Buttery Melt-in-Your-Mouth Shortbread Cookies

Today on CrispyBake Kitchen, we’re making some buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies.
So, let’s get started.

I love the story of shortbread cookies because it involves Scottish people avoiding English taxes. There was a tax on biscuits, or basically the version of cookies, and Scottish bakers wanted to avoid this tax, so they call these cookies shortbread, and short tells you the texture. Short texture is crumbly and does melt in your mouth, and it’s like bread, because there’s flour in there. So these cookies are all about tax evasion and defiance. Shortbreads, not cookies, originated somewhere in the mid-16th century.

Ingredients

10 tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter, that’s 142 grams
half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
half a cup of powdered sugar
half a teaspoon of salt
180 grams, or one and a half cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions

Step 1-3: Creaming Butter and Vanilla

First off, in the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl if you’re using a hand mixer, you want 10 tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter, that’s 142 grams, and your butter should really be nice and room temperature. You can press into it fairly easily, but it’s not melting.
And two. I also want half a teaspoon of vanilla extract for some lovely flavor, and I’m measuring it out this time, as opposed to pouring, because you do not want too much liquid in these cookies.
Pop your paddle attachment on, and we’re going to beat this until it’s nice and creamed. My butter is nicely creamed up. The consistency is beautiful and soft, but I’m not running it on high for five minutes to pump a lot of air in, and that is a different cookie.

Step 4-8: Adding Sugar, Salt, and Flour

Once your butter is creamed, it’s time to add half a cup of powdered sugar in, and I would always recommend adding half a teaspoon of salt for some nice contrast.
Mix this up until it’s nice and combined, but once again, you are not pumping a ton of air into here, you’re just creaming it together.
I always like to give this a scrape down, just to make sure the butter at the bottom comes back up, and it’s fully mixed in.
Right now, it’s time to add our flour in, but this is the crucial point, and the place where things can go awry. If you add too much flour, your shortbread cookies are going to be super dry and crumbly, and they’re not even going to stick together, so you really want to have a correct amount out, which means grab a scale, or fluff your flour in the canister, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and level it off. So we want 180 grams, or one and a half cups of all-purpose flour. Just go ahead and use your scale for the most accurate results.
One more scrape down.

Variations and Mixing

I make shortbread cookies every holiday season on repeat, but I actually love making these in different variations. This is a classic shortbread cookie, but you could brown the butter, if you want some extra depth of flavor. You could add tons of mixins, like chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (for a different kind of sweet treat, try our easy baked apples with pecans), chocolate chunks, dried cranberries, the list goes on, even sprinkles for like a fun and steady-style cookie. Things are going to be delicious, and it’s so versatile, you can really make this recipe your own.

Plop your mixer head down, we’re going to mix on low, and slowly add our flour in.
Once all your flour is mixed in, we’re going to scrape the bowl down one final time. This point can be a bit scary, because it looks so dry and crumbly right now, and you might think, oh my gosh, I added too much flour, or there’s not enough butter. This is like, this looks wrong, because you’re used to a normal cookie batter, but this is correct, it just needs to mix a tiny bit more. See, very dry and crumbly.
Go back to mixing, and I’m just looking for this to come together a bit more. My dough has come together, I am not over mixing it, and now it’s time to shape this into a rectangular prism, like a box shape. The old geometry teacher and me got very excited when I wrote this recipe. He’s like, yes, a practical application for geometry. Kind of.
It’s time to plop your dough onto your clean countertop, and we’re just going to shape this into a rectangle. Little bit of flour for the countertop.

Although you don’t have to, you can shape this into a log and have slice and bake cookies. In fact, this dough is a great thing to make. When you have a few spare minutes, you can make your dough, you can make different batches of it with different mixings, and just freeze this for later. Then, when you want to make some cookies, like this simple easy cookies recipe at home, let it thaw a bit, slice them up, and bake them.

