Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (2024)

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (1)

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Shortbread cookies are a holiday classic! Learn some tips on how to make the very best.

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Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (2)

Choose High Quality Butter

No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. Real butter is made with cream and a little salt. Learn more about different kinds of butter and butter quality.

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (3)

Keep Ingredients Simple

Shortbread is made with just butter, sugar, flour and salt. No need for additional ingredients!

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (4)

Add Flavor

If you'd like to upgrade a traditional shortbread recipe, add flavors! Some of our favorites are gingerbread, toasted coconut, and lemon poppyseed.

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (5)

Don't Overwork

Be careful not to overwork your dough. Mix it just until it starts to come together, then dump it onto a floured surface until you have a smooth dough.

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (6)

Shape Dough

Shortbread can be rolled out and cut into shapes, formed into a log and sliced, or pressed into a baking dish. It's up to you, so get creative!

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (7)

Chill Before Baking

The goal is to ensure the butter in the dough is cold when it goes into the oven. This will prevent the shortbread from spreading.

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (8)

Bake Until Golden

Keep an eye on your shortbread and make sure it doesn't get too dark. It should be just golden around the edges. Once out of the oven, allow them to cool before decorating.

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (9)

Add Finishing Touches

You can dip them in fudge, drizzle with icing, or add sprinkles if you'd like. Enjoy! Check out some of our favorite shortbread recipes.

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (10)

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Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies | Go Bold With Butter (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread? ›

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies
  • Choose High Quality Butter. No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. ...
  • Keep Ingredients Simple. ...
  • Add Flavor. ...
  • Don't Overwork. ...
  • Shape Dough. ...
  • Chill Before Baking. ...
  • Bake Until Golden. ...
  • Add Finishing Touches.

What happens if you add too much butter to shortbread cookies? ›

Butter is an emulsifier and it makes cookies tender. It also adds in the crispy-around-the-edges element. Adding too much butter can cause the cookies to be flat and greasy. Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly.

What are common mistakes when making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

Should butter be cold when making shortbread? ›

Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out. If the dough does get soft or sticky as you're rolling or cutting it, just put it back in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the butter.

Is powdered sugar or granulated sugar better for shortbread? ›

Confectioner's sugar.

This is the secret to the tender texture and perfect sweetness of these cookies.

What are the qualities of a successful shortbread biscuit? ›

Recipe video above.

I'm a firm believer that shortbread cookies should be sinfully buttery and delectably tender. And these are, as great shortbread cookies should be, not that sweet, quite delicate and when you bite into them, they crumble softly, as demonstrated in the VIDEO!

What is the formula for shortbread? ›

Traditional shortbread recipes are 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, and 3 parts flour.

Can shortbread be overworked? ›

It's important to avoid over-mixing shortbread dough, which will develop gluten and make the finished product tough, not tender. To make sure that the flour mixes completely with little effort, sift the flour first to get out all of the lumps.

Should you refrigerate shortbread dough before baking? ›

Shortbread has a buttery melt in your mouth crumbly texture. For some people it can even have a dry sandy texture. Should I refrigerate the shortbread cookie dough? I would advise refrigerating the dough for at least an hour and then refrigerating the cookies for about 15-20 before baking.

What happens if you don't poke holes in shortbread? ›

Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here. You'll see lots of shortbread recipes using granulated sugar.

What is the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

Why do they often poke holes in shortbread? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

What is the secret to making shortbread? ›

For great shortbread, regardless of your chosen recipe:
  1. Sift the flour before mixing to help remove lumps.
  2. Avoid over-mixing the dough.
  3. Score the surface for even baking without bubbles or cracks.
  4. Chill the shaped dough thoroughly before baking.
  5. Cut the shortbread while it is still warm, for smooth, even slices.

How can you tell when shortbread is done? ›

Since you will be cooking your shortbread in the lower third of the oven, you will get some top browning as the cookie bakes. The surface of the shortbread should be a toasty light brown when it is cooked. It should never appear raw or slightly opaque in the middle.

Why use cornstarch in shortbread cookies? ›

Making shortbread cookies with cornstarch is necessary for a tender and delicate cookie. Next time you make chocolate chip cookies, I suggest you try adding 1 Tbsp of cornstarch to the batch to help keep them extra soft and tender.

Why do you poke holes in shortbread? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Why do you put cornstarch in shortbread? ›

Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.

What makes shortbread extra short? ›

Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word "short", as opposed to "long", or stretchy). The cause of this texture is its high fat content, provided by the butter. The short or crumbly texture is a result of the fat inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten) strands.

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