Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies
These Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies are traditional shortbread cookies with all natural holiday sprinkles that don't use any artificial colors. These festive cookies are perfect for a holiday cookie box or any Christmas cookie exchange!
If you're looking for more holiday cookies, try some of my other favorites like Eggless Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies), Peppermint Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Candy Cane Crunch Dark Chocolate Cookies.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies
- Ready In: 25 minutes
- Makes: 30 cookies
- Main Ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, all purpose flour
- Flavor Profile: buttery
- Dietary Info: eggless
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: classic French-style vanilla shortbread that fits beautifully into cookie boxes
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple and Festive: I love these Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies because they are festive without being complicated. With all the decorating happening this time of year, these are a nice change of pace for simple and festive cookies.
- Easy AF: These cookies are so easy with just 5 ingredients. Perfect for when December hits and it's Christmas time and you want a quick and festive treat.
- Pure and Simple: These cookies are pure and simple, made up of butter, sugar, and flour. They have a classic French-style shortbread cookie flavor that pairs well with cozy drinks like tea and hot chocolate. They just melt in your mouth!
- Crowd Pleaser: With simple recipes like this, there isn't anyone who won't love these butter cookies!
When you don't want to decorate Christmas cookies, but want something quick and festive, these traditional Christmas shortbread cookies are it! With just five organic ingredients and some plant based sprinkles, you can have holiday ready cookies in under 30 minutes!
If you're looking for more no fuss Christmas cookie recipes for the holiday season, check out some of my other favorites like Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies, Maple Caramel Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie Bars, Cranberry Orange Biscotti with Sourdough Discard, or Eggless Sourdough Molasses Cookies.
These are perfect for adding into a DIY Christmas Cookie Box along with other holiday treats like Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Bark, Holiday Sugar Cookies with Icing, Peanut Butter Pretzel Christmas Crack, Pink Peppermint Ice, or Gingerbread Biscotti.
Ingredients
- Butter: I always use organic salted butter and its what we used at my bakery for everything, even classics like this! If you want to use unsalted butter, you can, just add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dough. Be sure to check out Best Salted Butter for Baking for my top picks!
- Powdered Sugar: I love using powdered sugar in shortbread cookies because it creates a dense and buttery crumb that is softer than shortbreads made with cane sugar. Make sure to sift powdered sugar.
- Vanilla Extract: Make sure to use a high quality organic vanilla that you like for this recipe. Because it's so simple and has minimal ingredients, they really matter! I always use Simply Organic.
- Holiday Sprinkles: You can use any holiday sprinkles you like. I always opt for the all natural ones with plant based dyes, which typically are lighter shades. But, I use India Tree Nature's Colors Bright Red Sprinkles (which are so bright red!), India Tree Nature's Colors Green Sprinkles, and India Tree Nature's Colors Snowflakes. But, feel free to use your personal preference. Find all the ones I used here along with other natural sprinkles in my Amazon Shop!
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips for Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure to use very soft butter for these cookies as this really matters for the texture of the cookies. I know it can be incredibly difficult this time of year to soften butter naturally on the counter, as it's cold! But, make sure that you are still using soft butter before starting this recipe. I would recommend leaving butter out on the counter the night before, and then softening in the microwave until it is soft. Do not do more than 10 seconds per 1/2 cup of butter at once.
- Make sure to sift powdered sugar, it really needs to be sifted to avoid clumps.
- If you want to roll these out and use a cookie cutter, you totally can!
- Store shortbread cookies in a cool, dry place.
- High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms.
How to Make Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Mix on low until combined.
- Add the flour.
- Mix on low until combined into a smooth dough. It should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Add the sprinkles into small bowls.
- Using your hands, roll the dough into 30 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter. Dip the tops into sprinkles or add sprinkles on top.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, just add ½ teaspoon fine sea salt to the recipe.
