Basic Shortbread Recipe
Shortbread cookies and a good basic shortbread recipe in general are such a simple delight in life. Most people don’t know that they’re actually very easy to make, and only require a few ingredients. One of the best things about shortbread is that the dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated in order to keep their shape. You can use this to your advantage and use a fun cookie cutter with some details around the edges to make these simple cookies pretty.
Basic Shortbread Recipe
What You Need:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar (can use homemade)
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar until well mixed. Slowly add the flour until you mixed it all together. If the dough seems dry, or crumbly, add a tablespoon of butter at a time until you reach a smooth consistency.
On wax paper, roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough to about ½” thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes you want, and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Space them at least ½” a part while baking.
Bake the cookies for fifteen minutes, or until they’re golden brown on the bottom. The best part about a good shortbread cookie is the snap, so you don’t want them to be soft, and undercooked. If your cookies are on the thick side, you may want to cook for 2-4 minutes longer.
Remove the cookies from the oven, and immediately place them on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool for five minutes before serving. These pair well with coffee, or a cold glass of milk! I love having these on hand to serve to friends and family when they stop by for a visit. Since they’re so simple, and quick to make, and I usually have the ingredients on hand, they’re the perfect treat to whip up last minute.
Some other simple cookie recipes to enjoy:
- Easy Chocolate Cookies Recipe
- Easy Pumpkin Cookies
- Simple Cookie Recipes
- Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Hi Merissa,
I haven’t made shortbread cookies in a very long time. I actually sorta forgot about them. I have a batch from your recipe in the oven now. The ratio of butter to flour was on target. I used the fluff and sprinkle method of measuring my flour and had no issues with dry or crumbly dough. I threw in a handful of finely chopped pecans, can do that now my picky eaters are grown and now have picky eaters of their own, lol. My timer just went off and boy oh boy are they good, eating one as I’m typing.
Thank you for sharing and bring back good memories.
Thank you!!