Remove the cookies from the oven, allow them to cool briefly on the baking pan then move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. The cookies are done when you see a little browning on the bottom edge of the cookies. If you want a little color on your cookie, increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees and start checking the cookie after 15 minutes. Shortbread Cookie Dough - Chill the Cookies for 20 minutesīake the cookies at 300 degrees F to prevent them from browning. Roll out the cookie dough to 1/2-inch thickness Shortbread Cookie DoughĬhill the unbaked cookies for at least 20 minutes or up to 2 days before baking. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and reroll the dough scraps to cut out the remaining cookies. Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to lightly knead the dough until it forms a uniform mass, then roll out to a 1/2-inch circle. Mixing the flour in at low speed is important to prevent the development of too much gluten. The dough will initially appear crumbly, but eventually come together into large pieces. Shortbread Cookie DoughĪdd all the flour and mix on medium-low speed until the flour is mixed in and the dough starts to come together. Weigh the sugar, butter, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until the ingredients are combined and the mixture is creamy, about 2 minutes. Maintaining the 3-2-1 ratio is important to get a cookie dough that keeps its shape while baking. Weigh the flour, sugar, and butter to get the best results for this cookie. Kosher salt is an optional ingredient, but I like the bump in flavor that the kosher salt brings. The 3-2-1 refers to the ratio between flour, butter, and sugar - 12 ounces of flour, 8 ounces of butter, and 4 ounces of sugar. Granulated sugar produces nice crisp edges and helps with the light browning on the bottom edge of the cookie It's also important to use a good quality butter, such as Challenge Butter or Tillamook butter. You can use salted butter, but don't add the additional salt that the recipe calls for. Butter adds flavor and produces a nice tender cookie. Use all-purpose unbleached flour for this recipe. This shortbread recipe has three main ingredients: The recipe for these shortbread cookies is also known as classic shortbread or 3-2-1 shortbread because it is such a simple recipe. The final cookie is tender, slightly crumbly, and absolutely delicious. Bake the cookies at 300F to ensure a pale yellow cookie. Since this cookie has three main ingredients with just a little salt, a good quality butter is important because the taste of the butter is prominent. The amount of flour ensures that the cookie will hold its shape, the butter ensures a buttery cookie and the sugar ensures the right amount of sweetness. Simply put this cookie holds its shape because it's the perfect ratio of flour, butter, and sugar. Shortbread Cookies - Frequently Asked Questions.

This cookie recipe not only holds its shape but it's the base recipe for one of my most popular cookies: Cranberry and Pistachio Shortbread Cookie and one of my favorites: Apricot Pistachio Shortbread Cookie. But time and time again, despite my best efforts of chilling and freezing the cookie dough the cookie would spread. A beautiful square, round or rectangle cookie that had straight sides. Time and time again, the picture promised success. Shortbread Cookiesįor years, I looked for a shortbread cookie recipe that would hold its shape when baked and not spread. These buttery, yet crisp cookies are easy to make and they start with three everyday ingredients that you probably have on hand: flour, sugar, and butter. Sometimes you just want a cookie and since homemade is best, nothing is easier than these Shortbread Cookies.

Shortbread cookie recipes