About My 3-Ingredient, No-Spread, Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Shortbread cookies are one of the most delicious holiday cookies, and they’re also probably the easiest to make! This recipe gives cookies that are super buttery, and literally melt-in-your-mouth. The base recipe has only three ingredients, yet still leaves lots of room to get creative—it works beautifully with a variety of mix-ins such as lemon zest, chocolate chips, dried fruit and nuts.
I designed the recipe so that these cookies hold their shapes perfectly as they bake. So, you can get creative making different shapes and designs and get stunning results!
This recipe is taken from my cookbook, Simple Pleasures.
Why this recipe works
I designed this shortbread recipe so that the cookies will hold their shapes and patterns beautifully when they bake. To enable this, there are a few differences to many traditional Scottish shortbread recipes.
In particular, I’m using powdered sugar (icing sugar) rather than the traditional granulated sugar. The powdered sugar gives the cookies a fine texture, and helps them retain a precise shape as they bake. It does this in a couple of ways.
First, the fine powder dissolves into the butter quickly. This is important because we want to work quickly so as not to incorporate air into the mixture, otherwise the cookies will puff up and not keep their precise shapes when they bake.
Second, powdered sugar contains corn starch (to stop the powered sugar setting solid in its packaging). This gives us another benefit for the recipe. The polysaccharides that make up cornstarch interrupt the gluten network in the shortbread dough, reducing its elasticity, and helping to prevent the cookies from spreading out as they bake.
What is the secret to making good shortbread?
It’s the combination of lots of good, salty butter and sugar which gives shortbread cookies their amazing flavor. Use the best quality butter you can find – the better it is, the more delicious your shortbread will be. Under no circ*mstances use “spreadable from the fridge” products. You must use butter that is solid when in the fridge.
What is the difference between a butter cookie and a shortbread cookie?
The difference between butter cookies and shortbread cookies is the amount butter in the recipe vs the amount of sugar. Butter cookies typically are made using more sugar and less butter than shortbread. Shortbread cookies contain more butter, which gives them their amazing crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
What are common mistakes when making shortbread?
The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be. When you’re working the dough, try to avoid incorporating extra flour, because it will throw the recipe off and make the cookies tough.
Get creative with cutters, stamps, molds, and embossed rolling pins
By mixing and matching different cookie cutters, cookie stamps, molds and more, you can make a stunning range of unique cookies. For example, combining a circular cookie cutter with a snowflake stamp makes it easy to create snowflake shortbread cookies.
Then, you can take the idea a stage further to cut out holes, to make sandwich cookies where the filling e.g. jam, shows through.
Or, use cookie molds to create beautiful, intricately patterned cookies in a few seconds. For example, this pine cone cookie.
Some ideas for shortbread mix-ins / additions
Shortbread is really flexible when it comes to mix-ins and other additions. I love adding pistachios or chocolate chips. Dried cranberries and pecans is a combination that work well, and is very festive. You could also try peanuts or walnuts and raisins. Chopped up pieces of preserved ginger in syrup (stem ginger) are another delicious add-on.
Another great addition is to scent the shortbread using citrus. Grated lemon, orange and clementine zest all work really well. Similarly, if you like spices, adding vanilla extract, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon or ground ginger can be delicious.
Sprinkling the shortbread with granulated sugar before baking is also delicious and traditional.
Finally, dipping shortbread in melted white, milk or dark chocolate is a delicious addition.
Make Ahead and Freeze
Once the shortbread cookies have been baked and are fully cool, store them rigid airtight containers. They will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature. They can be frozen in the airtight containers for up to 3 months. To defrost, take the cookies out of their containers and place on a wire rack at room temperature for about an hour.
Unbaked shortbread dough freezes well. Covered tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the unbaked dough in the fridge over night before rolling out and shaping the cookies.
