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!
Can these be rolled out so I can use cookie cutters?
While I haven’t tried it, other readers have said they have pipped these cookies so cutters may work. I would make sure that the dough is very cold before rolling and cutting it. You’ll want to let it rest, wrapped in plastic wrap, in your fridge for at least an hour after you mix the dough.
Am I reading this right? 1/2 cup of corn starch????
That’s right!
First time making shortbread cookies! This will be my go recipe. I love the fluffiness when spooning them on cookie sheet. The only thing different I did was make them a bit smaller.
Thank you!
You’re very welcome!!
I baked these cookies tonight one pan to see if we liked them…..I threw them away and the rest of the cookie dough. Maybe they are what you’re looking for but for me it was like trying to eat dust even after they completely cooled. They fell apart and all we were left with was powder. Definitely not the chewy shortbread cookie I wanted!
You’re right, these are not chewy shortbread. Like the title says, they’re “Melt in Your Mouth Shortbread” 🙂
These cookies are the best Shortbread cookies I have made! They browned very evenly. I cooked them on convect all at once and they turned out beautifully. Held together really well also. The whipping seems to be the “trick”!
Awesome! So happy you like the recipe!
We have been trying for years to recreate the shortbread my husband’s grandmother used to make. Her shortbread may have been one of the reasons I married him. 🙂 I used this recipe and it’s perfect! Exactly like the one Gladys used to make! Thank you for posting it.
That is so wonderful!
Hi Kristen. Would you mind commenting on whether these cookies freeze please – and for how long? Thanks Maureen
Yes, they freeze very well! Growing up, my mom always made them 4-6 weeks before Christmas. They would probably last even longer than that. And they are just as good once thawed as they are fresh. 🙂
Just finished making a couple batches of these. We added a cherry to each cookie and sprinkled a small amount of icing sugar on top. Thank you so much for the receipe!! They are the shortbread cookies I love!
I’m so happy to hear that you love this recipe! The cookies must have been so pretty with a little cherry and some icing sugar on top!
I just made this cookies exactly as the recipe read….and they are outstanding
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
Thank you for sharing. I’ve been making these whipped shortbread cookies for over 50 years. They are truly delightful as you say. The only thing I do differently is put the dough through a cookies press.
I’ve always wondered about putting them through a press. I’ll have to try that!
Hello can you freeze raw or do you have to bake them first.thank you
I’ve only ever frozen them once baked. They freeze very well!
Good recipe. They are very crumbly, slightly too much for my taste but overall still very delicious. I did try piping these into rosettes using a wilton 824 tip and it was successful! Only cooked them for 13min as they were thinner than dropped cookies when piped.
That’s so great to know that you were able to pipe them! Thank you for letting us know!
Wanted to let you I made these, and they turned out Perfect!!! My kid dropped one on the floor….it crumbled and she ate it off the floor!? if I could rate a million stars I would!!!
Thank you, was a big hit in my house!!!!!
Hahah I love it! Sign of a good cookie!!
I. Love. Shortbread. And these. Look. Fantastic
Thanks!
What could i use if i dont have cornstarch
I’ve never tried any substitutes with this recipe but I imagine that tapioca starch or potato starch would both work well.
I made these cookies for my brothers 60th birthday because they are his favourites. They were melt in your mouth perfection but I kinda resented the 10 minute beating. ?
Thank you for the delicious and easy recipe.
Linda
Haha yep, it does feel like a long time! So happy they were a hit!