Whipped Shortbread Cookies
These 4-ingredient whipped shortbread cookies are the ticket for easy, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies to round out those holiday gift tins! They’re quick and easy to make, and can be dressed up with sprinkles or enjoyed plain.
Servings: 36 cookies
Cost: $0.17 per cookie
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.
Video
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
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 157IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg