Shortbread Cookie Recipe
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This shortbread cookie recipe delivers the perfect blend of buttery richness and a crisp, crumbly texture—making it the ideal treat to bake ahead for the holidays.
Buttery, crisp, and just sweet enough, classic shortbread cookies are loved for their rich flavor and crumbly texture. The name comes from the generous amount of butter in the dough, which creates that signature “short” texture—historically, “short” meant crumbly, and shortening refers to fat used in pastries. Originally from Scotland, shortbread is traditionally baked in sun-like rounds and cut into wedges, but it’s just as delicious baked in a square pan and sliced into classic rectangular fingers.
Traditionally served on the winter solstice, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, shortbread keeps well for up to a month—making it the perfect treat to bake and share during the holiday season.
“I’ve made this several times and it’s so good…perfectly buttery, slightly sweet and I love the touch of almond.”
What You’ll Need To Make Shortbread Cookies
- Butter: Provides richness and flavor to the shortbread.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens the shortbread and helps create its delicate crumb texture. Sometimes granulated sugar is used in shortbread, but I prefer confectioners’ sugar as it gives the cookies a softer, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a warm and aromatic flavor to the cookies.
- Almond Extract: Infuses the shortbread with a fragrant, nutty flavor; remember, a little goes a long way!
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the dough; always use the spoon-and-level method to measure flour to ensure accuracy.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat until creamy and smooth.
Add the flour and mix on low speed until the dough is evenly combined.
Split the dough in half and place each portion into a greased, parchment-lined 8-inch round cake pan. Dust your hands with flour and press each half into an even layer. To smooth the surface, cover the dough with plastic wrap and press it down with your hands. Use a fork to prick the dough every inch to allow steam to escape while baking.
Bake the shortbread in a 300°F oven until the top is lightly golden brown and the edges are a deeper golden color, about 35 minutes. Baking at a low temperature ensures the shortbread cooks slowly without over-browning. Remove the pans from the oven and let the shortbread cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Use a blunt knife to run around the edges of the pan to loosen the shortbread. Carefully turn each round out of the pans, then gently lift the shortbread onto a cutting board.
Using a sharp knife, cut into wedges. Let cool then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or freeze for up to 3 months.
I love classic shortbread just as it is, but it’s fun to play with the flavors. A bit of lemon or orange zest can brighten it up, while a pinch of cinnamon adds a cozy warmth. You can also dress it up by dipping it in melted chocolate or sprinkling on festive sprinkles or coarse sugar before baking—it’s a simple way to make it feel a little extra special.
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Shortbread Cookies
The rich, buttery goodness of shortbread is hard to beat—perfect for the holidays or whenever you’re in the mood for a sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Lightly grease two round 8-in cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pans with parchment rounds, and then spray again.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the flour beat on low speed until the dough comes together in a cohesive mass.
- Divide the dough in half (if you have a scale, each half will weigh about 10.5 oz). Dust your hands with flour and press each half into an even layer in the prepared pans, dusting your hands with more flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. To smooth the surface, place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and smooth with your hands. Use a fork to prick the dough all over in 1-inch intervals to allow steam to escape while the shortbread bakes.
- Bake the shortbread until it's a light golden brown across the top surface, and a deeper golden brown around the edges, about 35 minutes.
- Remove the pans from the oven, and let cool on a rack for about 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the shortbread, and then carefully turn each round out of the pans, using your hand to gently lower the shortbread onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut each round into 8 or 10 wedges. (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; otherwise, it won't cut easily and will crumble.) Transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or freeze for longer storage.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The shortbread dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. After mixing, shape the dough into 2 disks, wrap each securely in plastic wrap, and place them in a sealable bag. Thaw overnight before baking. To freeze the shortbread after baking, store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 wedge
- Calories: 152
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 60 mg
- Cholesterol: 24 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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made 1/2 recipe in 8 ” springform, lined with parchment paper
Kerigold butter a must
no almond extract
zest of a medium size lemon
1/4 cp granulated sugar instead of xxxx
threw everything but butter into the Cuisinart
a quick whirl
added cold cubed butter, dough came together quickly\300 degrees 40 minutes
cut immediately in pan, going around edge with knife, into 12 wedges
so fast, so good
I’d like to make bars out of these for the Christmas cookie plate.
What size square pans or would a 9 13 pan work?
Hi Cathy, Ideally I’d use two 8-inch square pans. One 9×13-inch pan will work, too, but the shortbread will be on the thicker side.
Hello! I’ve made this several times and it’s so good…perfectly buttery, slightly sweet and I love the touch of almond. Thanks for sharing a delightful recipe 🙂
Honestly it is better with no other flavouring than the butter which should be what you taste with a shortbread so I left those out. It really turns out crisper than I prefer with powdered sugar (it should tender rather than crisp) but since caster sugar which is what is used in the original is nearly impossible to find in stores in the US it is a passable substitute.
The shortbread recipe is delicious and came out perfectly. This is a keeper and could easily be one that I make for the neighbors as a Christmas treat. I think the almond is perfect and a great touch. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
My parents were born in Scotland and we had shortbread in the house at all times, not just holidays! My mother’s recipe was flour, sugar, and butter and maybe salt. Can’t say I ever ate much of my mother’s, but I like your recipe much more!
Hi Jenn! Could I successfully cut this recipe in half?
Thanks, Ally in NJ
Definitely — hope you enjoy!
Thanks!!
I love this recipe–reviewed it ages ago. I made a batch this afternoon with a few tweaks:
* omitted the extracts but used the grated zest of 1 Navel orange–I incorporated the zest after the butter and sugar combo were creamed/mixed together, but before the flour was added
* reduced the flour to 1.5 cups, but added .5 cup of corn starch to make a more tender cookie (flour, corn starch and salt were sieved together several times to ensure even distribution)
* used my old standby: two-piece 10″ metal tart tin; cut dough into 20 cookies (a little over half an inch thick and used a small wooden skewer to mark holes)
They are parcelled up now, and delivered to my favourite neighbours. Gosh they’re yummy–thank you Jenn.
(N.B. I do not use parchment paper for these cookies, nor do I butter/spray the tart tin–they release beautifully. I do take considerable care to mark off the 20 sections pre-bake; make the cuts within 15 minutes of removing them from the oven; wait another 10 minutes to remove outer rim of tin, then separate the 20 pieces and allow to cool).
Delicious! and the almond took these cookies to new heights!
I don’t have cake pans so used a 9×13 baking pan and followed all baking instructions. They came out perfectly – just square!
Hi Jenn,
I am wondering if I could make this shortbread to use for the crust in your amazing Coconut Cream Pie? The recommended shortbread cookies (Walker’s) are hard to find and expensive on Amazon. I have a scale so I would use the weight measurement rather than the number of cookies required. By the way, the pie was amazing!
Sure, Denise – that should work well!