Only to be made at Christmas time, and in huge quantities.
Simple, quick, and they disappear faster than I can make 'em! These don't crumble as easily as other recipes I've tried, and seem like they'd work well as decorated cut-outs (we ate them plain). I like my shortbread just a touch sweeter, so I added a couple tablespoons more sugar to the second batch--YUM! You could also sprinkle a little extra sugar on top before baking if desired. If it won't roll out well, try chilling it for about 30 minutes in the fridge first, especially if you didn't use cold butter. Or add a little more flour if it's sticky. I also suggest you use your (clean) hands to mix the dough, to get that perfect, smooth texture!
Read MoreThis is very easy to make, however, I wasn't too pleased with the flavor. It was sort of plain. It rolled out easily and baked up nicely, but just didn't have that shortbread flavor I was looking for.
Read MoreSimple, quick, and they disappear faster than I can make 'em! These don't crumble as easily as other recipes I've tried, and seem like they'd work well as decorated cut-outs (we ate them plain). I like my shortbread just a touch sweeter, so I added a couple tablespoons more sugar to the second batch--YUM! You could also sprinkle a little extra sugar on top before baking if desired. If it won't roll out well, try chilling it for about 30 minutes in the fridge first, especially if you didn't use cold butter. Or add a little more flour if it's sticky. I also suggest you use your (clean) hands to mix the dough, to get that perfect, smooth texture!
I found this to be exactly what I was looking for. I didn't feel like rolling and cutting them all out so I baked them like a bar and I added some crushed pecans! So Good!
This was a great recipe and held together nicely. I have never had much success with using a roll out dough (new to baking) and this went perfectly none of my rabbits lot an ear. They had good flavor and even held up in the cookie jar. The kids loved them. thank's for a great recipe.
This recipe worked great. I used my KitchenAid mixer, and used the dough hook for the kneading part, and only 2 cups of flour as stated. I did use cold butter, as someone stated previously. They rolled out wonderfully on a marble slab and I was able to use my star shaped cookie cutters without a hitch! Tasted great.
These are the measurements I used in Scotland, where I lived for fifteen years. Simple recipes are the best and this remains the most authentic recipe on the site. Just remember TWO flour, ONE butter, HALF sugar. Easy. DELICIOUS OPTION: This recipe is very robust and can stand up to a little messing about. Feel free to throw in a small handful of raisins or chocolate chips when adding the flour.
Far easier and faster than my usual recipe. Family wanted it a bit sweeter, added 3 more tablespoons of sugar with the second batch. They loved them! Thank you!
This is very easy to make, however, I wasn't too pleased with the flavor. It was sort of plain. It rolled out easily and baked up nicely, but just didn't have that shortbread flavor I was looking for.
A very simple and yummy recipe. COLD butter helps quite a bit. With a little extra sugar, they taste just like store bought English shortbread biscuits. Very yummy.
Basic ingredients for a basic shortbread cookie. They tasted absolutely fantastic and melted in your mouth when they were still warm, but after they cooled a few minutes later, the cookies did not have that melt in your mouth, creamy shortbread texture that I was looking for. The taste though was excellent. I added 1 tspn vanilla extract for a little more taste. I had a ton of chocolate baking wafers, so I put one in the middle of each of my cookies to make them look prettier and for a little chocolate treat. Easy to make and great tasting, but as for the authentic 'shortbread' factor, I would say it's lacking in the texture compartment.
My husband, who loves sugar cookies, told me that this is the only cookie recipe that I'll ever need to use again! My whole family loves these cookies and so do I, especially since they are so easy to make!
You can't ask for a dough to come together any faster. However, I tried using cold butter like another reviewer suggested. I'm not sure how that would ever work. I just ended up flinging tiny cubes of butter all over my counter. No problem, I just put the whole bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds. Then it fluffed up just fine. I added the zest of two lemons and 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. After baking just until they barely started to brown on the bottom, I put them face down in powered sugar while still hot. That melts on a thin layer of the sugar. I think they look nice that way, taste fantastic and I think it helps keep them soft. Who doesn't love a tastey recipe with only 3 ingredients! For those who think they come out plain, think of them as a blank canvas. Add what sounds good to you. Next time I think I'll do a cinnamon pecan shortbread. Yum.
Fast and easy~ the dough requires no refrigeration, it is easy to roll out and cut and the shapes stay together and come out of the cookie cutter easily. They stay together after baking and the flavor is SUBLIME~ PERFECT. Absolutely the best cookies I have ever made or eaten, well worth the work and the calories. Thanks Carl! ~Mompryor
We all loved this! I added just a tad more flour, enough to make it less sticky to work with. It then rolled beautifully. I added a cherry to the center of each cookie. Thanks for the recipe!
