Whipped Shortbread Cookies

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!

Best shortbread cookie recipe

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!

How to make the softest whipped shortbread cookies

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Keep beating the sandy dough for 3-4 minutes. Suddenly, you will feel your beaters start to strain, and the dough will come together.
4. 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!

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.

Watch how to make these cookies

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Best Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

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Recipe video above. These are the shortbread cookies I've loved since childhood. They differ from Scottish Shortbread as these cookies are incredibly soft – like little pillows.

The secret to making these wonderfully soft cookies is to add cornstarch to the batter and whip the cookie dough until it resembles whipped cream.

My mom always adds a little maraschino cherry on top of hers, but I prefer to use a dried cranberry. You could press in a chocolate chip or even leave them as is.

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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.

Equipment

electric hand mixer

cookie scoop

cooling rack

Video

Notes

How do I know the shortbread is done? The cookies will puff up ever so slightly, and the bottoms will be the lightest golden brown, while the tops will remain almost white.

Butter: This recipe works best with salted butter. Remember to let it soften to room temperature before you use it. If you only have unsalted butter, add one teaspoon of kosher salt or ½ teaspoon of table salt to the batter.

Sweetness: This shortbread is not overly sweet. If you’d like them a little sweeter, a sprinkle of icing sugar after they come out of the oven does the trick!

Flour: It’s important to measure the flour correctly. Too much flour will prevent the dough from coming together. Use a spoon to sprinkle the flour into a measuring cup and then level the top with a knife. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 178kcal (9%), Carbohydrates: 16g (5%), Protein: 1g (2%), Fat: 12g (18%), Saturated Fat: 8g (50%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 33mg (11%), Sodium: 109mg (5%), Potassium: 17mg, Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 378IU (8%), Calcium: 6mg (1%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.

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