Whipped Shortbread: The Easiest Holiday Cookie
Today I’m sharing a new addition to my collection of Christmas cookie recipes, and I think you’re really going to like this one! These whipped shortbread cookies are simple and quick, use less than 10 ingredients and there’s no chilling required! These cookies have a classic, buttery flavor that’s reminiscent of my butter cookies, only lighter. They’re great served alone or with a mug of hot cocoa, and they’re sure to stand out in any cookie exchange. They’re perfect for the upcoming holidays (and simpler than classic sugar cookies) but really, they’re delicious any time of year. You may be familiar with my standard shortbread cookies; even though they share a name, these whipped shortbread cookies are more airy. Thanks to some extra corn starch, they truly melt in your mouth! Let’s get started!
What You Need
Since this recipe has so few ingredients, the quality of each one is particularly important. Keep this in mind as you gather your ingredients. Here’s what you need!
Butter. While standard butter will work fine, this is a recipe where European butter will really shine (if you can find it).Powdered sugar. Using powdered instead of granulated sugar contributes to the airy, melt-in-your mouth consistency of these cookies.Vanilla. This is the time to use your good vanilla extract, if you have some. Salt. Use plain table salt–no need to get fancy here!Flour. Make sure to measure your flour properly and use a kitchen scale if you have one, because it’s easy to accidentally use too much flour. Too much flour will make the dough dry, crumbly, and difficult to work with.Cornstarch. Powdered sugar already contains cornstarch, but we up the ante by using a bit more to give these cookies an even better, more melt-in-your-mouth texture. Sprinkles. For decoration, you can use nonpareils, jimmies, or colored sanding sugar. Or you can skip them entirely! The sprinkles make these easily customizable for whatever holiday or event you happen to be celebrating!
SAM’S TIP: Almond extract would also taste lovely in these cookies! You could substitute some of the vanilla (I’d start with just ¼ teaspoon since it’s quite potent, adding more according to your taste preference) for a twist on the classic whipped shortbread flavor. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Whipped Shortbread Cookies
SAM’S TIP: Make sure you whip your butter and sugar really, REALLY well. I like to use a stand mixer for this step, because it gets the job done much faster (just make sure to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl periodically!). Once I get to the point of adding the flour, I like to be much more gentle with the dough to avoid overdoing it, which can not only make the cookies a bit tough, but it can also make the dough greasy and difficult to work with. Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Snowball CookiesGingerbread Men CookiesPecan Sandies
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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