Best Traditional Shortbread Recipe
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The secret of shortbread’s buttery crumb lies in its simplicity. This traditional shortbread recipe is a simple blend of 4 basic ingredients; butter, sugar, and flour resulting in a taste far more than the sum of its parts. This recipe is a classic Scottish Shortbread recipe, and our family’s favorite! They are even Ted Lasso worthy!
Shortbread cookies are probably one of my favorite Christmas cookies, but I make these cookies all year long! They are so versatile, you can make them in a pan, or roll and cut into shapes!
If you love a buttery cookie, you are going to love these other family TFC Favorites: Eggnog Gooey Butter Cookies, Greek Butter Cookies and Pan Banging Sugar Cookies <<– a must try! And if you are looking for simple and elegant, you must try this gorgeous Champagne Truffles!
So maybe you are wondering if this is the official Ted Lasso Shortbread Recipe, well not quite, but these are certainly a crumbly, tender, buttery delicious version — and mine were popular before Ted Lasso’s recipe! 🙂
Scottish Shortbread Recipe
I believe the secret to delectable, buttery, soft, melt in your mouth Scottish shortbread comes from quality ingredients.
The better the butter, the better the shortbread! No blends here! If it’s soft coming out of the fridge, it’s not pure butter, splurge for these delicious cookies.
In fact, shortbread biscuits or cookies are all the rage thanks to the Ted Lasso Biscuit recipe — I think you will find these superior!
History of Shortbread Cookies aka Biscuits
According to Saveur this delicious confection was once considered a festive food consumed only on Christmas or on Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year’s Eve, shortbread has evolved into a treat enjoyed year-round—and there are as many variations of it as days in the calendar.
Since medieval times the term short has been used to describe all things crisp and crumbly, but it wasn’t applied to cake and bread until the 1600s, when it came to refer to baked goods that contained a lot of butter or shortening.
The first shortbread recipe appeared in a Scottish cookbook dated 1736; early formulas called for yeast, but by 1850 most were utilizing only butter, flour, and sugar, combined in a ratio bakers still use.
Scottish Short Bread Recipe Ingredients
Simple pantry ingredients that hopefully everyone has on hand! You will whip this traditional shortbread recipe up in no time!
This is a recipe from a dear Scottish friend of our family, I halved the original recipe I have been using for decades.
It yields about 2 ½ dozen, but know that the recipe is easily doubled to make 5 dozen Scottish Shortbread Cookies.
- Unsalted butter | Use the real deal, no blends here, real creamery butter, salted may also be used, but omit the salt
- Sugar | I use all natural pure cane sugar, white or bakers sugar may be substituted
- Pure vanilla Extract | Adds a lovely vanilla hint to the coookie
- All-purpose flour | I use unbleached flour for all of my baking
- Cornstarch | This will give it a soft, buttery bite, I like non GMO starch
- Sea salt | Or kosher salt, you just need a touch!
How to Make Traditional Shortbread Recipe
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well about 2-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt and whisk until combined
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed after each addition. (Mixture will be stiff)
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; it will be crumbly.
Knead dough until it holds together, about 7-8 times.
Press dough into an un-greased 11×7 or 9×9 pan (if doubling, use a 15×10 in jellyroll pan, parchment lined if desired for easier removal).
Prick dough at 1-inch intervals with a fork, and score (cut) into 2 ½ x 1 inch bars. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. *Make sure to chill, this will firm the butterfat back up allow for that delectable light, crisp crumb you get with Scottish Shortbread.
If desired sprinkle with raw sugar or colored sugars before baking.
Bake at 325F degrees for 35 minutes, until set and very lightly golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes; cut shortbread into bars using previously scored lines. Cool completely before removing from pan. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 6 months.
What Type of Sugar is Used in Shortbread Cookies
You will find recipes using all types of sugar! Classic white sugar, castor or Baker’s sugar (here in the states) and powdered sugar.
I use all natural cane sugar, the grain is a little larger, but I love the slightly caramel flavor it lends to the shortbread.
For this recipe, you can easily replace the sugar with classic white, or bakers sugar, but I have never tried using powdered or confectioners sugar, let me know if you try it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can freeze the dough and bake as directed, or simply freeze the baked cookies and thaw at room temperature.
If baking frozen dough, bake an additional 2-3 minutes, covering with foil if they start browning too quickly. Remove from freezer for 20-30 minutes while you preheat your oven.
Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies
I have found that when the ingredients are simple, it’s easy to convert recipes to be gluten-free. I haven’t tried making shortbread gluten-free, let me know if you do!
