I’m a firm believer that shortbread cookies should be sinfully buttery and delectably tender, and this shortbread recipe is exactly that. It’s simply perfect – and it looks as good as it tastes.
With the signature delicate crumbly texture and beautiful buttery flavour, shortbread is one of those biscuits that is both nostalgic and elegant. It’s right at home with a casual coffee catch up with friends, or an elegant tea party to impress!
Shortbread Cookies
We have the Scotts to thank for burly men in pleated tartan skirts, haggis and shortbread.
I’ll hold on the haggis, am undecided on men in skirts, but can never get enough shortbread!!!
Shortbread is one of the best classic cookies in the world, and it’s also one of the easiest. All you need is:
butter
flour
icing sugar (powdered sugar)
Did you know that? Off you run to the kitchen! 🙂
Homemade shortbread cookies are WAY more tender and delicate than store bought – with a far better real butter flavour.
Why is it called shortbread?
These cookies are called Shortbread because the term “short” is used to describe cookies and pastries with a tender, crumbly melt-in-your-mouth texture. The same terminology is used for shortcrust pastries used in things like Quiche and Pecan Pie.
It’s considered an art to achieve this buttery delicate texture – but it’s actually REALLY EASY!
How to make Shortbread Cookies
The trick with shortbread cookies to ensure they are melt-in-your-mouth as they should be is to ensure the dough is nice and crumbly! Here’s how to make shortbread cookies:
creamy butter, then gradually beat in icing sugar and flour
it will be crumbly (photo #3 below), use your hands to press together to form a smooth-dish ball, don’t knead
now press the dough into a prepared shallow pan then using something to flatten the surface
partially bake, then remove
prick holes and slice, then bake again – this is the best way to achieve clean cuts and ensure the holes stay.
cool for 1 hour in oven – this will finish cooking them whilst keeping the cookies pale golden as they should be (rather than browning on edges).
Rice flour or normal flour?
You may have read that shortbread cookies should be made with a combination of rice flour and normal flour, and sometimes you see recipes with cornflour (cornstarch).
Rice flour makes the shortbread a little more tender, but having made shortbread many times over the years both with and without using this shortbread recipe, I can honestly say that the difference is barely noticeable. A shortbread recipe with a tougher dough or calling for more kneading may NEED rice flour in order to achieve the right delicate texture. This recipe does not need rice flour.
Comparison of different methods
There’s a few different ways to make shortbread cookies:
food processor – the fastest method. Blitz butter, flour and sugar, pat into pan and bake. This yields a shortbread with signature crumby texture, but the surface is quite rough, as pictured below. People who like very crumbly shortbread and do not mind about the rough surface use this technique;
rubber COLD butter in with fingers – this yields almost the same result as using a food processor ie very crumbly shortbread, rough surface
creamed SOFTENED butter using a beater or wooden spoon – this is the method I use. Still a beautifully delicate, crumbly shortbread, but the surface is smoother so it looks like the shortbread cookies that we all know and love!
I use the creamed butter method rather than rubbing in cold butter in this Shortbread Cookie recipe. Smoother surface, with the perfect delicate crumbly texture.
Homemade shortbread cookies trumps Walkers!!
I purchased a packet of Walker’s shortbread cookies so I could compare them directly to this homemade Shortbread Cookie recipe.
Homemade are way more tender – no matter which method you use, with or without rice flour. The crumble is softer when you bite into it, they are more buttery.
I truly believe that Shortbread Cookies are one of the iconic cookies in this world. To think that all you need is butter, flour and sugar to make such a delectable treat is just amazing, isn’t it?
The weekend is here. I just know you’ve been good all week. You deserve a treat. Go on! 🙂 – Nagi xx
For Cookie Monsters 🙋🏻♀️
And more 3 Ingredient Desserts!
1 ingredient Dulce de Leche – Slow Cooker Caramel
Classic Scones – and faster Lemonade Scones – both 3 ingredients!
Watch how to make it
Shortbread Cookie recipe video! Note the part at the end re: the cookie being crumbled. This is how it should be! And PS clearly these are not my hands in this video. I had assistance!
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Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 250g / 8 oz salted butter, softened (2 x US sticks, 1 cup) (or unsalted + ¼ tsp salt)
- 3/4 cup (90g) icing sugar (powdered sugar) (Note 2)
- 2 cups (300g) plain / all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160C/325F (standard) or 150C/300F (fan forced / convection).
