Mini Shortbread Cookies are a fun and easy recipe! Using simple ingredients we bring together a cookie dough, roll it out and then cut the cookies. Following this we give them a quick 10 minutes in the oven and then you have buttery crisp shortbread cookies for days and days!
The Macadamia Nut Shortbread lets us fill buttery shortbread with robust salty macadamia nuts.
The Oreo Blondies, Raspberry White Chocolate Blondies, Apple Cinnamon Blondies and the Butter Pecan Blondies are other fun oven baked sweet treats.
🤍 Mini Shortbread Cookies Recipe
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the little cookies recipe in the points below:
- No chill time: one of the best things about this mini shortbread cookies recipe is that you don't need to chill the dough! You can cut the cookies as soon as you have rolled it flat. This saves time and ensures a quick recipe from start to finish.
- Fun: there is a certain kind of joy to be had in making your own cookies. You get to choose the size, the cut and if you want to decorate them that works too!
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the mini shortbread cookies recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Vanilla.
- Salt.
- Butter: we want to use unsalted butter. We also want to use room temperature butter so that it is easy to cream.
- Icing sugar: we do want to use specifically 'icing sugar' not 'icing mixture'.
- Plain flour: this is plain, all purpose flour and no need to sift.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- Basic shortbread: there is not a lot of things that I can offer you to change with the actual shortbread recipe. It works as is. One change would be that if you want to use salted butter then omit using salt as an extra ingredient. Otherwise keep things as stated in the recipe card.
- Toppings: there is however, a whole lot you can do to the baked cookies if you want to be creative and present them in your own way. You can dust with icing sugar, add chocolate chips, drizzle melted chocolate across the surface, dip in chocolate or dip in chocolate and then decorate with sprinkles. In this regard you are only limited by your imagination!
👩🍳 How to Make Mini Shortbread Cookies
To make the mini shortbread cookies we start by creaming the butter using an electric beater. You will need a large mixing bowl to begin this step.
🍳 Instructions
- Add butter to a bowl (Photo 1)
- Then add vanilla and cream with hand mixer (Photo 2)
- Add the icing sugar (Photo 3)
- Beat, scrape down bowl (Photo 4)
Add the butter to a large mixing bowl then pour the vanilla over the top and use a mixer to beat till pale and fluffy.
Next add the icing sugar and repeat to consistently mix in. Once done pour in half of the flour and all of the salt and keep beating as you go. When the 1st half of the flour is mixed in, add the other half.
Next use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and push the dough to form 'one piece'. You will see what I mean here in the photos below, specifically photo number 7.
- Add flour in batches (Photo 5)
- Add the salt (Photo 6)
- Scrape down the bowl (Photo 7)
- Tip dough onto bench (Photo 8)
When ready tear off a large sheet of baking paper and place that onto your bench. Then transfer the combined raw shortbread from the bowl onto the baking sheet.
Next tear off another large sheet of baking paper and place that over the top of the dough.
Now use a rolling pin to roll the shortbread dough into one flat layer.
- Roll the dough into a flat layer (Photo 9)
- Cut with a cookie cutter (Photo 10)
- Oven bake (Photo 11)
- Cool (Photo 12)
Once the dough has been rolled into a flat layer take your cookie cutter and make the cuts in the dough to form the cookie shapes. Repeat for the full portion of flat dough then transfer the cut cookies to a silicon mat on a baking tray.
Place the baking tray into the preheated oven (uncovered, middle shelf) for 10 minutes. Then when the cook time is up, use oven mitts to remove the baking sheet and place it onto a heatproof surface.
Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes (on the baking sheet) then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
A cup of tea or coffee, one of these cookies and you are all set!
You can serve them however you please.
Take them to a bake sale, portion and wrap for gift giving, pop them in the kids lunch boxes or take them to work to give your colleagues a sweet treat.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Let the cookies fully cool. Then transfer them to a sealed, airtight container. These need to be kept in a cool space or the fridge is best for warmer climates.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Oven temperature: we use a lower oven temperature than normal for this recipe. This ensures that the shortbread cooks through without cooking too quickly and burning.
