myself i'm afraid.
Emma
CA
Emma,
Great recipe these were delicious, thanks for sharing!
Emma
Thanks so much- that's brilliant to hear!
Sarah
These look delicious! I am planning on making a large batch of these for an upcoming event. In order to make the preparations easier, could I roll the dough into a "log" shape, freeze it, thaw it for a day in the fridge, and then slice the cookies rather than use a cookie cutter? Thanks is advance.
Emma
Hi Sarah, Yes, absolutely you can. You can even roll the log in chopped nuts or sprinkles before freezing. Enjoy
Emma
Sarah
Hi sorry I may have missed something but how long do you put these on the oven for and what temp?
Emma
Hi Sarah- it's in Step 6 of the recipe card:"Bake. Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F) whilst the cutouts are chilling. Remove the cookies from the fridge, then bake for 10-12 mins or until just golden around the edges. Cool on the tray for ten minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely".
Lesley
My dough was too dry and just cracked when I rolled, I threw it awsy.what did I do wrong?
Emma
Hi Lesly - did you weigh the ingredients with a scale or by cups. It sounds like there was too much flour which leads to a dry dough which won't come together properly and will crack. Best to weigh using digital scales.
Sammy
Hi I really would love to make this but the ads cover all the ingredients info.
Emma
Hi Sammy- sorry to hear that- not sure why that is as I or others haven't had that problem. If you press the print button, the recipe card will open on a new tab ready to print - even though you aren't printing, you'll be able to see the ingredients and method with no ads. Hope this helps,
Emma
lynda richards
Absolutely delicious, and easy to make. Love your recipes. Keep them coming please
Emma
Wow wow wow- thank you so much Lynda for this incredible response to my recipes- you are the best!
Jeanine Christie
I made these to bring to a St. Patrick’s Day dinner with friends. I doubled the recipe and added a rounded tablespoon of caraway seeds instead of sprinkling sugar on top. They were a tremendous hit !
Emma
Comments like this makes me so happy. Thank you!
Georgia
What a great recipe, Emma. Thank you. They worked a treat. Deliciously tasty and with lovely snap.
Emma
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment Georgia. So happy that you enjoyed them x