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!
They turned out perfect and delicious! Definitely melt in your mouth and just the perfect amount of crisp on the bottom and soft on the inside. I had to bake mine longer because my oven is super old and weird, but my hubby and I LOVED these. Also used dairy free butter (country crock plant olive oil butter) and it was still delicious.
It’s so great to know that these can be made with a dairy-free butter! Thank you for that tip!
Hi Kristen! I made the shortbread cookies and they turned out delishous! My question is, since the dough should be cold, do you think I could make the dough ahead of time and then bake them the morning of my event? I’m having a reception and want them super fresh…..I tried putting a dollop of lemon curd, and apricot and raspberry jams from Yrader Joes in the center of each cookie – and chocolate! All were really good!
Yes absolutely it can be! Just keep them covered on a cookie sheet in your fridge and bake them when you need them. 🙂
They were a huge hit! The plate was cleaned! I experimented with some with a dollop of chocolate, some with a dollop of lemon curd, and some with a dollop of organic apricot jam from Trader Joe’s – all were loved! Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! And good call on the apricot jam. That’s a great idea!
Why did mine turn into sand?! I followed instructions precisely and it pebbled up and went to sand.
Do you mean as you were beating the batter? I’ve never had this happen to me so I can’t say why. Did you use the amount of butter the recipe calls for?
Mine were sand too. All measurements correct. 3cups of flour ?
That is correct. Whipped shortbread is very soft. 🙂
Hello there! Im in the process of making these delectable cookies. Ive read each n every comment and im going to try a piping bag. I will let you know how they turn out.
THANKS SO MYCH FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE?
You are so welcome!
Wondering how they turned out when you used the piping bag?
I was thinking of using my cookie press.
I’ve never tried them in a piping bag but I suspect they would be too soft.
Hi Kristen,
Thank you for all your time and efforts! I love finding great recipes. I’m currently baking these cookies for the first time and I just have a few questions/comments that haven’t already been asked or addressed.
First, what is the purpose or function of the cornstarch? Is it to provide body without gluten? If so, what do you think about using 3 1/2 cups of cake & pastry flour and omitting the cornstarch?
Second, the batter was too stiff for my hand mixer. It could be that I actually added too much flour. That would have certainly made the dough more stiff. As it was, my hand mixer’s motor burnt out on one of the beaters. There is a distinct difference between scooping flour directly from the bag, spooning flour from the bag into the measuring cup, and measuring sifted flour. Could you please provide ingredient measurements in grams and millilitres, in order to reduce confusion?
I had to resort to my stand mixer with the wire whip attachment and I beat the batter for a further 5-6 minutes, after an initial 5 minutes with the hand mixer. I then used a one ounce cookie scoop to make nicely rounded cookies. I wish I could send you a photo! They didn’t fall at all and are just lightly toasted on the bottoms and tops, after 15 minutes.
I used flat-sided, uncoated, aluminum baking sheets in a conventional oven at 350°F, rotating from top to bottom once at 8 minutes. I had also added 1/2 tsp of almond extract whuch turned out nicely without overpowering the simplicity of these light, tender cookies.
In the end, we found them to be light, airy and tender without being crumbly at all. However, they do seem a little pasty but I wonder if that isn’t the effect if the cornstarch or perhaps a bit of extra flour. I have chocolate melted and ready for a light drizzle but they still need to cool a bit.
Thank you again!
Cory
Coldstream, BC
Adding cornstarch to shortbread cookies helps them to stay light and tender. I’ve honestly never weighed the flour in this recipe so I can’t tell you an exact weight. 1 cup of flour weighs 120 grams so you can use that as a starting point.
Happy to hear the cookies turned out well for you!
Wow, these are really good. I added chocolate chips, just because. Thank you for this recipe.
That’s such a great idea!
Hey Kristen, it’s such a great recipe.thanks for sharing this.sometimes i thought why i couldn’t be so creative while cooking. I didn’t make it before. Those cookies are looking yummy! I will make that right today. Your tips will help me to make that correctly. Keep posting this type of helpful article.. 🙂
Thank you so much! I hope you like the cookies as much as I do!
I also tried these and they turned out great! One thing to note, the hand blender whipping isn’t absolutely necessary. Mine is broken so I just vigorously whipped it by hand with a fork, and it turned out perfect.
That is really great to know! You must have gotten a great arm workout while you were at it!
I have a convection oven option, can I use that at same time frame and temp? or stick with straight oven.
I’ve never tested these in a convection oven so I’m not sure how long they would take to bake. Definitely less time. 🙂
Can I add mini chocolate chips?
I’ve never tried it before so I can’t say for sure but I think the dough might be too delicate for additions.
These definitely melt in your mouth.. wow! So delicious. I tried dipping them in melted chocolate chips but the cookies just fell apart. Next time i’ll drizzle chocolate or leave it out. I topped a few with pecan pieces instead of the cherry. I think next time I’ll add chopped pecans to the whole batter.
