If you are a cookie lover, try my Chocolate Cookies with Cream Cheese next. Find all my other Cookie Recipes here!
These classic Christmas Cookies will literally melt in your mouth. Not too sweet, made with 4 simple ingredients and that light as air texture will keep you reaching for more!
Lets get straight away into how to bring these Holiday cookies together.
Whipped Shortbread ingredients:
- Butter: We are using room temperature softened butter. But we don't want it over greasy or we are risking the cookies to spread more then we'd like!
- Confectioners' Sugar: Powdered sugar helps in creating light textured shortbread.
- Flour: Measure flour using a kitchen scale or fluff the flour first, measure out in measuring cup and sweep it with a knife to level it off.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch makes the most light and puffy cookies that you will ever know!
How to make whipped shortbread:
These are just the easiest cookies to make! Just take care not to over measure your flour and cornstarch. And your cookies will bake all puffy and light! To make Shortbread:
- Beat Butter and confectioners' sugar together for 3-4 minutes
- Beat in sifted flour and cornstarch next:
- Chill the dough
- Make cookie dough balls
- Quickly chill in the freezer again while you preheat the oven
- Make a pattern using fork: Optional but super cute!
- Top with sprinkles and bake then
Since the list is so short for these cookies, take care to use quality ingredients. Using good quality butter as opposed to margarine, good quality sugar and flour results in best tasting cookies.
You can also add flavorings like vanilla, almond, mint, orange or lemon to this dough. Or top it with hershey's kisses, jam filling or even candy cane kisses after these come out of oven.
How is shortbread different from cookies?
Should you chill shortbread cookie dough?
Yes, and I can't stress this enough. Chilled cookie dough bakes so much better cookies. Shortbread is high in fat content, chilling the dough will help firming the butter up. This results in thick and puffy cookies!
What does cornstarch do in cookie dough?
- Helps the cookies to bake thick and . It reduces the risk of cookie spreading!
- Cornstarch in the cookie dough yields lighter textured cookies.
- Also cookies with cornstarch bake the softest.
Why did my whipped shortbread spread?
There can be a number of reasons for shortbread to spread. If the cookie dough had too much butter and/or less flour than recipe suggest. Or if you did not chill the dough enough. Or if the oven temperature was too high. Just follow the recipe as written and your cookies will bake just perfect!
Taste and texture of these Cookies:
- Not too sweet
- Buttery and melt in your mouth soft
- Slightly crumbly in a good way (not chewy at all!)
- Light and puffy
More Holiday Recipes for you to try!
If you liked these Cookies give it a star review. Do tell me in the comments below, how did this turn out for you! And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram at #greedyeatsblog Let's connect on Pinterest and Facebook too!
Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Hand/stand Mixer
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Butter at Room Temperature , salted
- ¾ Cup Confectioners' Sugar
- 2 ¼ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ¾ Cup Cornstarch
Flavorings and Toppings: (optional but delish)
- 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract or Lemon extract or Orange extract
- ¼ Cup Sprinkles (of choice)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl beat butter and confectioners' sugar for 3-4 minutes. Don't skimp on the beating time for light textured cookies. Add flavorings at this point (if adding) and give it a whirl too.
- Next add in sifted flour and cornstarch in the bowl and beat only till combined.
- Chill the dough for about 2 hours in the fridge, or till it's firm to touch. Pro Tip: To speed up this process, you may chill the dough in freezer until firm.
- Roll into 36 cookie balls, press their tops with a cornstarch dipped fork and top with sprinkles.
- Set the cookies on a lined baking tray and allow to chill in the freezer till you preheat the oven. I usually bake 12 cookies on a tray at a time.
- When ready to bake preheat oven at 300 deg F and bake cookies for 19-20 minutes. Or till their tops look set.
- Allow to cool on the baking tray.
Notes
- Both baked and unbaked cookies can be stored in the freezer.
- To freeze unbaked cookie balls, keep the balls on a tray in freezer till they firm up. Store them in zip loc bag then. No need to thaw before baking. Just add a minute more to the baking time.
- Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight freezer friendly container for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookies before serving.
- Top them off with melted chocolate or a Hershey's Kiss on every cookie or even Candy cane Kisses taste so good with these.
- Place a cherry in their center.
- Make a dent and top with jams and preserves of your choice before baking.
So yummy and fund you bake with kids!
Delicious! We added one tsp of peppermint extract to the dough. Delicious! And pretty, with red and green sprinkles. Thank you!
WOW!!! Ive been looking for the perfect shortbread recipe for years and when I tell you THIS IS IT! Words can’t describe how light, flaky, buttery and perfectly sweet these are. This will be my official go to Christmas cookie from now on, I topped them with a generous amount of powdered sugar instead of sprinkle’s because I didn’t have any like in the picture and honestly I think it’s the way to go. Best cookie EVER.
My hubby’s favourite Christmas treat. He says they are just as good as his Mom’s. I just put a 1/2 cherry on top, because she used to.
Easy to make and delicious!
I just made mine, they came out perfect. My husband can't stop eating them. 👍👍
Can I add food colouring to these to brighten them up? Or will that ruin the cookie?
Hi Jessica! Sure you can add food colorings to this dough.
These cookies are delicious! I love shortbread cookies and now I have a recipe to make them. Yummy!
I added almond flavoring, so they tasted like almond flavored flour. Waste of ingredients.
Have been looking for THE whipped shortbread for a few yrs.
Found THE ONE! These are the best!
Not sure if they will last until christmas dinner.
Made these tonight. Simple recipe and delicious. For flavoring I used 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia. So light.
Can you substitute butter to make it non dairy?
Just wondering what the weight of the flour should be? If measuring using a kitchen scale?
Hi Amanda! If you use US Customary - Metric conversion in the recipe table, it will give you the values of each every ingredient in gms. Flour would be 281 gms.
Totally disappointed
Made 2x. Threw out 1 batch. Used the double batch button, and it neglects to increase amount of butter so cookies didn't mix. i didn't catch that fact and should have.
Cookie not that great tasting.
These are the bomb. Like regular shortbread but more airy. Yum. I followed the recipe exactly, beat the butter and sugar together on speed 4, used a cookie scoop, and baked for 18 minutes in a gas oven. Turned out perfect.
After baking, how long will they last?
For up to a week at room temperature. Enjoy!
So delicious 😋. The storage information made me laugh. I made these and the plan was to give away to family and friends. That didn't happen. My husband and I ate them, now I'm making more. Yummy!
These are super yummy, the only thing is they came out more like crisp Scottish shortbread than whipped, any suggestions? I measured using a scale and the dough wasn’t too crumbly or anything after being in the fridge 🤔
These are awesome!the best shortbread I’ve ever made!
People who find the dough crumbly are not measuring flour correctly. Never scoop into the flour always spoon into the measuring cup then level with a flat knife. Never use your hand or just scoop the flour it compresses the flour and recipe will not work.
Hi. Are you able to roll and cookie cut this dough?
Thanks