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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
A good whipped shortbread is a perfect combination of butter, flour, and sugar. This recipe is tried and true, easy to follow, and absolutely delicious. Make a batch to devour immediately or freeze for another day.
How to make perfect whipped shortbread! This is my Grandma’s shortbread recipe that we have been using for decades now and this is the only shortbread that we ever make at Christmas! Why not try my Grandma’s Christmas Pudding too?
Reader Review
I have made this recipe for several years. It is always spectacular! Melt-in-your-mouth goodness! I have used a teaspoon to drop the cookies and a small scoop, both work well. This is not a recipe to roll out and cut with cookie cutters. This is a favourite of my family and make it especially for Christmas!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe, especially if you have a stand mixer.
- Total Time: This recipe will take you approximately 45 minutes from start to finish, depending how many cookie sheets you can fit in your oven at once.
- Variations: Try adding a drop or two of vanilla, almond extract, coconut extract, or another flavoring to the cookie dough. Not too much though! If you don’t like candied cherries, why not try different candied fruit? You can also add a few drops of food coloring if you’d like to make these red and green, or sprinkle on some finishing sugar.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a stand mixer or hand mixer and large bowl, a spatula, a cookie scoop or tablespoon, cookie sheets, and cooling racks. If you would like to make some fancier shapes, you’ll want a piping bag or a cookie press.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Butter: For this recipe, you’ll need salted butter rather than unsalted. This isn’t the type of recipe that works well with margarine as a substitute.
Flour: Just all-purpose flour for this. Nothing fancy or specialized required here.
Icing Sugar: Depending where in the world you live, this fine sugar may also be called powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar. It will add sweetness and structure to these delicious cookies.
Toppings: The classic topping for whipped shortbreads is candied cherries, but you can skip them if you aren’t a fan. Sprinkles of any shape or size are another fun way to decorate these cookies. You can even find a themed assortment of sprinkles in the baking section at the grocery store.
How To Make Perfect Whipped Shortbread
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add flour slowly, beating constantly until fully mixed. Whip shortbread for 6 minutes on medium speed, scraping sides of the bowl with a spatula every two minutes.
- Use a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon for scoop dough onto cookie sheets. Top with cherries and sprinkles.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the bottoms are brown. Transfer to racks to cool.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Whipped Shortbread
Take Your Time: Both the whipping and the baking parts of making whipped shortbread take time. Trust me, the results are worth the effort. You need that full 6 minutes, maybe even more, of whipping time to get the dough as fluffy and airy as possible. The low and slow cooking time is all about drying the cookies rather than cooking them, similar to the method you might use to make meringues.
Be Strategic: If your cookies are going to sit on your counter to get devoured immediately, you can get away with making them into fancy designs with a cookie press. But if you plan to gift these cookies (and you’d like them to survive travelling around in a container in your car) you may want to choose a simpler scooping method. A piping bag will allow you to do some basic swirls, or you can keep things simple and uniform with a cookie scoop or tablespoon. Another way to keep your cookies sturdy would be to freeze them until just before you plan to eat them.
Yes, you can use margarine
For those of you who’ve been around since I originally published this in 2013, you may recall that my recipe was slightly different at that time. If you prefer my old method, simply use 1/2 cup of margarine and 1/2 cup of butter instead.
Storage Instructions
You can keep whipped shortbread in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, or freeze them for 4-5 months.
More Delicious Holiday Cookie Recipes
Are you looking for some more fun cookies to add to the treat spread at your next holiday party?
Try making some Old Fashioned Gingerbread or a batch of Fudgy Gingerbread Brownies.
Itching for some rolled out cookies to decorate? Take a peek at The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe.
There you go. A simple recipe for making perfect whipped shortbread cookies that will melt in your mouth. Try them for your next party and let me know how you like them.
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
How To Make Perfect Whipped Shortbread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- ½ cup confectioners sugar, icing sugar
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Toppings
- sprinkles, nonpariels,
- 12 candied cherries, cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275°F. ( you will need to bake the cookies in batches)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and icing sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Slowly add the flour, beating constantly, until all the flour is incorporated. Whip the shortbread mixture for 6 minutes on medium speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula every 2 minutes.