Any tips for tweaking the recipe to make them (slightly) less delicate? Maybe less corn starch? I have to handle them with so much care or they break! But they are sure delicious 🙂
Yes, they are delicate! I haven’t tried tweaking the recipe to make them less delicate but I would think adding a little less butter might do the trick. 🙂
Can’t wait to make these! Do you know if these work well with cookie cutters and cookie icing? Or are they too delicate for that?
They are too delicate for that!
These are absolutely amazing! I made them today and ate FIVE (I couldn’t stop… haha)
I brought some to work and everyone who ate them demanded the recipe! Thank you so much for a new yearly classic!
You are so welcome!!! Merry Christmas!!
What speed on the hand mixer did you use to beat the cookies?
I use high speed. 🙂
Made the cookies and they taste great, however would like to whip up a batch for a party. Any tips on how to make them look a bit prettier. They taste wonderful, however kind of messy looking Typically I roll in a blah and squish with a fork, these are much to soft and fluffy tompress with fork. Any tips would be welcomed
What about a sprinkle of sugar on top? Or maybe a drizzle of chocolate once they’ve cooled?
I use one of those icecream looking cookie droppers. Works great. It dispenses approximately 2 tbsp, then slightly push down with a fork to get grove. garnish with a small piece of maraschino cherries / green and red … they will look amazing. And FYI I use 1 for 1 gluten free floor and they taste amazing!
Thank you for letting us know this recipe works with gluten free flour! That is really helpful!
Loved the recipe, followed exact and was great. Cookies did not look the prettiest. Any tips,not piping to make these look a bit nicer. I would like to do a batch for a party this week.
When you said if using a stand mixer to reduce mix time, how long do you suggest to mix it for ? Can hardly wait to try and make these. They are my parents favorite cookies! I’m so excited.
I don’t have a stand mixer myself so I haven’t been able to test it. I would think 3-5 minutes would be enough. 🙂
Tried this recipe today and OMG ! Perfection!! I only had 1 cup of unsalted butter (thought I would test a recipe before doing my big bake later this week). Halved the recipe, used my whisk attachment on my kitchen aid mixer, spooned the flour/corn starch mixture in slowly and once it was done I beat it for 3 minutes. Didn’t have time to refrigerate so used a cookie scoop and pressed with a fork (dipped in water so it wouldn’t stick!) then added some sprinkles. Baked it for 15 but was a little long, going to go with 12mins next time. Literally melts in my mouth and I ate 5! Mmmm
I’m so happy to hear you liked the recipe! And thank you for letting us know about using the whisk attachment on your Kitchen Aid. So happy that worked!
Why no indication of electric mixer speed? Wouldn’t that be a key piece of info?
I mix the dough on high speed. 🙂
I find this is pretty hard on an electric hand mixer. The motor was getting very hot near the end. I think the batter is too thick for this type of mixer. Just my opinion, however the cookies turned out fine and put a thumbprint in them… then a tiny bit of chocolate icing as soon as they are out of the oven. Worked perfectly. Hope I did NOT ruin my mixer.
Such a great idea to put a thumbprint in them! I hope your mixer is ok!
Can’t wait to make! Thank you! Ps – Josie L is rude and lacking in grace.
I hope you like them as much as I do!!
Have tried this recepie two times now and both times my cookies have gone flat. Not sure what I am doing incorrectly?!?
Were you using a stand mixer? I’ve had some people tell me that when they use theirs it over beats the dough and it falls a bit. You can also try putting the cookies (uncooked) in the fridge for a bit to chill them before you bake them. 🙂
These definitely melt in your mouth!! I didn’t listen to the handmixer direction. I used my kitchen aid mixer with the spatuala piece on for 5 min and then the whisk piece for another 5. I also put ice packs around the bowl to help it whip really nicely. They turned out amazing!! My kids have never had shortbread and it was wonderful to watch them experience the unexpected melt in your mouth texture ?? will def make again !
That makes me so happy to hear! Now you have me craving cookies lol. Might have to make a batch earlier than I had planned to this year.
The best ever!
Yaaaaa!!!
The other recipes specify a mixer speed for the first set then second set of ingredients. All these recipes online that read like personal diaries yet lack important details. That may be why that woman’s cookies fell flat (!?)
These are so stupid good. I just made a batch and ate six. I want to eat more. Lol. I’m concerned how they’ll transport because they are definitely melt in you’re mouth, but I will absolutely be making more.
Yaaa! I think so, too. I’ll be making my yearly batch next week. So happy you like them!
These are without a doubt the very best shortbread ever!! I have now made them 3 years in a row – take some into my office – they now start “nagging” me about September for their Xmas Shortbreads! And if you mix with a hand mixer, it’s pretty hard to mess them up.
Thank you so much! They are my absolute favorite, too!!