Classic Shortbread Cookies

Every year, I make it my goal to give away homemade gifts to friends and family. Most years this consists of things like spice mixes, flavored butters, spicy jams, and other fun creations. Most years I love to make some traditional and classic Christmas treats to go along with the homemade gifts. This year, as I scanned Google and Pinterest for inspiration, I kept coming across shortbread. Shortbread is something that I’ve never really been exposed to, but I had recently purchased a Brown Bag Cookie Art ceramic shortbread plate off of our local For Sale, Trade, or Barter page so I figured I would give it a go.

Most point to origins of shortbread to Scotland somewhere in the 12th century. At its core, the key ingredients in shortbread are butter, sugar, and flour. Three of my favorite things! The shortbread plate came with a recipe book, I adapted their classic shortbread recipe based off of a few I had read. I added cornstarch to my cookies which yielded a soft, crumbly texture with a great buttery flavor. 

Honestly, I had no idea shortbread was so easy! Especially when my Kitchen Aid mixer did all the work for me! I ended up dipping some of my finished shortbread cookies into some melted chocolate. Talk about perfection! 

Classic Shortbread Cookies

Print Recipe

a classic and easy shortbread recipe

• Author: Prairie Californian
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 35
• Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

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• 8 ounces (1 cup) butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups flour

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch and set aside.
3. Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter for several minutes until it is light and fluffy. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well mixed and smooth.
4. Detach bowl from stand mixer. Add in the flour & cornstarch mixture, using a spoon to combine together. Knead the dough in the bowl until it smooth. It may be necessary to add a tablespoon of water.
5. Spray the shortbread pan with non-stick vegetable spray. Put the ball of dough firmly in the middle of the pan. Working from the center out, firmly press dough into the pan. Pierce the entire surface with a fork.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-35 minutes (33 minutes worked perfect in my oven) or until shortbread is lightly browned.
7. Let shortbread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and flip onto a cutting board. Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.

Notes

• This recipe yielded 2 batches of 8 cookies in my pan.
• ** If you don’t have a pan, you can also roll the dough out into a 1/2 inch thick circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer round to prepared baking sheet. Using fingers, press dough evenly over bottom to edges of pan. Score the circle with a knife into eight even wedges and pierce with a fork all over. Bake until shortbread is cooked through and pale golden, about 30-35 minutes at 325. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut along scored lines to cut shortbread into eight even wedges. **