- Butter and line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13″ pan with baking paper with overhang.
- Beat butter until smooth (or use very soft butter and a wooden spoon). Add icing sugar and beat until combined.
- Add half the flour and beat until mostly combined – it will resemble wet sand. Then beat in the remainder. Use your hands to bring it together into a smooth ball of dough – knead lightly if required.
- Roughly press down into a rectangle shape, then transfer into the pan. Press into the pan. Optional: Roll over the top using a small rolling pin or glass (that’s what I used) for a smooth surface. Don’t press down too hard – it makes the cookies firmer
- Bake for 20 minutes until edges are very light golden and most of the surface is still pale gold.
- Remove from the oven. Working quickly, cut into desired shape (I do 8 x 3 bars, like Walker’s shortbread biscuits) and prick all over with a fork (optional).
- Return to the oven for 8 minutes or until the surface is light golden – not browned. Turn the oven off, crack it open ajar, then leave to cool for at least 1 hour in the oven.
- Remove from the oven, use paper overhang to remove the biscuits from the pan. Cool fully on rack. Serve with tea!!
Recipe Notes:
* Food processor: place all the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor. Pulse 20 times, then whizz on high for 25 seconds until it forms breadcrumbs. Turn out onto work surface and proceed with recipe;
* Rubbing with fingers: Place all the flour and sugar in a bowl, then add butter. Use fingertips to rub butter into flour until it forms breadcrumbs (see video for how it should look). Turn out onto work surface and proceed with recipe. 4. HOT WEATHER WARNING! If it is super hot where you are and/or you have very hot hands with the butter rubbing method, press the dough into the pan then refrigerate for 20 minutes or until chilled. 5. PRECUTTING: To cut out into shapes before baking, it is best to add 2 tbsp flour to make a dough that won’t spread as much when baking. Then roll out into 1 cm / 2/5” thickness and cut into desired shape, place on a baking paper lined tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 150C/300F (fan forced) or 170C/340F (standard) then bake for 15 minutes until the edges are just starting to the brown but the surface is still a pale gold. 6. METHOD NOTES:
- Partial cook before cutting and pricking (if you do when fully raw, the cuts/pricks disappear when baked);
- Cutting cooked biscuit has tendency to crack surface a bit – not as neat;
- Leave the shortbread in the oven to cool. This is a tip I picked up from Cooks’ Illustrated – it allows the biscuit to finish cooking without the surface browning (shortbread cookies should be very pale).
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2017, updated March 2019 with steps photos and some housekeeping matters. No change to recipe – perfect as is!
Life of Dozer
We had a beautiful sunrise earlier this week. I didn’t get a single photo of it. But I got plenty of Dozer checking it out!!!
Is it possible to cut these cookies using cookie cutters or is the dough to crumbly for the cutters?
Hi Ambar, see note 5 for changes if you wish to use a cutter – I hope you love them!
From Northern California, it’s Flap again. I wanted to tell you these were nothing short of AMAZING!! And I made them! In and of itself, that feat is remarkable. The dough/batter was giving me fits because in my lttle bachelorette kitchen there’s not a huge space to store different sized mixing bowls. I settled for an over-sized Tupperware (plastic) bowl. I lost some dough to flying gobbets which somehow decorated me, the countertop and the floor. I now know that bowl wasn’t the best choice. But it all worked out well, even when the dough tore just a bit from my warm hands. I sort of pasted and molded it back together in the pan. 🙂
In spite of all that, these were wonderful. Such buttery flavor and I managed not only a beautiful, flaky texture, a pale golden top that looked just like yours and a sweetness that only shortbread can have. My friends loved them. They disappeared like magic! These will be what I make for holiday gifts. A huge hit! Thank you for your great recipes. Yours is the only food blog I follow. Best of the holiday season to you and Dozer.
I’m so glad you loved them. They make a perfect holiday gift!
I tried this recipe it’s an excellent recipe, everyone loved it.
Thank you so much 🙂
Great to hear you enjoyed this Mayanka! N x
This recipe is simply too awesome! And really appreciate the step-by-step tutorial video!
It tastes so superb delicious!! It’s buttery, crumbly and soft.
