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!
I would love to try these but would like to put an imprint and add a small drop of jam before baking do you think that will work.
I think it would!
Can you roll in log and refrigerate till next day?
I have never tried rolling them into a log and I’m not sure that it would work. You can drop them onto a tray, refrigerate them, then bake them the next day. They are also great baked and eaten the next day, too. 🙂
This is what I did. I rolled them in plasticwrap. It is a very soft dough, but I twisted the ends of the plastic wrap until they formed a log shape, then chilled in fridge. They were simple to cut and toss in the oven
That is so great to know! Thank you!
Can I pipe them in to different designs with a piping bag?
I haven’t tried that but one commenter said that she had success piping these.
The absolute BEST shortbread i’ve ever had. Have struggled for years to fine the right shortbread that melts the way this cookie does. I’m grateful that you and your sister and family have perfected it so I don’t have to worry about it.
That makes me so happy to hear! You are very welcome for all the cookie testing we’ve done. 🙂
I just made these. What a waste of time!! And ingredients!!
They taste good but I cant even pick them up! They fall apart. Like others have said they are like sand crumbling! Not happy.
I’m sorry to hear they weren’t what you were looking for.
My husband spoiled me and made me a dairy free batch by using goat butter instead of regular butter. They turned out perfect with the melt in your mouth texture I love!! To offset the strong taste of goat cheese I ate them with Laura Secord dairy free truffles with peppermint….So delicious!!
So great to know that they can be made with goat butter. What a nice treat from your husband!
This is my 2nd year making them and they are just amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
That’s wonderful! Thank you for coming back to let us know!
Just found this recipe online and tried it. Cookies are fantastic. Never made cookies before and I am very happy with how they turned out. I put a little depression in the middle of each and filled them with various types of jams and some with Nutella. Wow!
Thanks for the recipe!
Great call on the Nutella! Yum!
Whoa! Melt in your mouth, no kidding. These are amazing! I am a pretty crappy baker, to be honest, but THESE cookies are quite possibly the best things I have ever made in a kitchen, ever. If I can manage to make them incredible, it’s an incredible recipe.
I love it! That’s so great to hear!
I don’t know what I did wrong I followed the recipe to a T and it all just went into one big blob
I’m so sorry that happened to you! If the cookie dough is warm, it does spread more than when it’s cold. Maybe your house was quite hot? Might be worthwhile to put the cookie dough in the fridge for a while before you bake them next time. 🙂
Absolute perfection! Thank you for all the extra tips, without a doubt the best batch of shortbread I have ever made. Thanks for sharing!
You’re so welcome!!
I made this Melting Shortbread cookies are they are absolutely delicious. I will always be using this recipe from now on. Thank-You for sharing this amazing recipe
You are so welcome!
Seriously some of the best shortbread I have ever had. An easy recipe to make. My bake times were a little less than 15 mins, more like 13-14 mins.
That’s wonderful to hear!
The best Shortbread cookies I have ever made. They were so light and tasty
Thanks, Mary! So happy that they were a hit!
I would like to try this reciepe. I would like to use some rice flour along with the flour. can u advise me as too how much to use.
I’ve never tried it with rice flour so I really can’t say. Sorry!
wondering about substitution
What are you thinking about substituting?