Whipped Shortbread Cookies
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These traditional shortbread cookies are the Christmas cookies my mom makes every holiday season. They’re whipped shortbread cookies that are so soft they literally melt in your mouth. You will LOVE them!
This has long been my favorite shortbread recipe. The cookies are so soft that they literally melt in your mouth. They are different from Scottish shortbread cookies, which are firmer. Eating this shortbread is like eating buttery, soft, crumbly clouds. This recipe is for you if you want soft, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread. (And really, who doesn’t want that?)
This is the shortbread cookie recipe my family has been making for decades. They were part of the Christmas cookie spread that always included Mom’s Nanaimo Bars, turtles, and butter tarts. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without them.
These shortbread cookies are crazy soft. When I say they melt in your mouth, I mean it. No chewing is required. They’re the most tender shortbread cookies you will ever eat. In the words of one of our taste testers, “I don’t know what just happened in my mouth, but I want more of it.”
This recipe has only five ingredients, is made in one bowl, and is the best shortbread recipe ever. Are you sold? You should be!
This easy recipe is made with only five ingredients!
- Butter – I prefer to use salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter, simply add salt to the recipe. Make sure the butter is at room temperature before making these cookies.
- Flour – Unbleached, all-purpose flour works best in this recipe.
- Icing sugar – Also known as powdered sugar.
- Cornstarch – This is added to make the shortbread cookies even softer.
- Vanilla – I add this for a subtle flavor.
Making whipped shortbread is incredibly easy. But it helps to look at the pictures above to see what the dough looks like at the four stages as you beat it.
- You’ll start by slowly mixing the salted butter, flour, icing sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla using electric beaters at their lowest setting. This is to prevent a cloud of flour dust from flying out of the bowl. After a minute, the dough will no longer be dusty but will have larger chunks of butter coated in flour.
- A few minutes later, when the dough begins to look like sand, increase the beaters to medium speed. You’ll likely think it will never come together at this point, but have patience and trust that it will.
- Keep beating the sandy dough for 3-4 minutes. Suddenly, you will feel your beaters start to strain, and the dough will come together.
- Turn your beaters up to high and beat the dough for another 1-2 minutes, or until it resembles thick whipped cream.
Now, all that’s left to do is drop mounds of the dough onto baking sheets and bake them for 15 minutes. It’s so easy!
Using a stand mixer to make shortbread cookies is a little trickier as you have to stop often to scrape the bowl AND it’s easy to overwhip them.
- Always use the whisk attachment. The paddle attachment is not able to whip the shortbread properly.
- Stop frequently to scrape the side of the bowl. Otherwise, some of the dough will be whipped and some won’t. You’ll see the difference the first time you stop to scrape the bowl.
- Keep a close eye on the dough at the end. As soon as it resembles thick whipped cream, stop beating it. Overbeating the dough can cause the cookies to flatten when they bake.
- The total time you’ll need to whip the cookie dough in a stand mixer is about 5 minutes.
Variations to try
- Top with red and green sprinkles for Christmas shortbread cookies. You can also try blending the sprinkles right into the batter.
- Add lemon or orange zest to the batter.
- Drizzle the tops with chocolate.
- Swap the vanilla for your favorite flavor extract.
- Make whipped shortbread cookies with Toblerone by stirring 1 cup of chopped Toblerone into the batter.
- Several readers have commented that they’ve had success using this dough with a cookie press.
Store and freeze
This shortbread cookie recipe is great to make ahead of time. Not only do they keep well for many days on your counter, but you can also store them in your freezer for months. So go ahead and make a big batch and have some on hand next time a cookie craving strikes!
Store: This is a great recipe to make ahead of time, as they keep well for many days on your counter. I usually keep some on a plate (for easy access) and put the rest in a bag. They will keep for a week on your counter or up to two weeks in the fridge.
Freeze: When I was a kid, my mom would make these a month or more before Christmas and store them in a container in the freezer. Once thawed, you’ll never know they were frozen. Tip ⇢ stack them between layers of parchment paper to protect them.
Best Shortbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups salted butter (at room temperature – see notes)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Colored candied cherries or dried cranberries (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Position your oven rack in the middle of your oven.
- Add the flour, butter, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla to a deep mixing bowl.3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups salted butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ cup cornstarch, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Begin mixing the ingredients using electric beaters at their lowest speed. Once the dry ingredients begin mixing with the butter and are not dusty anymore, increase the speed to medium.
- A few minutes later, the dough will start to look like sand. Keep beating the dough for another 3-4 minutes and it will start to come together.
- Once the dough comes together and your beaters start straining, increase the speed to high and beat the dough for another 1-2 minutes, or until it resembles thick whipped cream.
