I love shortbread! This is a very easy and delicious recipe to make shortbread cookies at home. I use this recipe as a base to make all sorts of cookies (dipped in chocolate, decorated with royal icing like these Baby Shower cookies etc.) and I highly recommend it.
Recipe adapted from Savoring Simplicity
Ingredients (makes about 20):
260 gms – 2 cups flour
225 gms – 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
60 gms – ½ cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
Put the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment and beat them on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is very smooth. Add the vanilla extract. Then reduce the speed to low and add the salt and flour, mixing only until just incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Roll out the dough into a 0.5 cm – ¼ inch thick sheet. Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.
Place the cookies on a tray lined with baking paper and place in the fridge for 15 minutes (this will help the cookies to retain their shape when baked).
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C – 340°F on the middle rack for 13 to 15 minutes. The cookies should remain pale. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for about a week or they can be frozen. I also often freeze the uncooked shaped cookies and then bake them from frozen!
Is icing sugar the same as powdered sugar?
Hi Audrey! Yes it is (just the “British/Aussie” name). 🙂
Do you use plain or selfrising flour for this recipe?
Hi! I use plain flour for these shortbread cookies. 🙂
thanks. I’ll make this tomorrow 🙂
🙂 Let me know how they come out!
Thank you so much!! You’re really awesome. I’ll try this right now! 🙂
These are really great cookies! Thanks so much for the recipe. They are great for making decorated cookies with royal icing!
I have to make 100 cookies for an event ….. Do they hold up well with icing? Never used icing sugar in place of su’mAQgar?? Your opinion?
Hi! I make my cookies up to 3 days in advance. Keep them to dry overnight and then put them in an air tight container. I never had a problem with the icing, but I have not tried to make them more than 3 days in advance. I hope it helps.
m gonna try them soon..
Hi,
When cooking the biscuits from frozen, what temp and time would you use?
Thanks
Hi Sally
Keep the temperature the same and keep them in the oven for a couple of minutes more… the exact time depends on the size and thickness of the cookies. 🙂
Hi!
Do you have to thaw out the frozen cookies prior to baking?
Hi Yessie. No, there is no need to thaw them. You can bake them from frozen. 🙂
Going to give these a try today. It is Monday, and the baby shower is this coming Saturday.
Great Karen! Let me know how you like them! 🙂 Happy baking!
Hi manu.i have made these cookies before and they were great with royal icing on top.i want to do some for my sons birthday and was thinking of baking them and then freezing them.how long can they stay in the freezer for and how long prior to the party would you thaw them if they need to be iced?how long should i let them thaw before i can start icing them?
Hi Alexi
I’d freeze them raw, just after shaping them, and then cook them from frozen. Baking the cookies doesn’t take a very long time, but they taste so much better when they are freshly baked. That’s what I usually do.
I am so happy you like these cookies, they are my favourite too! 🙂
Ok thanks.if i bake them a week before do you think that will be ok?
Hi Alexi. I wouldn’t bake them more than 3 or 4 days before, or they may not stay as crisp. It also depends on the weather/humidity, etc. Make sure to keep them in airtight container after they cool down completely. Cheers and happy birthday to your little one!
why don’t you make it so we can print the directions of a recipe. I printed off the recipe but
the directions were not printable. Also if you want to show a pictures of directions, then
put the pictures separate from the directions and include a icon so we can print recipe and directions
together. If I want to get the above I have to probably print around 8 or more pages.
Hi Sissy. You can print all my newer recipes, I am still in the process of updating the older ones. However, you can find the same recipe here: https://www.manusmenu.com/shortbread-and-chocolate-hearts Just skip the chocolate bit. This is printable and it should come into a single page only. Hope it helps.