The butter needs to be soft so it can incorporate into the dry ingredients completely. Butter that is not completely softened can leave little pieces or pockets of colder butter in the dough. When that goes into the oven, it melts, creating steam, which creates air pockets. This process is something of a thing of beauty in pie crust, but in cookies, it's really the exact opposite of what we want as it creates holes in the cookie with a less than ideal texture (it will be much more crispy and hard compared to buttery, crisp and melt in your mouth). So, soft butter is key for the right texture! Don't use cold butter or melted butter.
This is a good reference for all you 80s and 90s kids! The shortbread dough should feel like play dough, super soft, pliable, and easy to mold. If it doesn't feel like play dough, something went wrong with your butter. It was too cold! Or, you could have measured dry ingredients incorrectly.
I use powdered sugar in these shortbread cookies because they are a no chill cookie dough. I prefer to use powdered sugar whenever making a no chill shortbread because it gives them a softer, more tender crumb without having to chill the dough. That makes these very simple and easy to make!
No, I haven't tested this recipe with cane sugar.
Yes, use any sprinkles you like to change these up for different holidays!
Yes, add 1 teaspoon of almond extract or peppermint extract to make almond or peppermint shortbreads. You can also use lemon extract too if you like!
Yes, these are a great holiday cookie to make in advance as shortbreads are fine when left out for a few days because of their buttery crumb.
Look for dry tops and golden brown edges. The visual signs are much more important than the time for shortbreads because if they are under baked, they will be soft. I prefer to have shortbread very golden, brown and crisp!
If your shortbreads are not crispy and they are more soft, then you under baked them. Always look for visual signs the cookies are done like golden brown edges and bottom.
If your shortbreads are too hard, you most likely burned them. If they are not burned and they are very hard/crunchy and not buttery, tender and crisp, then that's an issue with the butter temperature before mixing up the dough. This can happen if butter is cold or melted. It's incredibly important to have soft butter for this recipe as I mention!
If your butter was too cold, it will cause this to happen. Not only that, the texture will be off and the cookies will be harder instead of melt in your mouth buttery and crisp.
The shortbreads will be soft immediately after coming out of the oven. You need to let them cool completely on the cookie sheet before moving to avoid breaking and let the cookies set completely.
I think shortbread cookies are ones that are best when they sit overnight to allow the flavors to meld. I like them to be completely cooled and I even bake these the night before I usually plan to serve or enjoy. While shortbreads are made up of mostly butter, they will stay fresh longer than other cookies too!
Store in a cool, dry place like the pantry. If storing at room temperature, they will keep fresh for up to a week. Just don't store in an airtight container at room temperature, use an old fashioned cookie jar that doesn't have a sealed lid. They will last longer in the fridge, you can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. And, you can store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Yes, store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw and enjoy!
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Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
Ingredients
- 226 grams salted butter (softened)
- 142 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- India Tree Nature's Colors Bright Red Sprinkles
- India Tree Nature's Colors Green Sprinkles
- India Tree Nature's Colors Snowflake Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined.
- Add the flour and mix on low until combined into a smooth dough. It should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Add the sprinkles into small bowls.
- Using your hands, roll the dough into 30 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter. Dip the tops into sprinkles or add sprinkles on top.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms.
- Store in a cool dry place for up to 7 days.
Video
Notes
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure to use very soft butter for these cookies as this really matters for the texture of the cookies. I know it can be incredibly difficult this time of year to soften butter naturally on the counter, as it's cold! But, make sure that you are still using soft butter before starting this recipe. I would recommend leaving butter out on the counter the night before, and then softening in the microwave until it is soft. Do not do more than 10 seconds per 1/2 cup of butter at once.
- Make sure to sift powdered sugar, it really needs to be sifted to avoid clumps.
- If you want to roll these out and use a cookie cutter, you totally can!
- Store shortbread cookies in a cool, dry place.
- High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms.
Nutrition
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These are amazing and so easy to make! My family loved them!
thank you Teresa!