Scottish Shortbread Cookies

Scottish Shortbread Cookies are light, crispy buttery biscuit cookies made with brown sugar, powdered sugar, flour, and butter. A Classic Scottish cookie!

Butter Cookies are an easy, traditional Christmas Cookie Recipe that make any cookie tray more festive. You’ll love these even easier buttery cookies, made with just 4 ingredients!

Scottish Shortbread Cookies in stack on cooling rack

SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

A Classic Shortbread Cookie recipe is just butter, sugar, and flour – no eggs, no vanilla extract, no frills! By simply swapping out granulated sugar in our original shortbread recipe with powdered sugar and brown sugar, you get a delicious new cookie recipe. These Scottish Shortbreads are like a cross between a biscuit cookie and a butter cookie, perfect for a cup of hot tea or Hot Chocolate!

Scottish Shortbread Cookies are a traditional recipe for holiday cookies that are budget friendly and can be made months in advance. You can bake the cookies and freeze or refrigerate, or you can keep the dough frozen for months before baking. Bake from frozen or thaw overnight in the refrigerator to make cutting easier.

You can use Scottish Shortbread Cookie dough as a crumbly tart crust too! Halve the recipe and bake in a tart pan or shallow pie tin for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Fill the baked crust with your favorite no bake pie and custard fillings like Lemon Curd. Upgrade your go-to Pumpkin Pie recipe with a buttery shortbread crust this year. 

You can drizzle your Scottish Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Ganache or Salted Caramel for a tasty topping. Refrigerate until drizzle is set. You could also frost your shortbread cookies with Buttercream Frosting and add festive sprinkles.

For a cute holiday gift, tie two decorated biscuit cookies together with ribbon and gift in mug with a pack of tea bags or instant coffee. It’s like biscotti but so much easier! 

 

MORE HOLIDAY COOKIE CLASSICS:

Tips for Scottish Shortbread Cookies

  • Don’t over-mix your Scottish Shortbread Cookie dough when you add the flour. The easiest way to keep from over-mixing the dough is to sift your powdered sugar and flour before starting this cookie recipe.
  • Soften the butter to room temperature before you cream it with the sugars. Room temperature butter will mix easier when you add the flour and the heat adds more lift. This is important since there are no leavening agents (like baking soda) in this dough.
  • If you forgot to soften the butter, melt in the microwave on 30% power in 5-10 second bursts. You don’t want melted butter, just soft enough to indent easily with your finger.
  • For perfect bars that won’t spread, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes before cutting. Use a sharp knife for even cuts without sawing back and forth.

Scottish Shortbread Cookies on baking sheet before baking

VARIATIONS ON SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Chocolate: Melt white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or semi-sweet chocolate chips. Dip baked cookies in halfway in melted chocolate. You can add mini chocolate chips to the dough too!
  • Dried Berries: Gently stir in 1/2 cup dried cranberries, freeze-dried chopped fruit, or candied cherries, for a festive, fruity flavor to these holiday cookies.
  • Nuts: A go-to nut to add to Scottish Shortbread Cookies is slivered almonds, but you can try pistachios, peanuts, pecans, or walnuts too.
  • Dippers: These tasty Scottish Shortbread Cookie bars are perfect for dunking in sweet dessert dips like Peppermint Bark Dip or scooping a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball.
  • Shortbread Tart: Grease a tart pan well with butter and flour, or spray with baking spray. Press dough into tart pan evenly. Prick top with a fork several times. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cut shortbread into wedges and cool.

MORE DELICIOUS COOKIE CLASSICS:

HOW TO STORE SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • Serve: You can keep Scottish Shortbread Cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week in an airtight container or covered in a cool, dry place. Use a paper towel to absorb moisture.
  • Store: Once cooled, store Scottish Shortbread Cookies flat in an airtight container, lined with wax paper or parchment paper, for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Use parchment between layers so the cookies don’t stick together.
  • Freeze: Cool cookies and freeze in a sealed container with wax paper between stacked layers. Baked Scottish Shortbread Cookies can be frozen for up to 6 months.

Scottish Shortbread Cookies in stack on cooling rack

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

Scottish Shortbread Cookies are light, crispy buttery biscuit cookies made with brown sugar, powdered sugar, flour, and butter. A Classic Scottish cookie!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Scottish Shortbread Cookies
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 24 servings
Calories 133 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 cups flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Add butter, brown sugar and powdered sugar to a stand mixer and cream on high speed for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.

  3. Lower speed to the lowest setting and add in the flour slowly until just combined.
  4. Refrigerate dough for a minimum of 20 minutes before rolling.

  5. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick.
  6. Cut into batons and press a fork into the dough all over.

  7. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely.

Nutrition Facts
Scottish Shortbread Cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 133 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 3mg0%
Potassium 20mg1%
Carbohydrates 15g5%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 236IU5%
Calcium 8mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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.

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.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *