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These delicious little Whipped Shortbread Cookies are so light and buttery– a perfect treat with a mug of coffee or tea. Top the cookies with sprinkles for a festive touch and pack them in a cookie tin to make a wonderful homemade gift.
Whipped shortbread cookies have made it on my holiday baking list every year for as long as I can remember. They’re quick and easy to make, take just a few ingredients, and are great for gift-giving or a Holiday cookie tray. Not to mention the sprinkles give them a little festive pop of color!
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Beautiful and Easy. Thank you...will make often. I added cinnamon sugar to a few, also chocolate sprinkles.
Why You’ll Love These Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Here are a few reasons why I love making these cookies every holiday season.
- Only 5 ingredients. You need just 4 ingredients for the dough plus sprinkles – though I suppose you could count the sprinkles as optional. And the best part is that all the ingredients are basic baking staples you likely already have on hand.
- Super easy. The hands-on time for these cookies is just 15 minutes or so. The dough does need to chill for 2 hours before baking but otherwise, quick and easy!
- Light, buttery, and not too sweet. These cookies have the perfect texture and flavor. They’re a little sweet but not too sweet, buttery, and have that soft melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Be sure to check out my classic pressed shortbread cookies too!
What You’ll Need
These cookies are made with just a few simple ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Butter – I used salted butter since I’m not adding any additional salt to this recipe. If you use unsalted butter, you will likely want to add a pinch of salt.
- Powdered sugar – Helps make the shortbread dough sweet and light.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure the flour accurately.
- Cornstarch – Creates the light, soft texture in the cookies.
- Sprinkles – For added color and festive flair.
How to Make Whipped Shortbread Cookies
The hardest part of making these cookies is waiting 2 hours for the dough to chill! You can find the printable version of the instructions in the recipe card below.
- Make the dough. Cream the butter and powdered sugar for 4 minutes with a hand-held mixer. Stir in the flour and cornstarch until just combined.
- Chill. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Form the cookies. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each one into a ball. Dip a fork in cornstarch then press down on the top of each cookie. Top with sprinkles.
- Bake. Bake the cookies at 300F for 18-19 minutes, until the cookies are set and light golden brown on the bottom. Cool on the cookie sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.
Tips for Success
These whipped shortbread cookies are super simple to make but there are a few key things to keep in mind when making them.
- Don’t skimp on mixing time. When creaming the butter and powdered sugar, you really do want to mix it for at least 4 minutes. This might feel a bit excessive but it helps add more air to the batter, which creates lighter, softer cookies.
- Measure the ingredients accurately. The easiest way to mess up these cookies is to add too much/too little flour or butter. Be sure to measure carefully!
- Chill the dough. This is not a recipe where the chill time is optional. If you don’t chill the dough, the cookies will spread out to being cookie pancakes in the oven.
- Use nonpareils sprinkles. Some sprinkles do not hold up well to baking for 18-19 minutes in the oven. After some trial and error, I discovered nonpareils work the best. Luckily you can find them in pretty much any color.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature. Store whipped shortbread cookies in an airtight container on the counter. They’ll stay fresh for 3-5 days.
- Freezer (baked). Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe container. I recommend adding parchment paper between layers.
- Freezer (dough). You can also freeze the whipped shortbread cookie dough before baking. Form the dough balls as instructed, flash freeze on the baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe ziploc. Thaw overnight in the fridge to add the fork marks and sprinkles.
More Christmas Cookies
- Pfeffernusse
- Pecan Tassies
- Andes Mint Cookies
- Peppermint Meltaways
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Candy Cane Cookies
- Cherry Blossom Cookies
Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Light and buttery Whipped Shortbread Cookies are an easy cookie recipe that literally melts in your mouth! Sprinkled with festive sprinkles, these cookies are the perfect treat paired with a mug of coffee or tea.
Servings: 8 cookies
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter softened
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand-held electric mixer to beat the butter and powdered sugar for at least 4 minutes.
- Mix in the flour and cornstarch just until combined. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and chill the dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 300F.
- Cut the ball of dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. With a fork dipped in cornstarch (to prevent the dough from sticking to the dough), press on the top of each cookie dough ball then top with sprinkles.
- Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies at 300F for 18-19 minutes, just until the cookies are set and light golden brown on the bottom. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 262IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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30 comments on “Whipped Shortbread Cookies”
Can I use a stand mixer?
Hi Apryl. Yes, a stand mixer will work for mixing the dough as well.
Love these. So good and easy to make!
Thanks Lynn!
Easy to make and delicious!
ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE COOKIES!!
Super easy to make & just delicious. I’ve gotten tons of compliments on these. We make them year round & they never last long!!
Thank you Janet!
These are a lot like Russian teacakes!
Will this work as well using Almond flour and monkfruit sweetener?
They will be slightly different with those substitutions but I think it would be worth trying if that fits your dietary restrictions.
How much dough do you use for each cookie. I am going to triple tge batch but need to know how much dough for each cookie.
A triple batch will yield about 24 cookies.
I love your site, so much fun stuff. thx
Thank you Jill for sharing this, I love Pinterest because we share so much stuff that we either have come across before or have never seen before. Let’s encourage each other blessings and have a merry Christmas.
can I use unsalted butter?
Yes, you sure can. If you want to add the salt separately, add 1/4 teaspoon per half stick of butter.
Has anyone ever tried this with Bob’s Red Mill One to One GF AP flour…
Can I double this recipe. 8 cookies aren’t enough for my group.
Hi Sharon. There is an option (at the top of the ingredient list) to show the amount of each for larger batches – 1x, 2x, or 3x. Have a great day!
This is really good if you add chopped cashews or chopped pistachios. I made them at Christmas with the Pistachios and a little green food coloring.
Beautiful and Easy. Thank you…will make often. I added cinnamon sugar to a few, also chocolate sprinkles.
Hello- thank you for sharing sounds like a nice recipe. I will be making these today for my folks. Have a fantastic day.
No recipe unless I print it? No thank you ma’am. This isn’t a brand new cookie its something of a classic so I’ll just go somewhere else for it. Maybe one of my already printed cookbooks on the bookshelf. But thank you anyway.
Hi Pamela! You are not obligated to print anything. The recipe is in full view for you to follow and we give you the option to print the recipe only if you prefer. Thanks!
Dont know what your looking at Pamela, we all see it fine without printing.
I saw and read the whole recipie and then decided to print it. You must have missed something Pamela
Open you eyes, the recipe is right there on the page!
What are you talking about? I can see the recipe just fine, and I didn’t print it.
“No recipe unless I print it? No thank you ma’am.” Pamela, you are rude, you have no business using a recipe blog let alone the internet. Yes, please stick to your cookbook if you don’t know how to navigate a simple recipe blog. Don’t you see the big “Jump to Recipe” Button on top? Everyone else see’s it but you.
Gonna make these soon!