Homemade Shortbread Cookies

5 from 4 votes
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You’ll love these Homemade Shortbread Cookies! They melt in your mouth and are perfectly buttery and milky. You only need 3 ingredients for this recipe.

Shortbread Cookies on a platter with milk on the side

I love classic cookie recipes. Give me some Danish Butter Cookies or some Chocolate Chip Cookies and I’ll be a happy girl!

The first time I had shortbread cookies was at a family friend’s house. I wanted more… and more but there wasn’t enough to go around.

So I started searching for the cookies in the stores because my taste buds were eager to enjoy some. The price at which they were sold could make me faint. I believed it was so much money just for “biscuits.”

But they taste really good and they are very rich so I understand but I couldn’t keep churning out all that money for shortbread cookies. I had to find a way to make mine.

Homemade Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These cookies are milky, buttery (did I already say that?), and just divine. I thought the recipe will include milk since they taste milky but nope, the very present milky taste comes from the butter.

So no milk is needed in this shortbread recipe. The butter makes it taste milky because butter is dairy. If you love shortbread cookies also check out these Lemon Shortbread Cookies.

Shortbread cookies with one bitten to reveal crumbly texture
Imagine my joy when I found out I could make them in my own kitchen! They are so easy to achieve. Let me show you how to make shortbread cookies.

Ingredients for Homemade Shortbread Cookies

You only need 3 main ingredients for homemade shortbread cookies:
 
1. Butter
2. Sugar
3. Flour.
 
If you choose to use salted butter instead, omit the salt and that will be 3 ingredients!
Homemade Shortbread Cookies ingredients

How To Make Homemade Shortbread Cookies

Prep the baking sheet: Line one large or two medium baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 1: Put room-temperature butter and sugar in a bowl.

1st Step - Homemade Shortbread Cookies
 
 Step 2: Cream together until well incorporated.
 
Creaming butter and sugar for shortbread cookies.
 

Step 3: Sieve in your flour. Then add a pinch of salt.

Adding flour to butter and sugar.
 

Step 4: Mix together. The mixture will be slightly tough. Just try to get everything together.

Mixing Shortbread Cookie Dough
 

Step 5: Now mold into a ball.

Homemade Shortbread Cookies Dough
 

Step 6: Wrap dough in a plastic wrap and try to form it into a rectangle as much as you can. It should be about half an inch thick.

Rolling out dough for homemade shortbread cookies.
 

Step 7: Now place the dough in a fridge and let it cool for about 30 minutes. You need to do this so you can shape your cookies properly. Take it out and roll it out to about a quarter inch thick. Leave the plastic wrap on while doing this.

Rolled out dough for shortbread cookies.
 

Step 8: Take off the plastic wrap and trim the edges to form a rectangle… or something in the form of a rectangle. Ha. Cut out into little rectangles – about 2-4 inches long. If you have a cookie cutter, you could just use it to cut to desired shapes.

Cut out homemade shortbread cookies
Join together your trimmed edges to form a ball, roll it out and cut out more cookies. Note that if your dough starts feeling melty (butter will melt fast if the atmosphere is warm), put it in the fridge to harden for a few minutes then you take it out and continue.
 
You can also place the cookies in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking if they feel too soft.

Step 9: Place your cuts on your prepared baking tray. Use a fork to poke each piece a couple of times.

Shortbread cookies ready to be baked.
 

Step 10: Now bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until light brown in color.

Baked Shortbread Cookies
Note that your shortbread cookies will be slightly soft once they come out of the oven. But that’s okay. They will firm up as they cool down.
 
Avoid moving them around while they are very hot so you don’t break them.
 
Shortbread cookies on plate and platter served with milk
 
Enjoy your shortbread cookies with milk or tea if you like! These homemade shortbread cookies are great for Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day or any celebration!
 
These shortbread cookies also make great edible gifts!
 
If you would love to store some, be sure to keep the cookies in an airtight container so they don’t get bad. Check out the full printable recipe below!
 
homemade shortbread cookies on a serving tray

Watch How to Make Homemade Shortbread Cookies

If you make this recipe for Homemade Shortbread Cookies, please take a moment to leave a star rating and comment below. I love hearing from you!

homemade shortbread cookies on a serving tray

Homemade Shortbread Cookies

5 from 4 votes
These Homemade Shortbread Cookies melt in your mouth when you try them. They are so milky and buttery, not overly sweet and easy to make at home. Only 4 ingredients needed for shortbread cookies!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients  

  • 1 cup unsalted butter (225g) it has to be butter and not margarine.
  • 2 cups flour (250g)
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees Farenheit. Grease a baking tray or line with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Put room temperature butter and sugar in a bowl. Use a fork or wooden spoon to mix together until well combined.
  • Add in half of your flour and the salt. Mix together. The mixture will be very crumbly at this stage.
  • Add in the remaining flour and mix well. Use your hand to combine everything to form a ball of dough.
  • Wrap dough in a plastic wrap and try to form it into a rectangle as much as you can with your hand. It should be about half an inch thick.
  • Now place the dough in a fridge and let it cool for about 30 minutes. You need to do this so you can shape your cookies properly.  While the dough is in the fridge, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).Take out dough and roll with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thick. Leave the plastic wrap on while doing this.
  • Now open the wrap then you cut the dough into rectangles. If you have a cookie cutter, you could just use it to cut to desired shapes.
  • Place your cuts on trays lined with parchment paper.
  • Use a fork to poke each piece a couple of times.
  • Now bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until light golden in color.

Notes

1. Note that your shortbread cookies will be slightly soft once they come out of the oven. But that’s okay. They will firm up as they cool down. Avoid moving them around while they are very hot so you don’t break them.
2. If you make your shortbread cookies in a hot environment, the dough might feel very soft due the butter melting. In that case, place the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes to harden then you continue working with it. The cookies should be firm before you place them in the oven. This will prevent them from burning too quickly. If you notice they are soft, place them in the fridge for about 10 minutes then proceed with baking.
3. You could use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. If you choose to do so, omit the salt in this recipe.
4. The nutritional information here is per cookie.

Nutrition

Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 158IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 77
Tried this recipe?Mention @preciouscore or tag #PreciousCore!

*This recipe has been updated with new pictures, doubled measurements, nutritional information, and lots of tips.

The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.” (James 5:16, MSG)


About Precious

Welcome to my core! I am Precious Nkeih, the recipe developer and writer right here on my blog, Precious Core. My goal is to show you insanely delicious recipes you can replicate in your kitchen. And I love to tell stories too. Hope you find recipes here that will make cooking easier for you! Check me out on YouTube at YouTube.com/PreciousKitchen.


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  1. Hie l love the shortbread now that l got the recipe l am definitely going to bake my own thank you