Shortbread Cookies Recipe

4.7(54)

Delicious vanilla bean flavored shortbread cookies made with only four ingredients! The perfect holiday cookie recipe to share with friends and family.

·published 2022-12-17

Open original recipe

AmericanDessert

Servings

['30', '30 cookies']

Total time

1h 15m

prep 1h

Calories / serving

118 kcal

Ingredients (4)

serves

14 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened to 60 to 65°F (16 to 18ºC))butter
½ cup granulated sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)flour

Instructions (8 steps)

01Cream the Butter - In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar at a low speed to combine, then increase to medium speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix in the vanilla.
02Fold in Flour - On the lowest speed, mix in the flour to combine, then increase the speed to medium until the dough begins to cling to the paddle and no longer looks dry. Do not wait for it to form a solid mass.
03Chill the Dough - Transfer the dough to a board and gently knead it together. Put the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a rectangle ½ to ¾" thick. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
04Roll Out the Dough - Let the dough soften slightly, so it does not crack or break on the edges when rolling, for 5 to 10 minutes. Then roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to about ¼" thick.

05Cut Out Shapes - Using a 2 ½" round fluted cookie cutter, cut out about 30 cookies and transfer them to two parchment paper-lined sheet pans, leaving 1" space between them. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow the dough to chill before baking. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar.The remaining trimmings can be pressed together and re-rolled only once for additional cookies.

Pantry check

Data quality

servings.value✓

times.totalMinutes✓

nutrition.calories✓

recipeCuisine✓

recipeCategory✓

rating✓

description✓

image (URL only)✓

Rich recipe — supports nutrition-aware planning.