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!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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!!!
Loved these, even though I screwed up the end; after cutting and docking the parbaked shortbread, I put it back in the oven for nearly 30 minutes before checking the directions and turning off the oven. But since I baked them in a 6″ x 8″ pan instead of 9″ x 13″, they were nice and thick, and obviously the extra baking time didn’t hurt. I used Kerrygold butter; it’s definitely worth using good, quality butter. I also sprinkled some turbinado (raw) sugar on top. These are dangerous! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Followed the instructions but the mixture was very very soft. Looked nothing like the video. Any idea what I may have done wrong
Made these today and they are exactly what I was hoping for. Finishing the cooking in the turned off oven was perfect.
Shared with family and a nice whiskey. Perfect match!
Bravo! I have been looking for the perfect pan shortbread recipe and after following recipe to a T, results were perfect. Solved problem of cracking cookies when cutting after baking, not too thick, perfect color after baking and texture and taste wonderful. Thank you for all the instructions. I used a dark non-stick pan and reduced temp. by 25 degrees. A nice change from whipped shortbread. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hi Nagi! I’d like to bake this with my kids, but will it work if I use cookie cutters to make them into Christmas shapes? I imagine I’d need to shorten the cooking time? Thank you!! 🎄
Help! My dough came out crumbly. Add more butter?
My first ever attempt at shortbread, and oh boy, how easy are they to make and so yummy. Thank you Nagi
Oh my gosh, these were so easy and so absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe and method exactly, and it worked out perfectly. Thanks for such a great recipe!!!
Another great recipe form the team!!! What makes it so wonderful is that it is truly failproof 😂😂😂 baked up a batch and am utterly impressed!! Won’t be buying any shortbread from now on now that I’m armed with this recipe!!!
I reduced the sugar to 75g because I wanted to be “healthy” but I should have stuck to your guns and left it at 90g Hahaha! Still a delectable treat
I used a 1/2 cup of sugar as i had no icing sugar. I used the cold butter rub in method, and baked it as two 7 inch circles each cut into 12 wedges. I baked it at 170 degrees in a fan assisted oven. Then amount of sugar used was spot on. The shortbread was perfect. Between my elderly mother and my teenager the shortbread didn’t last a day.
So good!
Great recipe – yummy result. I’ll be making these again. Thank you
I am looking forward to making this recipe but I have a question first.
The weight for 1 cup of butter seems high. Every other recipe I use states that 1 cup of butter is 125g. Is the weight you list correct?
Thanks.
I made these shortbread biscuits but reduced the powdered sugar to 1/4 cup and used 2 measured cups of flour but the dough was very sticky and difficult to work with. Should I add more flour?
You can try adding more flour Colleen. Adding or removing ingredients changes the dough hydration levels so I suggest sticking to the recipe as written for best results! N x
I made these Shortbread cookies 2day. They are absolutely beautiful. I would’nt change the recipe at all.
As always turned out perfect. All your recipe notes were a big help. I used my food processor and it mixed perfectly in 2 mins. Will never use another recipe for shortbread again!
Hi there! Is icing sugar the same as powdered sugar?
Hi Mary – YES! Australians call it icing sugar and Americans call it powdered sugar. I use the one that is called soft icing sugar in Australia made by CSR – it has a bit of cornflour/cornstarch in the mixture to keep it from hardening up. In the USA I believe Domino’s Powdered Sugar is the most commonly found equivalent. N x
This short tread was vert good Thank you for sharing! See I can type with my mouth full 😀
LOL!! 🤣 N x
I made these plain it was excellent! I’d like to add chopped chocolate or nuts. When do I add it if I use the food processor?
Hi Nagi! I love orange flavour and was wondering if I could add orange zest to this recipe. If yes, how much zest and during which stage would you suggesting adding it. Thanks! 🙂
Yes you could Caroline – just beat it in with the butter and you could add a drop of orange oil if you have that on hand! N x
When I make shortbread – I use your recipe. Love it.
I think Dozer is a super dog!
HE thinks so too!! lol N x