Substitute the all-purpose flour for your favorite 1-to-1 Gluten Free All Purpose Flour or try Almond Flour as well, many cookies do extremely well made with almond flour!
High Altitude Adjustment for Traditional Shortbread Recipe
This recipe is a winner at sea level and high altitude and anywhere in between! No adjustments necessary!
How to Shape Shortbread!
Shortbread dough is quite versatile. If you want to cut shapes with your cookie cutters, chill the dough in 2-3 discs wrapped in plastic wrap for 2 hours.
Roll or press dough to about ⅓ – 1/2 inch thick and press cookie cutters into dough, transferring shapes with a spatula to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Like these fun Valentine’s Day Shortbread cookies
Or shape into rectangle about ¼ inch thick and cut into finger sized rectangles, piercing with a fork for the traditional shortbread appearance. or cut into squares, then cut squares at a diagonal.
Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet with a few inches between each cookie for a crisper cookie. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes, do not let them brown (golden is fine.)
If you want to get really fancy, press dough into a pretty shortbread mold and make Christmas shortbread cookies! Easy and gorgeous!
CHOCOLATE DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES
If you’d like to dip these shortbread cookies into a little dark, milk or white chocolate as shown in the pictures.
- 1 cup of your choice of chips (dark chocolate, semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate chips)
- 2 teaspoons butter
Melt on high in 20-30 second intervals, stirring well between heatings. The chocolate will continue to melt with residual heat, it’s important not to overheat it as it will cause the chocolate to “break”. If it does burn or break, try adding a teaspoon at a time of a little vegetable oil whisking until smooth and glossy.
Dip as desired and add sprinkles if desired.
I hope you try this simple cookie and trust that it will soon become your favorite cookie as well!
Need more great holiday cookie recipes?
- Oatmeal Cutout Cookies
- Oreo Crumbl Cookie | Crumbl Cookie Recipe
- Pfeffernusse Cookies (German Spice Cookies)
- White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Eggnog Gooey Butter Cookies (from scratch)
- Greek Butter Cookies | Koulourakia
- Pan Banging Sugar Cookies
- Classic Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or M & M Chocolate Chip Cookies
Don’t forget to PIN to your favorite Cookies board!
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sticks ½ pound unsalted butter, softened (you may use salted butter, but omit the salt)
- [½ cup sugar I use all natural pure cane sugar, white or bakers sugar may be substituted]
- [1 tsp vanilla]
- [2 cups all-purpose flour]
- [¼ cup cornstarch I use a non-GMO cornstarch]
- ⅛ tsp salt
- all natural or sanding sugar for sprinkling optional
Instructions
- Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well about 2-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt whisking to mix; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed after each addition. (Mixture will be stiff and may be crumbly)
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 8-10 times.
- Press dough into an un-greased 11×7 or 9×9 pan (if doubling, use a 15×10 in jellyroll pan, parchment lined if desired for easier removal).
- Prick dough at 1-inch intervals with a fork, and score (cut) into 2 ½ x 1 inch bars. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Make sure to chill, this will firm the butterfat back up allow for that delectable light, crisp crumb you get with Scottish Shortbread. If desired, sprinkle with all natural sugar or sanding sugar before baking.
- Bake at 325F degrees for 35 minutes, until set and lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes; cut shortbread into bars using previously scored lines. Cool completely before removing from pan. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 6 months. This recipe easily doubles!
Video
Fresh Tips
- Roll or press dough to about ⅓ inch thick and press cookie cutters into dough, transferring shapes with a spatula to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Like these fun Valentine’s Day Shortbread cookies
- Or shape into rectangle about ¼ inch thick and cut into finger sized rectangles, piercing with a fork for the traditional shortbread appearance. or cut into squares, then cut squares at a diagonal.
- Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet with a few inches between each cookie for a crisper cookie. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes, do not let them brown (golden is fine.)
- If you want to get really fancy, press dough into a pretty shortbread mold.
- The quality of your butter and the amount of fat it contains can change the moisture content, so be sure to start with REAL butter.
- How did you measure the flour? Might be too much flour. Use the spoon and level method
- Did you use all-purpose flour? Perhaps you used a pastry or whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour absorbs more moisture which would lend to a dryer crumb.
- Be sure to cream your butter and sugar together well, at least 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
- Knead! The dough will be somewhat crumbly when you take it out from the mixer, get in there with your hands and gently knead the dough until it begins to come together.
- To fix, try kneading by hand for several minutes until it comes together.
- If still too crumbly to hold its shape, add a few drops of water and knead in, or try a few teaspoons of butter.
