Whipped Shortbread Cookies

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

12 Comments

5 from 3 votes
24 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Whipped Shortbread Cookies are made with sweet, buttery, light as air dough. Made with just 5 simple ingredients and perfect for the holidays. 

Just like Shortbread Cookies, this is a classic Cookie Recipe that’s great to add to your Christmas dessert tray. These Whipped Shortbread Cookies just add a couple more ingredients and make more light and airy shortbread.

Whipped Shortbread Cookies in stack on wire rack

WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

This Whipped Shortbread Cookie recipe is a holiday go-to. They’re easy to make and fun to decorate. Plus, you don’t have to worry about letting the dough chill, getting any fancy ingredients, or using a cookie cutter. The entire recipe is done in under a half-hour so you’ll be enjoying a sweet, buttery cookie in no time. 

After just 20 minutes of baking in the oven, you’ll have the perfect shortbread that just melt in your mouth. These cookies are also great to serve at holiday parties or wrap up and give as gifts. 

MAKE AHEAD WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

The holidays are simply the best time for baking. Between Gingerbread Cookies, Butter Cookies, and Shortbread, there are just so many delicious cookie recipes to make. The only drawback is that if you want to make all your favorite cookies it can go from fun to overwhelming fast.

Fortunately, these shortbread cookies and so many other cookie recipes are great to make ahead and keep in the freezer. 

  • Bake your shortbread cookies up to 3 months in advance.
  • After you’ve let the cookies cool, put them in the freezer still on their parchment-lined cookie sheet. 
  • Leave them in the freezer for an hour, then you can transfer them to an airtight container. 
  • This will make sure the cookies don’t stick together in the freezer. 
  • When you’re ready to thaw the shortbread let them sit uncovered at room temperature. Once they’ve defrosted you can reheat them in the oven for a couple of minutes. 

Whipped Shortbread Cookies on baking sheet before baking

What’s the difference between whipped shortbread and regular shortbread cookies?

Although classic shortbread and whipped shortbread have the same basic ingredients, the difference is how long you spend beating the ingredients together. In the stand mixer, the butter and powdered sugar are whipped together until they’re a cream, which adds more air to the shortbread dough. In the end, this makes a lighter and fluffier shortbread cookie. 

SIMILAR COOKIE RECIPES

DECORATIONS

One of the great things about shortbread is you can really make it as a dessert for any occasion. While we’re all used to enjoying shortbread around the holidays, you can easily change up the decorations to make them suitable for any occasion. 

  • If you are making your shortbread for Christmas, try using red and green sprinkles. You can also use red and green nonpareils or colored sugar. 
  • If you’re making the shortbread for a birthday or other occasions throughout the year stick to the rainbow nonpareils or other brightly colored toppings. 
  • For other holidays like Valentine’s, Halloween, or Thanksgiving just follow the same recipe but add seasonal sprinkles instead of rainbow. 
  • You could also add toppings like Chocolate Ganache, or Sugar Cookie Frosting. 

Whipped Shortbread Cookies on baking sheet

VARIATIONS ON WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Chocolate: To make a chocolate shortbread biscuit replace half of the all-purpose flour with unsweetened cocoa powder. You can also mix in some mini semisweet chocolate chips for some melty chocolate in the shortbread recipe.
  • Mix-ins: There are lots of textures and flavors you can add to your cookies with different mix-ins. For some crunch add candied almonds, walnuts, or pistachios. For some fruit flavor mix in raisins or cranberries. 
  • Flavor additions: To slightly alter the taste of Whipped Shortbread Cookies add a teaspoon of vanilla, almond extract, or lemon juice. 

MORE CLASSIC HOLIDAY DESSERTS

HOW TO STORE WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Serve: Shortbread cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
  • Store: You can also store Whipped Shortbread in the fridge for up to a month. Keep the cookies in an airtight container, separated by parchment paper. 
  • Freeze: You can keep cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Whipped Shortbread Cookies in stack on wire rack

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Dinner, then Dessert

Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Whipped Shortbread Cookies are made with sweet, buttery, light as air dough. Made with just 5 simple ingredients and perfect for the holidays. 
Yield 24 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Whipped Shortbread Cookies in stack on wire rack
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons rainbow nonpareils

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300 and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
  • Add butter and powdered sugar to a stand mixer and cream on high speed for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
  • Lower speed to the lowest setting and add in the flour and cornstarch slowly until just combined.
  • Roll the dough into 1" balls then place it onto the baking sheet.
  • Press the cookies down gently with a fork (that you've dipped in flour) then sprinkle with nonpareils.
  • Bake for 20-22 minutes then cool completely before removing from pan (they will be fragile).

Nutrition

Calories: 120kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I enjoy cooking but baking seems so much more difficult for me. Made these cookies, and they were easy to put together and delicious!

    Reply

  4. I topped half of mine with sprinkles for the kids, the other half with dark chocolate for me and my husband. So yummy!

    Reply