Shortbread Cookies
These are the Best Butter Shortbread Cookies! They are deliciously crisp and rich, just like the classic Danish butter cookies that come in the blue tin. A fresh batch of these is especially wonderful for Christmas and holiday baking. The dough is easy to make using five simple, natural ingredients.
Dare I say that these are my favorite cookies ever?
There are all sorts of stunts out there with dessert, busy concoctions like Monster Cookies or these White Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies, but it’s hard to beat classic, butter shortbread.
These are reminiscent of the Danish butter cookies that come in those blue tins around Christmas time. I have such a nostalgia for those, as they always appeared in our pantry during the holidays of my childhood.
What’s most funny about those blue tin cookies is there are always several different types, but it’s all the same dough, just baked in different shapes. It really shows how much the shape and texture of the cookie can change the experience.
The circular swirls were always my favorite kind in the tin, so that’s how I pipe these, but you can do whatever shape you prefer. You can also have success rolling the dough out and cutting shapes with cookie cutters, or simply doing a “slice and bake” by shaping the dough into a cylinder or log.
Use a Good Butter for the Best Results
I usually opt for European Style butter for this recipe, which has a higher butterfat content than the cheaper butter. Because these shortbread cookies are so simple, it’s a good case for splurging on the really good stuff.
The whole point of these cookies is that you get a crisp, buttery experience where the sweet cream flavor of butter really comes through. My personal favorite choice is Kerrygold Irish Butter, which is readily available here in the US.
This Dough Is Forgiving
One thing I love about this recipe is that the end results are very forgiving with regards to piping the dough.
You’ll see below in my process shots that I’m not the best piper in the world (okay, I’m actually pretty terrible at piping, which is why I’m not a cake decorator), but the cookies still bake up and spread beautifully.
Any flaws in piping smooth out as they bake.
This Recipe Is Shipping Friendly and Sturdy
These cookies are also very sturdy, which makes them great to be shipped or gifted to friends and family (see 12 shipping-friendly food gift ideas for Christmas and beyond for more ideas).
When I make tins for shipping, I’ll usually include some plain ones, plus some dipped in white chocolate, and some dipped in dark chocolate. You can even add sprinkles or whatever you’d like to jazz them up. Not that they need jazzing. They’re delicious plain too!
I also sometimes add other kinds of shortbread, like Coconut Shortbread Cookies, Lavender Shortbread Cookies, and Millionaire’s Shortbread.
Step by Step Overview:
As an overview, here are the steps:
- Cream together butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla.
- Add flour.
- Add milk.
- Pipe dough into circles on baking tray.
- Bake.
Cream Together the Butter and Sugar
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, start by creaming together two sticks of room temperature butter with confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract, using medium-high speed:
It’s very important the butter is softened to room temperature, otherwise it will be very difficult to pipe the cookies.
Ideally, Use Salted Butter
Shortbread is the only instance in baking where I now use salted butter.
Normally when I make Cookies, I always use unsalted butter so I can control the salt content, but I found with shortbread that when you add salt yourself, the salt never really dissolves or disperses as well. Using salted butter ensures even seasoning, and in my experience, a better cookie.
If you only have unsalted butter on hand, you can still make this. Simply add a pinch of salt with the flour.
The butter and sugar are properly mixed when it looks fluffy and light, but very smooth when spread with a spatula:
Add the Dry Ingredients
Add all-purpose flour to the bowl. If you used unsalted butter, add the salt now as well. You may also add orange zest, or any desired spices that you’d like. Sometimes I’ll add orange and cinnamon, which really makes these feel like nostalgic Christmas cookies.
Mix with the hand mixer until you get pebbles, like this:
Add a Touch of Milk
Now add one tablespoon of milk:
Mix for another 15 seconds or so until the dough comes together:
We are using the BARE MINIMUM of liquid here, just enough to bring the dough together. Resist the temptation to add much more, as it will change the texture of the butter cookies and not be as crisp.
Pipe the Dough
Place the dough into a piping bag fitted with a very large star tip (mine was the Ateco 827). You really need to use an oversized tip here, otherwise the dough will be impossible to pipe. You may also use a cookie press if you prefer it.
Pipe circles of dough onto a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet:
What I like about the mat (affiliate) more than parchment paper is that the mat is nice and heavy, so it’s easier to pipe onto it. When using parchment, sometimes the paper wants to lift up with the tip.
Space out 12 circles per half sheet pan:
Don’t want to pipe?
If you don’t have a very large piping tip, or if you don’t want to pipe the dough at all, you can also roll the dough 1/2″ thick on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin, and cut your desired shapes with a knife or cookie cutters.
You may also shape the buttery cookie dough into a log, then slice and bake. I recommend cutting 1/2″ thick, but you may do thicker or thinner as you desire.
Bake!
Bake each tray until the piped circles are golden brown on the edges, then let the shortbread cookies cool completely. This is very important for having a crispy, pleasingly crumbly texture.
It’s fine to cool these right on the tray instead of transferring the cookies to a wire rack.
I personally love these plain, but feel free to dip them in melted chocolate, add sprinkles, or decorate them as you see fit. There are lots of options to jazz these up if you’d like, but know that these delicious cookies certainly don’t need it.