CHOCOLATE DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES
If you’d like to dip these shortbread cookies into a little dark, milk or white chocolate as shown in the pictures on the post.- 1 cup of your choice of chips (dark chocolate, semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate chips)
- 2 teaspoons butter
Nutrition
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About Kathleen Pope
Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer
Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.
Love this recipe and the fact that if you want you can use Almond flour!
Made them many times with almond flour for my GF friends and they are amazing, a bit more oily because of the oils in the almond flour, but still amazing!
Is it possible to use a sugar substitute? I was thinking something like Stevia in the Raw?
I have had good experience using Monk fruit cup for cup in other baked goods, so I would imagine it might work okay! If you are okay with the texture of it, I think it will work! Let me know how it tastes!
Tried this recipe for the first time today (the batch is sitting in the refrigerator as I write this) but am concerned that it was too gooey. It definitely didn’t need to be kneaded. It flopped out of the mixing bowl like a thick batter. Would adding more flour change the taste and make it doughy? Many thanks.
Hi Alix, I would try freezing it! Once firm bake from frozen to get that butter to harden up. Was your butter soft from the fridge? Or is it really warm in your kitchen? All of those things can mess with shortbread. Some butters are starting to add more water to them, unfortunately. When making a cookie like shortbread, you want to splurge for a good butter. Hope they turn out!
Really good! best shortbread for texture, and I finally converted my sister into a shortbread cookie enjoyer>:)
Yay!! I love making cookie converts!!
Best ever!! I needed to bake for 50 minutes to get that crispy snap of shortbread. First batch was a little soft for my taste but longer baking was the fix. Going to dip the ends in chocolate this time for a Christmas party.
Absolutely perfect JoJo!! Glad you found the best for your taste! That’s what it’s about! Perfect dipped with chocolate! Yum!
Great Recipe! Lovely with tea and simple to make.
Thank you so much for your kind comment!
Simply amazing!!!!
Thank you!
What a delicious recipe. I loved the cookies from the mold so ordered one so I could make this recipe fancier this year.
Aren’t they just so pretty!
These look fabulous! I love shortbread cookies and bars!
Thank you Susan!
We are a family of shortbread lovers…this recipe is tops!
Because how can you go wrong with butter, flour and sugar!!
Ok, amazing! SO good! Thanks for the recipe, Kathleen!
So so glad you loved it!
Excellent recipe. I tweaked just a smidge and added 2 tsp finely chopped dried rosemary and 2 T grapefruit zest. Won a ribbon at the state fair! These are great as is or any of the variations (dipped etc).
That is so exciting Kathleen, congratulations! Thank you for sharing your tweaks too, that sounds absolutely AMAZING!
These turned out really well. I did use half white whole wheat flour (King Arthur) so they might be just a tad drier than if I had used the all purpose, but they are still very flaky and delicious. The white whole wheat lends a bit of a nutty flavor to the shortbread. Thank you for the recipe. I’ll probably make these again and add some pecans and possibly make some spiced ones with anise, and then I need to make them with cardamom/cinnamon…
Thanks again!
Love how you made it yours and all those variations, I’m drooling now!
Hi, I’ve tried this recipe for the first time today (the batch is in the refrigerator setting up as I write this) but am concerned that the dough was too gooey. I was worried that if I added more flour it would come out tasting doughy and loose the flaky goodness. Is there a way fix the gooey problem without adding more flour?
Many thanks
Alix
Hi Alix, it could be your butter (many butters are starting to add a lot of water) try and use a quality butter as you can afford. Or if your kitchen is exceptionally warm when baking that can do it too. Did you use unbleached all-purpose flour? Lastly, I don’t think you need to add more flour, just make sure you added the correct amount and freeze the shortbread dough for an hour or two before baking. This will firm the butter back up and allow the gluten in the flour to relax. Hope they worked out!
This was incredible. The perfect texture – I will definitely be making it again.
Love hearing that Dannii!
This shortbread was so much easier than I ever would have thought! It turned out so tasty and perfectly sweet.
YAY! Thanks for letting me know!
This short bread is amazing. Love the simple recipe.
Thanks MacKenzie, so glad you loved it!
I love how simple and delicious these shortbread treats are to make and eat. Making a double batch next time–some to eat and some to share.
That’s perfect!!
I adore shortbread and this recipe absolutely nails it. Sweet and buttery and basically melts in your mouth! I’ll definitely be making this again ASAP!
All those things!
I’ve made this shortbread several times and it always turns out perfectly. So buttery and delicious!
So glad to hear that Tayler!
I just love a good homemade shortbread recipe! 🙂 These cookies always remind me of the holiday season.
They do for me too! But they are delish year round!