I make this shortbread every year at Christmas time... and it 'ages' well --it tastes even more rich and delicious a couple of days later! I also use it to make a fabulously rich crust for my cobbler and pecan pies!
Awesome, simply, easy recipe. I wanted to make sugar cookies for the kids to decorate for Christmas, but didn't want to take the time to refrigerate the dough... found this recipe and followed it exactly. At first I thought I'd done something wrong - the dough seemed super crumbly - but as I started working it and rolling it it smoothed out nicely. The cookies are VERY fragile while still warm but once cooled they're firm & won't break... they held their snowman, Christmas tree, and candy cane shapes very well without the cookie itself being hard to bite into. VERY tasty and a fun, easy, quick cookie to make. This has definitely become my "Go To" recipe. I brought a plate of these to a church function and they were gone instantly!
For some reason, when I cooked these for the listed minimum of 12 minutes, they were burnt and crispy. That was my fault, though, I thought I could leave for a few minutes and when I came back they'd be done. Next time I bake these I'll make sure I watch the stove!
Wonderful! I did add a bit of vanilla and a pinch of salt (unsalted butter) Well, it was my teenage son actually who made them with some assistance. He made some dulce de leche too and with this recipe managed to get 60+ small rounds which he sandwiched into 30 caramel filled cookies. I'm jealous of his class who get to eat them tomorrow, but at least we got to sample them first. Very nice.
This is fabulous recipe! I gave it 4 stars because the shortbread is a bit dry but still taste's excellent. I added some almond extract (1tsp per batch) to give some extra flavoring. Instead of doing cuts outs (too time consuming and messy), I rolled the dough into balls and slightly pressed them down. Baked as directed, let cool, then dipped half the cookie in chocolate (melted choc chips with a little butter in the microwave). They went fast! This is the only recipe I will ever use.
Absolutely delicious, and so easy to make! I added 1/4 tsp of salt to the dough for more flavor. I also found that the dough was a little hard to work with, though. I ended up adding more about 2 tbs. of extra flour, and it was still really hard to roll and cut with cookie cutters. I used a ton of flour for rolling, and by the end, the dough was easy to work with. Next time I make these, though, I will probably add about 1/4 cup of extra flour to the dough before I attempt rolling. I used festive cookie cutters (a maple leaf and an acorn) and piped melted chocolate chips onto each baked cookie for decoration. They turned out really cute, and everyone loved them. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe!
These were great! I was also a wee bit lazy and just firmly pressed these into a brownie pan and baked a bit longer and then cut into strips. WONDERFUL. One thing I did do was to lightly brush the top with milk and then sprinkled granulated sugar on top to give it a light sheen. Thank you for the recipe. This is a real treat!
Best cookies EVER! :) I was never a fan of those overly sweetened sugar cookies. These shortbread cookies are AMAZING COOKIES! Just perfect! :) My mixer was broken so I decided to hand mix the batter. Hand mixing cold butter is a pain so I just stuck the butter in the mircowave for 10 second -- enough to just soften the butter. I added a bit over sugar than required. The mixture was too crumbly and kept falling apart so I added about a 1/2 teaspoon of milk or more. This made the batter real nice! The batter didn't crumbled or fall. When hand mixing -- USE MILK! :)
By far the best shortbread I've ever made or eaten. I am already imagining the possibilities for add-ins such as orange or lemon zest, lavender, cinnamon...but they are fantastic as is. I made these tonight and cut them out with a salmon shaped cookie cutter and dipped the "tails" in melted chocolate. I'm bringing them to a work Christmas potluck tomorrow and I know they'll disappear fast. I softened the butter just slightly enough for it to easily cream with the sugar, but not so soft that the dough got too messy. I made them a little on the thin side and baked for 11 minutes. These are delicious!
Simple recipe with quite a nice flavor. As other reviewers recommended I put in 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1/2 cup and also added a teaspoon of vanilla. I didn't have an electric mixer to heated the butter to about half-melted, then creamed. The results turned out great. However, the third time I made it I heated the butter too long to completely melted. The resulting dough was very crumbly. I added a bit of flour and waited for the dough to chill a while and it turned out fine. One note: if you add vanilla be sure it is a good quality one otherwise it leaves a bad taste. I also tried this with a couple teaspoons of fresh lime juice instead of vanilla and dipped them in powdered sugar while warm. This was a hit with me and my husband and I'll be making more of these! Very versatile dough.