Thanks for selfless sharing:)
One of the best cookies i’ve Ever made…it was so easy..thankuu very much Nagi…
That’s terrific to hear Shaki! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
? My question is can your dough be chilled and then placed in a cookie press to make Christmas cookies?? if so would the baking time need to be altered
Hi, this sounds awesome. My question is, can I put flight in fridge then put it in a cookie press to make different shapes like Christmas cookies?
Hi, these look great! I’m new to baking, so I’d love to try these out, but I’m going to use half the recipe as I know I won’t be able to finish 24 biscuits. If I halve the recipe, and use a smaller tray, should I halve the baking time too?
Hi! I was wondering if I could use one of those round shortbread cookie pans for this recipe instead of the 9×13.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!!
Yes you sure can! 🙂 N x
I woke up this morning wanting to bake,, but I didn’t have a ton of ingredients, so I decided to look for shortbread recipes. The wonderful comments and helpful video on your site helped me choose this recipe after looking at a few different ones from Google. Mine didn’t look as lovely as yours, but these taste awesome! Some of them have visible layers, like a pastry, which I love. I had trouble getting them on the pan in a nice rectangle, and this was likely because my baking sheet was slightly bigger than called for. I also probably didn’t let the butter soften for a long enough time. But those were my errors, not your recipe’s errors, so I’ll still be saving your recipe for next time! Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you the taste was still awesome Becca!! Thank you for letting me know! N x
I have tried sooooo many different recipes for shortbread. Yours is my absolute favorite. I appreciate the explanations and variations. Thank you!
I never made shortbread before but these cookies were great. My son’s water polo team devoured them in a few minutes. I just made a a second recipe for my daughter’s. bible study. Easy recipe.
So glad you enjoyed this Brenda! N x ❤️
These shortbread cookies were the best I have have found yet. They cut beautifully. I think the powdered sugar made the difference as I have always used regular sugar. They were less sweet than previous recipes, ( my daughter pointed that out) but to fix that I just sprinkled regular sugar on to before baking. Such beautiful and decadent shortbreads. These are smooth and dense cookies, just as a true shortbread should be. Thanks for the recipe. I also just blended all with my hand mixer and it literally was ready to press in the pan in about 2 minutes.
So glad you enjoyed this Katie! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Can this be rolled in to a ball and pressed with a cookie stamp like a sugar cookie? I have a Brown Bag Scottie cookie press that I would like to make for dog show
Hi Tracy! You sure can – see note 5 🙂
Hi,
I wanted to make these cookies and was wondering if the dough could be refrigerated overnight?
Thanks!
I am sure that will be fine! Actually, will probably even make it even more short! N x
I have been trying for years to recreate my moms crumbly yummy short bread. Problem has always been, “cream butter but not over worked, a bit more butter until dough feels crumbly and no temp or time. She was not much in detail”. Your receipt looks like it might help. My question is that moms calls for rice flour as well as your 3 ingredients. What difference does it make. Many thanks.
Hi Karen! Please see the notes, I have explained about this! 🙂 N x
Hi! Just a question about the precutting note, it says to set the oven to 150 degrees fahrenheit and I wonder if that is supposed to say celsius? Since the normal recipe says to preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
Thanks for picking that up Tessa! Note fixed 🙂 And yes the temps for precutting are a tiny bit different because precept shapes, like stars, have sharper corners than cutting into shapes and I don’t want them to brown 🙂 N x
Have you ever tried to add the CARAMEL and CHOCOLATE from the CARAMEL SLICE recipe to this shortbread recipe? I want to make Millionaire Shortbread.
Hi Maureen! I haven’t but it should work just fine 🙂
Hi! I used your recipe as a base for mine. Thank you. To the basic recipe I added 1tsp. Browned Butter Flavoring (Wilton), and chopped pecans. They were awesome! Thanks again!
That’s so great to hear Romy! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Hi Nagi,
My wife, children and I have a Christmas Cookie Competition every year, and lets just say my choices (which I loved) haven’t scored well. I love short bread, and your recipe looks awesome. Can I add nuts to the recipe? What do you think about dipping them in white or dark chocolate? I’ve even been thinking about sandwiching them with caramel then dipping them. I’m pulling out all the stops to take home the trophy!