These classic shortbread cookies are perfect for a cookie exchange or another occasion for sharing sweet treats during the holiday season. For more shortbread recipes, also try Lavender Shortbread Cookies, Coconut Shortbread Cookies, or Millionaire’s Shortbread. And if you want to do some true holiday cookie decorating, these are the Best Cutout Cookies for that.
The full printable Shortbread Cookie Recipe is below, and I have a full video for these as well if you want more guidance.
More Favorite Christmas Recipes
Recipe FAQ and Tips
Yes, they freeze beautifully! Store in an airtight container or bag for up to two months.
Brown sugar is usually added for chewiness, which you don’t want here. These are supposed to be crisp and crumbly. So, I don’t recommend brown sugar.
Definitely! And these honestly don’t taste best when they are freshly out of the oven. You want to let them cool completely, ideally for a few hours.
Let cool completely, then store in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to two weeks.
This means the butter warmed up too much while you were working with the dough. Next time, pop the tray with the piped cookies into the fridge or freezer until the cookies are firm to the touch and chilled, 15-30 minutes, then bake immediately.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter at room temperature (8 ounces)*
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar (4 ounces by weight)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour (10 ounces by weight)
- 1 tbsp milk**
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the butter, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until combined, light, and fluffy.
- Add the flour and mix until it’s crumbly and looks like it can’t be mixed more.
- Add the milk and keep mixing. The dough should clump together after about 15 seconds.
- Place the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a very large star tip, and pipe onto a silicone mat lined baking sheet, with no more than 12 cookies per sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Let them cool completely (on the tray is fine)***, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
242 Comments on “Shortbread Cookies”
I have made several batches of these cookies. They are very buttery and delicious. The first batch I had trouble piping. The other batches I had to add a little more milk and then I could pipe them. I dipped the cookies in chocolate.
Hi Ann, I am really happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing. The chocolate dip sounds wonderful.
I haven’t made them yet but thank you… this was such a nicely detailed blog for the recipe and video. The cookies you could swirl in the circle then pull the tip up at the end and you have a Christmas wreath. I would also add a sprinkling of green sugar and two red candy drops at the top before baking and poof you have a decorative wreath.
That sounds lovely, thanks!
Quick and easy,the cookies were a smash hit!!!!
Wonderful!! Glad you enjoyed them!
I was just wondering whether you could freeze the Cookie dough
These are lovely. So buttery and a little crispy on the edges. I used a really big tip to pipe.
This tastes sooooo good but the piping part is too tough that I just want to eat them as a dough. I use 1M tip and double the piping bag but my hands turn our too shaky while squeezing. Will it be possible to use a spoon and spatula in making the dough instead of a mixer? I think over mixing it makes the dough a little tough to pipe.
Just made this without a whisk and electric mixer. Pure spatula mixing and some muscles and Voila! I can pipe them even with one hand! Definitely did the trick
Also having too much product in your piping bag makes it harder to pipe. Try only filling the bag one third or half of the way full.
The toughness in the dough is from over mixing. If useing a hand mixer this recipe won’t work as easily, and you should be careful to only mix slightly.
How do you scoop/measure your flour into the measuring cup? I’m asking because that may be the reason why some are having a hard time piping the cookie dough. Too much flour may result in a tougher firmer dough. I’m going to try these… it’s hard to find butter spritz recipes that don’t call for eggs. Thank you!
Hi Erin, I weigh my dry ingredients when I bake, and use the standard that 5 ounces is 1 cup of flour.
This shortbread is classic and delicious. I don’t have the hand strength to pipe this dough. Why are some people including myself having such a hard time?
I would call these “Spritz” as well. Coming from a Swedish family, I grew up on them, and have been making them for half a century. The recipes I’ve seen usually include egg yolks instead of milk. I put three yolks in mine, 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, and almond instead of vanilla.
I’ve never tried piping them. We always used a cookie press, or more commonly the back of a fork. Simply roll them into balls, then use the back of the fork to press them down halfway, then press them down the rest of the way at an angle forming a crosshatch pattern. If the fork is sticking to the dough, dip it in water first. Also, it is best to bake them high in the oven.
I have made these cookies countless times since finding this wonderful recipe last Christmas. These are the BEST butter cookies I have ever tasted, and the dough easily goes through the cookie press. Thanks so much for sharing! These are my families go to cookies!
*family’s* 🙂
Can’t wait to try!
I was looking for an easy treat recipe 😉
Made these cookies in the past weekend. The dough was too hard to pipe. And they spread out after baked, couldnt hold the shape. Didnt know what went wrong. I followed the recipe. Sad. ????
Look so good
I don’t know how anyone could ever pipe this dough. I tried everything. Thinning the dough just slightly, heating in the oven foe a few seconds, heating in the microwave….nothing will make this dough pipe. You have to squeeze so hard it makes the cookie shaky and ugly. Too bad, I was really excited to try these.
Sharon…SAME! I just tried to pipe these and was getting so frustrated. I finally gave up, folded in some chocolate chips, rolled the dough into a log and decided to go the chill and cut route. Why didn’t this work for us??