Fantastic recipe. I beat the butter for about five minutes before adding the sugar, then another eight minutes or so with the sugar added. I did end up poking holes in the shortbread with the end of a spoon and then adding some jam before cooking them, which was a lovely addition; but all on its own, this recipe produces a wonderful, not-too-sweet shortbread.
I did as was instructed, made at Christmas time and in HUGE batches- I customized the recipe to a yield of 100. I added a little bit of vanilla to the mix, and after 3 hours of rolling, cutting and baking they were all done! A great recipe!
Funny story. I was supposed to make some cookies, a recipe of my own, but after pulling out everything i need, i realized i'm missing one thing... 1 egg that's required to make my cookies. So i hopped on all recipes and searched for an eggless cookie recipe and stumbled across this one. truth be told, i've been wanting to make shortbread cookies for the longest time, strawberry shortbread cookies to be exact. So I was ecstatic when I found this recipe. It couldn't be any more simple than this and it's easily modifiable. I made heart and bear shaped cookies and somewhat thumbprinted them, put some strawberry jam, and baked as the recipe instructed. after they were made, i put them on a plate in the kitchen. We have a family of 5 that aren't really into sweets but everytime i popped by the kitchen, the plate seemed to be lacking some cookies. and so the cookies were disappearing and within a day, they were gone. (i cut the recipe in half btw cuz we only had half a cup of butter... yes, i was in need to grocery shopping). So just today, I realized we have more butter and since everyone liked them so much, I made more :P I'll upload a picture once they cool... if there are any left anyways.
I liked this recipe for its simplicity. I halved it. I'll definitely make it again!
Great recipe! Cookies literally "melt" in your mouth. For flavor I add 2 teaspoonsful each of almond and vanilla extracts and a cream cheese frosting w/ sprinkles on top of cookies. Food coloring adds a nice touch as well (see my uploaded photo*).
This recipe was the perfect base for what I needed. I needed a recipe for my dairy allergic child to bring to school and decorate with his classmates. I substituted the butter for vegetable shortening and I used icing sugar/confectioners sugar instead of the white sugar for a finer look. The cookies were perfect, held together for decorating and still melted in your mouth. Not too sweet either. Thanks for posting, this is definitely going into my baking repetiore
When I tried this, the dough was all crumbly....tried doctoring it up..didn't want to put any milk in it (for some reason and didn't have any eggs at the time.) So, I decided to go out and buy some instead of keep screwing around with it... Next time? Maybe.
Very good! nice and soft, melt in your mouth, I pushed them off a teaspoon and pushed gently down with a fork and put a cherry on top.
I loved this recipe, but made a few changes to save time. I used just two cups of flour, unsifted, and added vanilla and fresh grated rind of an orange. I dropped a teaspoon onto the cookie sheet, flattened a little and sprinkled with coarse sugar. Very good flavor. I only cooked enough to eat fresh & stored the rest of the dough in the refrigerator to bake as needed.
I made 2 batches; one as is which turned out pretty good. but then the second batch I added 1/4 cup of cornstarch and they baked up lighter and super delicious! I love how quick and simple this recipe is I made 2 batches in well under an hour and got about 6 or 7 dozen cut out cookies (about an inch and a half sized cookie cutters)
I made these for a bake sale and got huge reviews in the kitchen at taste testing time : ) Will make these again. Double the recipe at least to get a good amount.
This came out rather a disaster. The dough was crumbling and I couldn't even try to roll it out. I added more flour, like the recipe suggested, but it didn't work, even when I kept it in the fridge for the whole night. Added couple eggs and kept in the fridge for three more hours - still useless. Not sure if I can even make something of it later, just a waste of products.
These are a yearly holiday tradition in our home and I can't seem to make them fast enough. I add vanilla extract and dip 1/2 of each cookie in melted dark chocolate. Delicious!!!
UPDATE _ TIPS! ***Be sure to use really really soft butter, wrap in plastic wrap and plunk in the fridge until cool to the touch. Roll out with a little flour, but be sure to keep them THICK as they don't rise very much and cut them with a cutter and you're good to go!*** Awesome. Cut into circles and Put a quarter of a maraschino cherry on top of each one before cooking. cooked them for only about 8 mins (have a hot oven) Delicious! :) Just like gramma used to make (gave her some and she asked me where i found her recipe!)
