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These 4-ingredient Buttery Whipped Shortbread Cookies are the ticket for EASY melt-in-your-mouth cookies to round out those holiday gift tins!
Love easy, bite-sized Christmas treats? Check out my recipes for pecan bourbon balls and gingerbread rum ball cookies!
Quick Look: Buttery Whipped Shortbread Cookies Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 20 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 35 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 36 cookies
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: American
- 🍽️ Calories: 67 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦 Dietary Info: Vegetarian; can be made Gluten Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Oven Baked
- 🍪 Flavor Profile: These cookies are delicately crisp yet melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a rich buttery sweetness and a light, airy finish that makes them irresistibly elegant despite their simplicity.
- 🔑 Top Tip: Be sure the butter is softened to room temperature. I let my butter sit on my countertop, overnight, and begin my recipes with it the very next morning.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: Pair these with a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea, a rich espresso, or a glass of sweet dessert wine like Moscato.
- ❄️ Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, keeping layers separated with parchment. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Buttery Flavor: These whipped shortbread cookies are rich, tender, and melt in your mouth, giving you lots of buttery goodness without being heavy.
- Effortlessly Elegant: These may look fancy and taste gourmet, but they’re simple enough to whip up in no time.
- Customizable & Fun: Sprinkle with coarse sugar, dip in chocolate, or leave them plain—the recipe is versatile and lets you get creative.
- Perfectly Giftable: Stack them in a pretty tin or box, and you’ve got an easy, crowd-pleasing gift that feels homemade but impresses like a bakery treat.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I’ve made these delicious (& easy) cookies, three times in the past 6 weeks. Two of the batches were included in my holiday cookie boxes and one batch was made with my teenage granddaughter. I used both sprinkles and glace cherries. I make my own glace cherries using maraschino cherries and the recipe from King Arthur Baking. Thanks for an awesome recipe!”
Table of Contents
Ingredients
With only four ingredients, five if you desire vanilla extract, in this shortbread cookie recipe, there isn’t many things you need. Let me tell you about the key ingredients!
- Salted Butter: Not surprisingly, this is one of the key ingredients in a good shortbread recipe! It’s vitally important that the butter is softened, or this recipe won’t turn out well. I take out my butter the night before and let it sit out on the counter overnight. Use a high-quality butter, no exceptions; no margarine or shortening as substitutions here.
- Vanilla Extract: This is optional, but not crucial. Add it for a little extra flavor.
- Confectioner’s Sugar: Using confectioner’s sugar instead of granulated ensures a beautiful, smooth texture in the final cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour: Feel free to swap this with gluten free measure-for-measure flour if you prefer.
- Cornstarch: This is the key ingredient for having true melt-in-your-mouth shortbread. Don’t skip it or substitute it!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Jam Variation
Have a favorite jam or preserve on hand? (If not, try my recipes for peach, strawberry, and maple jam, brandy tangerine jam, or easy fig jam.) Here is a fun alternate method for jazzing things up…
- First, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a shallow hole in each cookie. Spoon some jam into each hole, filling it without over-filling it. Bake.
- Next, drizzle a basic Confectioner’s sugar glaze over the cookies once they’ve been removed to a cooling rack. Sprinkle lightly with toasted coconut flakes or finely chopped pistachios. Enjoy!
How to Make Buttery Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Beat the Butter & Sugar
In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sifted confectioner’s sugar. (If using vanilla, add now.) Beat the mixture for 3 more minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
2
Add Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour and cornstarch into a bowl, then add it to the butter mixture and whip until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
3
Shape the Dough
Use a small scoop to scoop a grape-sized amount of dough, then gently roll it between your palms into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies about ½ inch apart on the cookie sheets. (There is very little ‘spread’ with these cookies.)
4
Decorate & Bake
Dip a fork in some cornstarch. Press the tines of the fork into the tops of the cookies, re-coating the fork as necessary. (Do not stress if the cookies appear to ‘crack,’ as it only adds to the character.) Sprinkle the cookies with candy sprinkles, sugar sand, or top with a single glacé cherry.
Bake cookies for 19 to 21 minutes. There will be little to no ‘spreading.’ Cookies are done when they begin to ever so slightly turn gold around their bottom edge.
5
Cool & Enjoy
Allow cookies to cool directly on baking sheet, then serve and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
When added to cake, cookie, and many shortbread recipes, cornstarch helps create a crumbly and tender texture. When used in conjunction with flour, cornstarch relaxes the tough proteins in standard all-purpose flour, yielding a more tender end result.
All in all, set aside 1 hour for a batch of cookies. I know, I know…it’s the holidays and time is precious.
But consider that this cookie dough is able to be made ahead, cookies rolled and decorated, and then either refrigerated or frozen until ready to bake if necessary. The prep and assembly here is about 15 minutes.
Honestly, it will take longer to roll the cookies out than it will to do anything else. Bake anywhere from 19 to 21 minutes or until the bottom edges begin to turn gold.