Once your dough is all shaped up nicely, it’s time to transfer it either into some plastic wrap or I have some waxed cloth here, just so this could be chilled but not dry out. My dough is ready to go into the fridge now. We just need it to firm up before we slice it, so give it at least an hour, but you could do this in the morning and come back to in the evening really easily, too.
Towards the end of your chill time, pre-trap it into 350, and now we are ready to slice our shortbread. Very firm.
You’re going to cut these into half-inch thick slices, and you want a nice sharp knife for this.
Your cookies are going to get a little help to bake evenly in the form of some pokes. These dots are going to let air circulate inside and they’re going to be so evenly baked and delicious.
Once your cookies onto a baking sheet, leaving an inch of space in between, not because they’re going to spread so much, but because you want air to circulate in between them. Air circulations really important for an even bake, and that’s one of the reasons I suggest using a rimmed baking sheet. It’s not a scientific experiment, but I really feel that when your baking sheet is just flat and not rimmed, the cookies get a bit more scorched on the outside.
Now use a fork or a skewer to create a pattern, and you’re just going to press into the shortbread cookies. This is very utilitarian. I like having a little pattern, so the skewer is a bit better for that. Again, really fun to do with kids.
If you want your cookies to look extra sharp, you can use a knife and just trim the edges. Totally optional. Don’t worry if it’s not sure if I have. It’s fine if they look homemade.
Our shortbread cookies are ready to go into the oven’s 350 for about 10 minutes, rotating halfway through, and you’ll know they’re done when the bottoms are just taking on some color. Every oven is different, so keep an eye on them. I prefer mine to be just almost golden. Not burnt, so you can take it out earlier if your oven’s running hot.

Final Thoughts

Here you go. And just like that, these delicious cookies are ready to enjoy. The magical thing about these cookies is they dissolve on your tongue and are just so satisfying to eat. They’re perfectly sweet.

I hope you had a chance to make this recipe, and if you like my videos, hit that subscribe button, and check out my cookie playlist.
By the way, if you like my videos, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. There’s two new recipes every single week, and also some shorts too.

Easy Buttery Melt-in-Your-Mouth Shortbread Cookies

These classic buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies are simple to make and dissolve deliciously on your tongue. Originating from Scotland, this versatile recipe is perfect for any occasion and can be customized with various mix-ins.

10 tablespoons (142 grams) room temperature unsalted butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
180 grams (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), add the 10 tablespoons (142 grams) of room temperature unsalted butter. Ensure the butter is soft enough to press into easily but not melting.
Add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to the butter. Measure carefully to avoid adding too much liquid.
Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and vanilla until nicely creamed and soft. Avoid beating on high for too long to prevent incorporating too much air, which changes the cookie texture.
Once the butter is creamed, add ½ cup of powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt to the bowl.
Mix until just combined, once again avoiding over-mixing and pumping excessive air into the mixture.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Carefully add 180 grams (1 ½ cups) of all-purpose flour. For best accuracy, use a kitchen scale or fluff the flour before measuring and level it off.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour into the butter mixture until just combined. The dough will look dry and crumbly at this stage, which is correct for shortbread.
Scrape down the bowl one final time. Continue mixing on low until the dough just comes together, forming a cohesive mass without being over-mixed.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured clean countertop and shape it into a rectangular prism (a box shape). Alternatively, shape it into a log for slice-and-bake cookies.
Wrap the shaped dough tightly in plastic wrap or waxed cloth to prevent it from drying out. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour, or up to several days, until firm.
Towards the end of the chilling time, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Once the dough is firm, use a sharp knife to cut it into ½-inch thick slices.
Place the cookie slices onto a rimmed baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between each cookie to allow for proper air circulation during baking.
Use a fork or skewer to gently poke a pattern of holes into the top of each cookie. This helps air circulate and ensures an even bake.
Optional: For extra sharp edges, use a knife to trim the edges of the cookies before baking.
Bake for about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The cookies are done when the bottoms are just taking on a very light golden color. Keep a close eye on them as oven temperatures can vary.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

a:6:{i:0;s:120:”Ensure butter is truly at room temperature – soft enough to press, but not melted – for the best shortbread texture.”;i:1;s:101:”Accurately measuring flour, preferably by weight (grams), is crucial to prevent dry, crumbly cookies.”;i:2;s:86:”Avoid over-mixing the dough once the flour is added; mix just until it comes together.”;i:3;s:175:”This dough is very versatile: you can brown the butter for extra depth, or add mix-ins like chopped toasted pecans, walnuts, chocolate chunks, dried cranberries, or sprinkles.”;i:4;s:80:”The dough can be frozen for later use. Thaw slightly, slice, and bake as needed.”;i:5;s:84:”Poking holes in the cookies allows for even baking and a perfectly delicate texture.”;}