Wow, this is good. I followed other reviewers hints and added a teaspoon of vanilla and a couple tablespoons more of sugar; pressed dough out in a metal pan, scored with a pizza cutter. A hit.
I was craving shortbread and this one really hit the spot. I did add 1 tsp of vanilla extract. This was melt in your mouth perfection. Many thanks.
I added some extra sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I sprinkled sugar on top of the cookies before baking them. Excellent , everyone loved them.
The consistency was wonderful...a very traditional shortbread! Delicious dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in hazelnuts for a little drama!
Yummy and buttery! I bake these in a cookie sheet and cut them into bars. After they bake, I top w/ a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, let them melt, and then spread across the top. Put in fridge to cool and eat.
These taste great. Next time I'll roll them a little thicker. I thought 1/4 inch was a bit too thin, but that is personal preference and nothing to fault with this simple recipe. I made heart-shaped cookied and dipped half of each heart in chocolate.
They were easy to make with the kids but not much taste even though we increased the sugar by 1/4 cup and added a touch of almond extract. I wouldn't make them again.
The cookies were pretty good, but a little plainer then other shortbread cookies.
These cookies are great! Not too sweet, very easy to make and go wonderfully with coffee or tea. I also made them with a tsp of vanilla the 2nd time and that was also wonderful.
This was a great recipe....great for quantity and super easy and the kids loved it great for rolling out for shapes.
I've never made shortbread before and this was INCREDIBLY easy and very delicious. The dough was easy to handle but I just dropped them onto the cookie sheet. Thanks. Thanks. & more thanks. Even the batter is very good tasting. Will DEFINITELY make them again. Have emailed this recipe to my sister too. NOT disappointed. I agree, Christmas only, large quantities. Out of 10, how about an 11. The only thing I disliked was not the taste (to die for) was that some of the cookies were too crumbly when I took them off the sheet and they broke apart too easily so they were not a complete cookie, at least, not all of them. But, hey, I'm diabetic so I get a slight taste without raising my sugar too high.
shortbread is best when ingredients are kept simple (although I do add a splash of vanilla) yum!
What a great recipe!, simple and yet delicious. I have used this recipe so many times now. :) I do have a tip for this recipe, instead of regular sugar use powdered sugar and it just gives it that extra crummy texture and taste to it!, also use an electric mixer if possible makes it quicker and easier to mix and doesn't change anything
These are easy to make, delicious to eat, and dangerous to have around the house. My wife and I ate the whole batch within a couple of days!
Easy for kids to make (they thank you), tasty, and great for christmas plates. Thanks!
Loved it! Followed the suggestions to add cornstarch and icing sugar instead of white
this is a very good recipe. very simple and hard to mess up. great for cookie cutters. also try adding butter mint pieces and a little bit of peppermint extract... it turns out great. :-)
This shortbread is amazingly easy and tastes great! I made way too many of them and took them to work...they were well recieved. :)
Very easy to make and taste great! I made them with Sugar Cookie Icing and that made them irresistible.
THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST DOUGHS I HAVE EVER MADE IN MY LIFE!! YOU CAN'T EVEN ROLL THE OUT EVEN AFTER PUTTING IN FRIG FOR A COUPLE HOURS...I WASTED MY INGREDIENTS ON THIS ONE WHAT A SHAME.....THIS RECIPE NEEDS REMOVED OR TWEAKED BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TWEAKING COULD HELP THIS ONE AND I HAVE MADE A MANY CUT-OUT COOKIES!!!!!!
These were delicious!They were just the right amount of crumbl. Could have been sweeter, i will add sugar next time a i make them.
So easy to make, and tastes great! I was looking for a recipe for a cookie exchange, and this will be perfect. Just made a test batch, and I won't need to alter it in any way. My only word of caution is to use flour on the cookie cutters, the doughy is a bit sticky.
Perfect! Just like grandma made. Just remember to add only as much flour needed and not handling the dough with hands so much. Thank you for sharing!
This is a very good, easy shortbread. I like my browned a bit more, because they are crispy when cooled. They held their shape really well when use cut outs. Very impressed.
These are soooo good and super easy to make! Thanks for sharing this recipe! P.S. Make sure you press the dough really hard and flatten it before rolling it out because it's impossible to handle the dough when crumbly.
I tried this recipe and everything came out as described. I even added a touch of vanilla. However I was disappointed in the taste, it was not rich tasting as I would have expected for a "supreme" shortbread.