- Use a small cookie scoop or a Tablespoon to scoop the dough onto two ungreased baking sheets. Top with candied cherries or sprinkles if desired.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the bottoms are nicely browned. Remove from oven and carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Store for 2 to 3 days at room temperature in a closed container or freeze in a closed container for 4 to 5 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sheila Flett Slaney says
I made them with your recipe last weekend and sent them to my son at the Royal Military College. They currently being enjoyed by officer cadets there.
Dawn Tiller says
The best ever…yummy
Dawn Tiller says
Aunt Kimberly Marlene Perry!!
Pamela Sawyer says
Hi I was wondering if you can freeze these whipped shortbread and how long do they keep at room temp. I would like to make some for Christmas…thanks Pam
Sarah says
DANG!!!
These were SO simple to make and they’re seriously yummers!!
Used half marg and half butter… and added a 1/2t of Mexican vanilla 😉
Thank you thank you for making Christmas baking this year so easy!!
asavard4711 says
are you using salted or unsalted butter for your whipped shortbread
cookies ?
NonnaT says
Salted, Land of Lakes…
NatashaGonzalez says
Made this recipe 3 times, we love them! I added an extra half cup of icing sugar for a little more sweetness. Thank u for the great and easy recipe!
BW says
Thankyou for doing all the leg work and sharing this!
Made exactly as you say…. (with the marg) And I’m done, this recipe is it for me 🙂
Thanks again
NonnaT says
I followed the recipe exactly and used a small scoop. They stayed nice and high, baked at 275 for 22 minutes. They looked perfect! However I was not crazy about the texture or the taste. Perhaps I prefer basic shortbread. This was my first attempt, and I added nothing to the top. I wanted to see how they tasted “naked”. Lol. I will try one more time with different margarine. Perhaps the brand I used had an ” odd” taste. More experimentation to follow!
Pamela Sawyer says
NonnaT hi I made these last year and I too found they had a bit of an after taste..maybe I will try 1/2 butter and 1/2 margarine if I can find some not in a tub..glad It was”t just me.
Bree says
I lIke all butter…definitely taste better even if they don’t hold the shape as well.
RobinYeatman says
I don’t understand. I have made these cookies 100s of times and the biggest problem I had was burning out the mixer motor. I tried to make them over the weekend and they didn’t turn into a dough, it looked more like the crumbly mixture you would use for making a pie crust. I figured it was because I started with cold butter so I just tried them again and got the same result. I’m using a stick of butter and beginning to wonder if a stick is actually a cup.
DeniseStewart1 says
Have made these twice now. My husband “Mr. Fussy” loved the recipe so much he came home tonight with a bag of M&Ms to decorate the tops and demanded a batch to use up the extra margarine I had from Xmas. He had to convince me that the M&Ms would not melt all over the place. I do admit I added 1/2 tsp of Vanilla extract for a little something extra.
I also love your humor. ”resist from eating the dough by the spoonful”. LOL Your chocolate chip recipe was also a huge hit.
For the post below. Icing sugar is also known as powdered sugar or confection sugar. Regular sugar cannot be substituted.
Beverly Garfield says
What is icing sugar
wenreh says
Powdered sugar
Shirley Smith says
Have made these they are gorgeous!
Loretta Cameron says
Have made these for years .. so delish BUT mine do not look as perfect as the pix
Gloria says
Is it possible go chill the dough before dropping onto baking sheet instead of after they’re on the cookie sheet?
The Kitchen Magpie says
Awww shucks! Thank you for the nice words!
Dennis Loveridge says
Thank you
The Kitchen Magpie says
Good to know! Thank you!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Aw thanks! I look forward to the day I have it all written up LOL!! Very exciting!
The Kitchen Magpie says
I don’t think the taste will be as good but hey, you might like it! They will still bake up fine, it’s about taste.
The Kitchen Magpie says
Plain flour
The Kitchen Magpie says
Glad you liked them!
Jessica Tremblay Mullen says
I made these with half butter, half margarine last week and they are so good!!
Keyko Davidson says
Thank you! These are are my list!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Yes!
Keyko Davidson says
Is icing sugar powdered sugar?
Susan Ireland Then says
Yes it was really good, I think that is how I will continue to make them. I didn’t have a cookie scoop so they flattened out I little too much, but they were good.
Shawna Marie O'Reilly says
Okay…I will make a triple. : )
The Kitchen Magpie says
The margarine? I really do love them the best that way! I edited it into the bottom of the recipe. Some people just won’t trust me haha!
Melissa Ainsworth says
I took your advice that they turned out better that way and I love them!