- Drop the dough into small mounds (about 2-3 tablespoons) on a baking sheet. If using, gently press a dried cranberry into the tops of the cookies. Note: Make sure the cookie dough is cold before you put it in the oven. If your house is quite warm, chill the cookies in the fridge before you bake them. Bake for 15 minutes. It is best to bake one sheet of cookies at a time. Use a new sheet pan for the next batch. The cookie dough must be added to a cool baking sheet.Colored candied cherries or dried cranberries
- Let the cookies cool for at least 10 minutes then use an offset spatula or slotted fish spatula to remove the cookies from the sheet pan and transfer them to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
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For more inspiration, check out all of my cookie recipes!
What an easy and delicious cookie! I love a cookie with simple flavors and the texture is perfect!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
O no I used 1 cup butter and 1 cup margarine cause I didn’t have any more butter and my cookies are melting 🤣🥲
I’m sorry to hear that! Yes, margarine is very different than butter. 🙁
These Shortbread is Super Delish and melts in your mouth. Sweetness is perfect. Will make and Bske ahead and freeze them for the Holidays. Perfect giveaways too.
Could i use this recipe to make lady witch fingers for Halloween or would it be too soft to hold the finger shape from the mold?
No I think these cookies are too soft for that. Sorry!
I am wondering if I could add Chocolate chunks to this recipe? thank you.
The cookies are very soft so I’m not confident that adding chocolate to them will work. But you could gently place a chocolate chunk in the top prior to baking them. Or drizzle some chocolate on after they come out of the oven!
I’m not sure what happened but these cookies were so fragile they would just crumble in your fingers when I picked them up. The taste was good but it was more like cookie dust than a cookie to bite into. I must’ve missed something.
You didnt let them sit long enough when you pulled them out of the oven. They must sit for at least 10 to15 min
Hi. This recipe looks so delicious and I want to try it but I’m making it for my brother who has no teeth. Can I just leave out the cherry? Or, can I just put a little raspberry jam in there?
You can leave it out – we often do. But jam sounds delicious!
I made these cookies and they really are melt in your mouth! I made 40 and between my mom and I they were gone in 24 hours! They were absolutely delicious and I plan to make them again tonight!
Omg. One of the best shortbread cookies i have ever made!! I skipped dinner so i could have a couple more. Love Love Love this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I made these cookies exactly as recipe says using hand mixer. Of course as I went to turn them over at 7 1/2 min. They fell apart. Intried to push back together but I am disappoint. What a mess!
These cookies (or any cookies that I know of) shouldn’t be turned over halfway through baking. Bake them for the full 15 minutes then let them cool for at least 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
As far as turning the cookie sheets, if you are using 2 cookie sheets, switch them around halfway through baking (put the cookie sheet on the top rack onto the bottom rack) to help the cookies cook evenly. If you have a convection oven, you can skip this step.
Linda your so funny. You just rotate the cookie sheet about half way through and dont touch them until after you take them out of the oven and wait 10 minutes. Try again. Worth the ten minute beating time.
Absolutely the best shortbread cookies I’ve ever made. I followed the recipe to a t and they were perfect. My family loved them.
Hi Kristen
Once baked how long do these stay fresh?
Thanks
They will keep for about a week in a sealed container. But they freeze excellent so don’t hesitate to put some into your freezer!
Made these exactly as directed. Perfect cookie. I love the melt in your mouth texture. Put a little buttercream on them and couldn’t stop eating them. Thanks for the recipe.
They look wonderful. I’m a lover of the less crumbly shortbread. I was thinking of making thumbprint cookies with it too. Have you done that with this recipe
They are very soft so I think they might crumble if you try to indent them. You can always try a could as a test!
I made this recipe using a cookie scoop and they turned out great. As stated, it is not a sweet shortbread so definitely add the icing if you like a sweet cookie. Was tempted to pipe it but didn’t, but I may try it next time. I did mix for 10 minutes but I think it was ready prior to that because I did whip the butter and sugar very well. My oven has a surround bake mode for cookies and delicate cakes so I chose to use that. It reduced my baking time by 5 minutes. I baked all my cookies for 10 minutes and left them on the sheets for 10 minutes as directed. I debated if I should chill the dough and realize now that the printed recipe did not state that, but the on-line comments suggest chilling the dough. That said, the cookies looked just like the picture and tasted great.
These look amazing. Do you think these can be made using a cookie press?
Some commenters have said that a cookie press worked for them!
Love these cookies, melt in your mouth is the best shortbread I think!
Your recipe is the best I’ve had!
I decided to get creative with half my dough tonight tho, I used orange extract instead of vanilla, a tsp or so of real oj, and crystallized ginger.
When I pulled them out of oven I popped another piece of crystallized ginger on top instead of a cherry. If your a ginger fan like me this was really quite delightful!
Thanks for the recipe!
Love your idea to use ginger!!
I love the ginger idea too! But how much crystallized ginger did you add to the recipe? I’m a novice baker and don’t have any idea. Thank you!