My new favorite cookie recipe. This is great if you want to make iced cookies quickly. (Which I did!) No chill time for the dough, and the cookies come out light and buttery. They weren't too sweet either, so the frosting was a nice addition, rather than too much sugar. I will say that I have tried this with Land O Lakes margarine and it worked almost as well as butter, but try it with butter first.
These were awesome! I sprinkled colored sugar on these after cutting them out but they would be equally delicious with some frosting which I will definately try. They held up well to cookie cutters especially after putting in the freezer for 10 minutes.
out of control deliciousness. I changed the sugar to 3/4 cup per a pastry chef's recommendation and have added vanilla extract or lemon extract (1/2 tsp) for variations. So good. Egg free, too, so good for kids with allergies. Excellent for dunking in coffee.
I'm giving this a four as written because as others have said, it does need a bit more flour. Besides that it's a five all the way. Absolutely delicious. This is a keeper.
I've only made this recipe one time and added vanilla to the recipe. The recipe came out came out nicely. I used my cookie press and Ithe cookies came out nicely. They are not too sweet and great with a big glass of milk
These were easy to make but I found them a little delicate. I made them to add to my treat boxes for the holidays, and I'm not sure they will hold up well for packing and traveling. We'll see. Three cookies broke as I was moving them to the cooling rack, even though I let them sit for a full 5 minutes. Perhaps I made them a little too thin. I enjoyed the light, not-too-sweet taste, and added my sweetness by sprinkling colored sugar on top. I rate this recipe a 4 for taste and ease of preparation. Next time I will make these when I plan to keep them at home while entertaining.
This recipe turned out perfectly. I rolled out the dough and cut it into squares. Then I pressed a pecan half into each. These are very rich!
I made these shortbread cookies and substituted 1/2 the sugar with 1/2 Splenda. It worked very well. Dough freezes well too, I wrapped the dough in parchment paper, tied at both ends. Dated and placed in the freezer. I will definitely make these again.
I made these to dip in various kinds of chocolate and give away, and they were well-received. However, I found them to be a little harsh and grainy without the added chocolate, though it wasn't very noticeable with it. Perhaps it just needed more or less mixing; will have to try again. Still, very simple recipe, very versatile cookie for decorating or adding on to.
Really simple, really delicious! Especially if you use good-quality butter, these cookies are to die for!
Just used this whilst out in the Middle East without my cook books. The cookies went down a storm and even though we put chocolate on the top my son said he would love them as much just plain!
I had a recipe for shortbreqad handed down through the family, but this was so much easier and took half the time! I also added a bit more sugar and about a 1/4 cup more sugar. My family ate almost all of them in one night!
Thank you so much. I finally made a recipe of cookies & it became cookies. The recipe is easy, the cookies taste delicious, & I had added 50gms of sweetened coconut, & it is even more delicious. Im gonna make this recipe more times for sure. Now, its time for some coffee, maybe tea with my delicious homemade shortbread cookies...YUMMY, ;)
Sadly, not what I would call supreme. This just was not the shortbread flavor I was hoping for. If I am going to splurge on an unhealthy cookie - it should taste awesome! I will say that they weren't so awful that I threw them away. I added crushed heath bars to the top before baking the rest of them and those were okay. I won't make these again though. Sorry.
There is no way this recipe can hold together with anything near 2 cups of flour. I had to add about a full extra cup to be able to roll the dough. They cooked perfectly. I added a tsp of vanilla essence but they still tasted a little bit bland. I think Next time I'll increase increase the sugar to 3/4 cups. I chilled them overnite once done and they had a great shortbread texture. All in all, I'd make them again, if for no other reason than the simplicity of the recipe.
If you want a simply delicious plain shortbread, this is IT! Nothing fancy, nothing added, just awesome.
We patted this dough into a tart pan as the base for a fruit pizza. It was just right for most of my guests but I thought it was a bit bland. I think needing a better quality butter might have been my problem
Needed a quick and easy shortbread cookie to take to school for a birthday party. These were perfect! Family had to hold back from eating them so there would be enough for the class party. The Kitchenaid is the only way to go. I took the advice from another reviewer and used the dough hook to knead the dough. Easy, easy and more easy.
Yikes! I have just had the biggest problem with this recipe. I may be shortbread challenged, but this dough was not rolling out for me at all, then once I finally got the cookies onto the baking sheet it was browning unevenly when baked. I have just dumped the last half of my dough in the trash because it doesn't seem worth it to continue. Plus, my unevenly browned cookies would really need to be iced in order to be tasty. My suggestion - try another recipe if you intend to do more traditional cookie cut-outs.
