Whipped Shortbread Cookies have a tender crumb and amazing buttery flavor! These melt-in-your-mouth cookies have an airy texture and are delicious, easy and perfect for any occasion.
If you love whipped shortbread, give these Christmas Shortbread Bites a try too! Or try my soft and fluffy cheesecake cookies! Readers LOVE my delicious Ricotta Cookies!
Classic Christmas Cookies
What is the difference between shortbread cookies and WHIPPED shortbread cookies? The blending of the sugar and butter is what matters.
The ingredients are mostly the same. For whipped shortbread cookies, you will beat the butter and sugar longer. This adds more air to the batter, making it light and fluffy.
Heads up: these are tough to resist once you try them. I could have eaten the whole batch by myself!
- Soft and tender crumb. The cookies have a light as air texture. Unlike many shortbread recipes, they don’t become dense or hard.
- Plenty of buttery flavor. Like any good shortbread, this cookie has plenty of butter balanced by a hint of vanilla.
- Easy to make. Just mix, bake and go!
- Top with sprinkles. Use the same cookie recipe for different holidays by changing up the colors of sprinkles. They will look great on your holiday cookie tray!
Whipped Shortbread Cookies would be perfect enjoyed with an Egg Nog Latte or a cup of Homemade Hot Chocolate this holiday season.
Whether you’re craving a batch of cake mix cookies or some easy whipped shortbread, just add some sprinkles. Stack them on a tray and serve at your next cookie exchange party!
Ingredient Notes
Making these buttery cookies is incredibly easy. But the key is to use good quality ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe list of simple ingredients and measurements.
- Butter. Using REAL butter (not margarine or shortening) is essential for a good shortbread cookie recipe. It gives the cookies their signature rich flavor. Use my guide on how to soften butter, especially if you need to do so QUICKLY.
- Powdered sugar. Also called confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar, it is whipped along with the butter to make the cookies sweet and light, with no gritty texture.
- Cornstarch. Adding cornstarch to shortbread cookies gives them a soft, tender consistency. This ingredient is a must if you don’t want your cookies to turn hard and crunchy. I use it in my lofthouse cookie recipe too!
- Sprinkles. I used Christmas sugar sprinkles for decorating the tops of the whipped shortbread. Feel free to use whatever colors and styles of sprinkles you like.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. Using a good quality vanilla, or my homemade vanilla extract will give delicious flavor. You can also use almond extract for a slight twist in flavor.
How to Make Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Before making the dough, line your baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 300 F.
Whip the butter:
In a large bowl, beat softened butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. I use my electric stand mixer with paddle attachment. However, a good hand mixer will work great too.
This takes several minutes. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Do this for about 3-5 minutes!
Add dry ingredients:
Gradually mix flour, cornstarch and kosher salt to form a sticky dough.
Decorate and bake:
Scoop dough onto the cookie sheet sheet, or roll the dough into a ball. I use a small cookie scoop, about 1 Tablespoon in size. Press down the tops of each cookie with the tines of a fork. The best way to do this is to dip the fork in enough flour so it doesn’t stick to the cookie dough.
Dust the tops of cookies with sprinkles if desired. Bake until golden brown (about 12 minutes). Cool cookies completely on a wire rack.
Tips and Tricks
- You can use salted butter in place of unsalted butter. If using salted butter you can omit the added kosher salt in the recipe.
- You do not need to chill this Whipped Shortbread recipe. You can definitely make the dough ahead of time and keep it chilled until you are ready to bake. Either way, the cookies should come out soft and delicious.
- Cornstarch is the key to making shortbread cookies that are soft and tender (but not at all chewy). It’s what sets these apart from other shortbread recipes so I don’t recommend leaving it out.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- After baking and cooling, you can store these cookies in freezer bags and keep them frozen for about 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge.
- I have not tested this whipped shortbread cookie recipe with a cookie press.
More Holiday Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- 7 Layer Bars
- M&M Cookies
- Alfajores
- Funfetti Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Cut Out Sugar Cookies
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Whipped Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Christmas sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix just until fully incorporated.
- Using a small 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop, place dough about 2-inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Dip a fork in flour and tap any excess off and press the cookies down about 1/3 of the way. Add sprinkles (if desired) and bake for 12-13 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool for at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Cornstarch is used in shortbread cookies for giving the cookies their soft, tender texture.
- Dip fork in flour first. This helps keep the tines from sticking to the soft whipped shortbread dough.
- Let cool on the baking sheet. Whipped shortbread cookies need to cool for at least 15 minutes on the warm baking sheet to set. Then you can transfer the cookies to a wire rack to let them finish cooling.
- Storing. Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy within 1 week for best taste.
- Freeze Cookies. Use my tips on how to freeze cookie dough for later.
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Nutrition
You’ve never tasted shortbread like this! Whipped Shortbread cookies have all the buttery rich flavor of a familiar shortbread cookie but with an ultra soft and delicate crumb.
Can measure for measure gluten free flour be used in this recipe with success?
Yes it can!
Turned out so amazing and super easy, my 11year old made them (with a little help from her mother). Thank you for sharing
Do you think this dough could be pressed into a shortbread mold? I have a pretty mold that I use when making shortbread but would love to try your recipe in it.
I’m not sure I would try this whipped shortbread ina mold, but if you search my classic shortbread cookies instead that should work better!
Sorry…I didn’t go down far enough to see ingredients
Where are the ingredients listed and amounts
I made two batches of them yesterday. Followed the recipe exactly except I used vanilla in one and almond in the other. It said bake 12-15 minutes. I only did 9 minutes and when they cooled they were crispy and didn’t taste very good. I used real butter but they didn’t taste like butter. Don’t know what could have went wrong.
Given the very few ingredients in these cookies, the buttery flavor should be pronounced. I would double check your measurements as well as the butter you used. So sorry you didn’t enjoy the cookies.
These cookies were so good and super easy to make, the kids decorated them with Christmas sprinkles. It made for a fun and delicious family activity!
Made a few batches of these this afternoon, and they did not disappoint! Exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth; delicious!
Great recipe – love they way they tasted with the whipped shortbread.
What did I do wrong? This dough did not come together. Is there a liquid missing in the recipe maybe?
My bad. Apologies. I shorted the butter.