- Cool: the shortbread cookies will firm up a little as they cool down. So don't worry if you push the top of them at the 10 minute mark and they are a little soft still. If they have a slight golden towards brown color they will firm up perfectly.
🤓 Mini Shortbread Cookies FAQ's
This recipe will make close to 90 mini shortbread cookies. Cooking them in batches of above 30 cookies per baking sheet.
Yes you can freeze shortbread either before you have baked it or after it has been baked and is in cookie form.
It is not essential to sift flour when making shortbread. So this step can be skipped if you wish to avoid the extra work.
😍 More Easy Bake Or No Bake Recipes
If you love spending some time whipping up homemade baked goods then I have some more ideas for you to try! The following recipes have a variety of cook times, methods and ingredients. You are sure to find something that will let you whip up a storm.
- More cookies: Smarties Cookies, Snickers Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies With Cornflakes, Mars Bar Cookies, Cornflake Biscuits, Anzac Biscuits.
- Brownies and slices: Baileys Cheesecake Brownies, Tim Tam Slice, Macadamia Caramel Slice, Caramel Cheesecake Brownies.
- Dessert recipes: Microwave Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding, No Bake Caramel Cheesecake, Baileys Pudding.
- Savory recipes: Slow Cooker Cheese And Bacon Bread, Caramelised Onion Tarts, Brie Cranberry Tarts.
It is time to get our mini shortbread cookies on my friend! You can also find all of my baking recipes or chocolate recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Mini Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 250 grams/2 sticks and 2 tablespoons butter unsalted, Note 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup icing sugar Note 2
- 2 cups plain flour Note 3
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: preheat the oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Butter: add the butter to a large mixing bowl, pour the vanilla over the top and then use electric beaters to cream until pale and fluffy.
- Icing sugar: next add the icing sugar to the bowl and beat till it is consistently mixed in. Then take a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Flour and salt: next add in half of the flour and consistently combine, add the salt then add the rest of the flour and beat to mix in.
- Dough: now take a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl pushing the dough into itself to form one whole portion.
- Roll and cut: tear a large sheet of baking paper and place it on the bench. Transfer the combined dough onto this paper, Then tear another sheet and place it over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat in one layer. Then use your cookie cutter to cut the shortbread cookies. Repeat for the full sheet of dough then transfer these onto a silicon mat on a baking tray. Note 4
- Oven bake: place the baking tray into the oven on the middle shelf. Cook the shortbread cookies for 10 minutes. Then use a pair of oven mitts, remove the baking sheet and place it onto a heatproof surface. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Note 5
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Butter: if you only have unsalted butter and want to use that then omit the salt as a separate ingredient. A standard block of butter in Australia is 250 grams. A stick of butter in the USA is 113 grams. So you can use 2 sticks which will give you 226 grams or 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons of butter to be more precise.
- Note 2 - Icing sugar: there is a difference between icing sugar and icing mixture. I always use icing sugar when making shortbread. Icing mixture is better for other baking including butter mix for icing cakes. I also don't sift it, simply add it to the butter and beat to combine.
- Note 3 - Plain flour: I don't sift this either as I find that it is not necessary. If you are a baking purist can take this additional step if you wish to.
- Note 4 - Cookie cutter: I use a rolling pin with disks. This helps to ensure that the dough is evenly flat. I use 6mm discs which are the 2nd largest on the pin. I then use a 1 ½ inch or 38mm cookie cutter. You will see it in the video. It has a round edge on one side and a fluted curly edge on the other side. I find the curly shaped ones easiest to cut and 'drop onto' the baking sheet, however, I like the simplicity of the round edge too. Usually I end up with a little of both types in one batch of cookies.
- Note 5 - Baking process: I cook the shortbread in 3 batches, ie 3 separate sheets. You can put 2 racks in the oven at a time. The total time per rack is 10 minutes. To cook the full amount of cookies shown and discussed it will take 20 minutes (ie 2 racks at once, followed by the final rack). This is as we don't want to use the top shelf, rather the middle rack and rack below it.
- Note 6- Cookie total: 88 cookies or 89 with the last little not 'perfect' one, rounded up to 90 as I am sure you can squeeze another one in for a total 7 ½ dozen cookies.
Tenille says
This is my type of recipe! So perfect.