Love this classic shortbread recipe. Looks fantastic. Pinned to make this soon.
Fantastic! You will love them!
Wow! The texture of this shortbread is exquisite! Buttery, flaky, perfect. Thanks for a delicious cookie.
Thank you!
I have only 8×8 pan, not 9×9 nor 11×17. How much longer would you suggest baking as it will be thicker then your recipe? Thankyou!
Yes, you sure can Cynthia and I was so happy to hear and see your picture of how beautiful they turned out! For future readers, yes, you can bake in an 8×8, just bake a little longer, until they are slightly golden on top!
I use this as a base for caramel cookie bars, millionaire shortbread, toffee bars, and on its own. It disappears in less than eight hours when I bring a pan-full to work every time. Simple instructions, helpful pictures, good tips included. Long live shortbread!!!!
Oh thank you Kelly, love that you use it for so many things! Now I’m craving millionaire shortbread! You made my year, long live shortbread indeed! Happy baking, Kathleen
Oh my! I doubled and made a batch last night. Followed recipe to a “T”. Easy to cut and held their shape but still had that great crumbly taste. Will try as cut-outs next. Traditional, Delicious and OH so easy!
Thank you Kathleen! Love hearing that, so glad that the recipe turned out so well for you!
These are really good! I’ll be saving this one. Thank you.
Love hearing this Brent! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
I made these as a test batch last night in the pan with some vanilla and they taste great! Can I make this into a log and cut the cookies into bars? I’m thinking the baked edge might look better. Do they keep their shape?
Hi Ashely, they do keep their shape pretty well, I don’t know if you saw, but you can make cutout cookies with this dough as well, I am sure you can make it into a log and then cut the cookies into bars! Let me know how they turn out!
I love shortbread cookies and these sound amazing! I would love to have one now along with chai! Also, love the simple and outstanding options to make for different occasions.
Oh that sounds delicious with the Chai!
Made this for the holidays with my family- everyone loved them compared to the store purchased ones I also brought (just in case) …, if I made a mistake – actually I don’t make mistakes- I should have cooked a little, maybe 2 minutes longer, most likely not… each day they just tasted better… I put them out on a tray next to the Italian super coffee maker and each day they were gone! Love the recipe… will make again
Hey, I get buying things just in case! And I agree, they taste better with a little age! So glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing and happy New Year!
Personal experience (through my mother) about crumbly dough: She would always end up just putting the crumbly dough into the pan and pressing it down. No matter how long she kneaded the dough, it would not come together. My aunt (Mom’s sister-in-law) helped make it one year and her dough came together after just a tiny bit of kneading. Turns out my Mom has COLD hands! If you have COLD HANDS, the kneading doesn’t help as much! As I said, she just put the crumbly dough into the pan, after a bit of kneading, and pressed it down. Always came out just fine! So, consider just putting the still crumbly dough into the pan without trying “fixes” (after a bit of kneading) and just proceeding to the next step. It should be just fine. We had a great guffaw about the realization about her hands after all those years! BEST SHORTBREAD EVER, despite the crumbly dough.
What a fun story Lynn! Thank you for sharing that! Us women and our cold hands! LOL!
I have also just pressed dough into a pan rather than wait for it to come together. Maybe I have cold hands!
Haha, maybe you do! I know sometimes mine are freezing!
As a Scot, I can tell this recipe will turn out great shortbread. Tried powder sugar for first time yesterday. Only fit for bin. I’m a purist and going back to my 1-2-3 method.
So glad it turned out for you so well Aileen! Sorry your first attempt went in the bin! Have a beautiful Christmas!
I whipped up this dough as soon as I saw this recipe. Half of it was baked and has already disappeared and the other half is in my freeze. Maybe I can get some this time. lol
Hi can you freeze these shortbread cookies and if yes do you freeze the dough or the baked cookies?
Hi Dana, yes you can certainly freeze the dough or the baked cookies, just make sure to cool baked cookies completely before baking!
Just made these and they’re absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making again. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Thank you for making my month Audrey! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Happy baking!
I had never made shortbread before and wanted to give it a try for Christmas gifts. I did a trial run to see how I liked this receipe. OMG. This is unbelieveably delicious and I found them to be even better the next day. I had to bake for 40 minutes in my electric oven. 35 minutes didn’t seem to be enough but I am also at 4300 feet if that makes a difference.
This recipe was so easy and delicious. Thank you.
Looks Ted Lasso worthy! Can’t wait to try.
And I hope you love it as much as Ted!
These are so so delicious! Shortbread cookies are one of my favorite and this recipe is perfect!
So glad you loved it!