It’s little effort really for the best whipped shortbread cookies ever. I may be biased.
Seems to me though, that an easy whipped shortbread recipe at the culmination of ALL of your holiday baking, will be a welcome break. Additionally, you can alter the yield right in my recipe card by hovering over the number of servings.
Use the ruler to increase or decrease ingredients and their precise measurements.
Yes, and they may be assembled, rolled, and decorated before being frozen so they are ready to bake straight out of the freezer. Simply follow the recipe card all the way up to baking.
Once frozen, remove each cookie one by one from the tray and place into a zippered freezer bag. No thaw required, however I do add an additional minute to the overall bake time if baking from frozen.
And if you need to freeze fully baked cookies, place them into an airtight container or zippered freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
These buttery whipped shortbread cookies are beautiful on their own, but they also pair wonderfully with other treats on a holiday cookie tray. Serve them alongside rich Chocolate Ginger Molasses Tea Cookies, festive Pineapple Cherry Nut Cookies, slices of Semi‑Homemade Cranberry Orange Christmas Cake, or pots of Salted Burnt Caramel Custard.
A simple pot of tea, coffee, or even a glass of dessert wine tastes lovely with these cookies as well.
Expert Tips
- Use a stand mixer if you own one; a handheld electric mixer will get the job done as well, but a stand mixer has a lot of power behind it.
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper; do not use baking spray or cooking spray to grease your cookie sheets, as the bottoms will most certainly burn.
- Don’t stress if your cookie “cracks” when pressed with a fork; it will only add to the charm.
- Sift the powdered sugar, flour, and cornstarch before adding to the mixture; this ensures the dough is free of lumps and ensures an ethereal mixture.
- If you find you require additional flavor, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mixture at the sugar stage, or a drizzle of melted chocolate over the fully baked cookies; these cookies are subtle and not overly sweet by any means which is the intention.
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Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Video
Equipment
- stand mixer or electric handheld mixer
- cookie sheets
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- ¼ cup cornstarch, sifted
Optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- candy sprinkles, sugar sand, or glacé cherries for decorating, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Line cookie trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter for 5 minutes. Time it if necessary; you must not skip the amount of time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted confectioner's sugar. If using vanilla, add now. Beat the mixture for 3 more minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift flour and cornstarch together. Be sure to press all lumps through the sifter to eliminate them.
- Add the flour and cornstarch mixture into the butter. Whip until combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer.
- Use a small scoop to scoop up some dough. Put the dough in your hand and use both hands to roll between your palms into a ball. The dough balls should be the same size or slightly smaller than a grape for bite-sized cookies. Repeat with remaining dough spacing cookies about ½-inch apart on the cookie sheet(s). There is very little 'spread' with these cookies.
- Dip a fork in some cornstarch. Press the tines of the fork into the tops of the cookies, re-coating the fork as necessary. Do not stress if the cookies appear to 'crack,' as it only adds to the character. Sprinkle the cookies with candy sprinkles, sugar sand, or top with a single glacé cherry.
- Bake cookies for 19 to 21 minutes. There will be little to no 'spreading.' Cookies are done when they begin to ever so slightly turn gold around their bottom edge.
- Allow cookies to cool directly on baking sheet.
Notes
- Be sure that the butter is softened to room temperature. I let my butter sit on my countertop, overnight, and begin my recipe with it the next morning.
- For storage before baking, place cookie dough on a sheet of waxed paper and roll into a log. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days until ready to bake.
- Refrigerated dough tends to result in crazed or cracked surfaces on the cookies. For smooth cookies, roll the dough into balls and either add glacé cherries or cross with the tines of a fork and place into a zippered plastic bag; be careful not to overstuff. Store flat on the bottom of a drawer in your refrigerator until ready to bake (up to 3 days). Sprinkles should only be added just before the bake.
- For storage after baking, remove cookies to an airtight container with a fitted lid. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the fridge for 2 weeks.
- To freeze unbaked cookie dough, assemble, roll, and decorate, then flash freeze on trays for 30 to 45 minutes. Place in a zippered freezer bag, label, and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake from frozen, take them straight out of the freezer. Follow the recipe card adding an additional minute to the bake time.
- To freeze fully baked cookies, add to a zippered freezer bag and label. Cookies will freeze fully baked for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you live in Canada and it’s wintertime, room temperature butter can have a different meaning from other areas or seasons of the year. Generally, homes in December might only be about 68 degrees F. Would you consider that butter to be “whippable”.
Val, likely a better way for recipe writers to describe ‘butter softened to room temperature’ would be to say to leave the butter on the counter for a few hours to soften, and check that it’s soft enough to press with your finger easily before adding it to the recipe. For a quicker option, cut the butter into smaller pieces to help it soften faster. I like to say my butter is ready when I can put a finger dent in it without trying. Let me know how you enjoy the shortbreads if you make them – I’m already being asked for them! Jenny