Home / Recipes / Desserts / Cookies & Bars / Shortbread Cookies One Dough Two Ways

Shortbread Cookies One Dough Two Ways

This easy, buttery, melt in your mouth Shortbread Recipe is the perfect no spread cookie dough for making a chocolate chunk slice and bake cookie or a tasty thumbprint cookie.

Shortbread cookies in a white dish.


 

After 5 days of endless rain, I woke up today to see the sun shining and I thought perfect, I will make these Shortbread Cookies I have been dying to make and more importantly photograph.

Needless to say halfway through the day it became once again overcast and yes rainy! Will it ever end? But as luck would have it I still had time to make these Slice and Bake Chocolate Chunk and Thumbprint Shortbread Cookies. They are the perfect melt in your mouth Shortbread. And adding some chocolate chunks doesn’t hurt either!

Recipe Ingredients

  • Butter – softened be sure to use a good quality butter
  • Sugar – powdered sugar or brown sugar (depending on the recipe)
  • Cornstarch – this helps make a tender cookie and helps keep the cookies from spreading
  • Salt – add flavor
  • Flour – all purpose flour

How to Make Shortbread

Beat the butter and vanilla until creamy. Sift together the flour, powdered sugar and cornstarch.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the creamed butter, stirring with a wooden spoon. Move the dough to a lightly floured flat surface and knead until the dough cracks.

shortbread how to make slice & bake, dough and ready for baking

Cut the dough in half, in one half add the chocolate chunks, and form into a log.

Slice the dough and place on the prepared baking sheet. Chill for while the oven is pre-heating. In the remaining half take pieces of the dough and roll into 13 balls.

Be sure you don’t let them brown they should be a very light golden colour when done. Let cool on cookie sheets, then move to a wire rack.

shortbread how to make thumbprint dough and ready to bake and baked
shortbread drizzling with melted chocolate

Different Fillings for Thumbprint Cookies

I like to fill my cookies with everything that my family enjoys. My youngest daughter loves skor bars so I fill a few with skor bits when the cookies are still warm.

I love mint chocolate so I do a few with a mint chocolate piece. You could also fill with your favourite jam, chocolate chips, Nutella, caramel, pastry cream, frosting, you name it and it just might work.

Three stacked cookies.

How To Keep Cookies From Spreading

To keep the cookies from spreading it is best to beat the butter and sugar just until combined and not creamed (of course this also depends on the type of cookie), for some cookies including some icing sugar and or cornstarch in the mixture also keeps the cookies from spreading.

And probably most important of all, is to use a higher protein flour with at least 11% protein count. And don’t forget to chill the dough for at least 1 hour and again the cut out cookies before baking while the oven is pre-heating. Using most of these will help produce the perfect Christmas Cookies.

Can This Shortbread Recipe Be Made With A Stand Mixer?

If you can’t or don’t want to knead the dough by hand, then yes a stand up mixer using the paddle attachment will work just fine.

I would only knead up to a point, when the dough just starts to come together (or even better, very coarse crumb mixture) and then knead the dough by hand. Completely kneading by machine can make the dough tough and dry.

How To Store Shortbread Cookies

The baked cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. I store mine in the fridge because I like cold cookies. They will last up to 10 days by storing them in the fridge.

How To Freeze Shortbread Cookies

To freeze the shortbread cookies, place parchment paper in between the layers of the completely cooled cookies this prevents them from sticking together when they are in the containers for freezing, or you can also place the baked cooled cookies on a cookie sheet and freeze them, then move the frozen cookies to either airtight bags or containers. Baked Shortbread Cookies will last up to 6 months in the freezer.

To thaw the cookies be sure to remove the frozen cookies from the bags or containers (this way no condensation will form) and let them thaw at room temperature. In our house no one waits for them to thaw!

Whenever you plan on starting your baking I hope you include this Two Way Shortbread Cookie Dough. Enjoy!

Shortbread cookies in a white dish.
Shortbread cookies in a white dish.

Shortbread Cookies One Dough Two Ways

Rosemary Molloy
This easy buttery melt in your mouth Shortbread Recipe is the perfect no spread cookie dough for making a chocolate chunk slice and bake cookie or a tasty thumbprint cookie.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Christmas Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 28 cookies
Calories 114 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup butter (softened / I use salted)
  • ½-1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup powdered / icing sugar
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 2-3 tablespoons chocolate chunks

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl sift together the flour, powdered sugar and cornstarch.
  • In a large bowl beat butter and vanilla until creamed (about 2 minutes). Gradually add the flour mixture, working the mixture together with a wooden spoon as you add.  When the dough is almost together, move to a lightly floured flat surface and gently knead until dough cracks.  
  • Pre-heat oven to 325F (160C).
  • Cut the dough in half and in one part gently knead in 2-3 tablespoon of chocolate chunks, roll the dough in a log shape and cut ¼ inch slices.  Place the slices on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and chill for 15 minutes. Then bake for approximately 15 minutes.
  • The remaining half the dough divide into 13 small balls, place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and with your thumb or the bottom (round end) of a ½ teaspoon make indentations in the balls.  Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for approximately 12 minutes.
  • Do not let cookies brown, they remain quite pale.  Fill thumbprint cookies when still warm if you want to slightly melt the chocolate.  Add the jam when the cookies are cool.  Drizzle cooled cookies with melted chocolate if desired.  Enjoy!

Notes

The baked cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. I store mine in the fridge because I like cold cookies. They will last up to 10 days by storing them in the fridge.
To freeze the shortbread cookies, place parchment paper in between the layers of the completely cooled cookies this prevents them from sticking together when they are in the containers for freezing, or you can also place the baked cooled cookies on a cookie sheet and freeze them, then move the frozen cookies to either airtight bags or containers. Baked Shortbread Cookies will last up to 6 months in the freezer.
To thaw the cookies be sure to remove the frozen cookies from the bags or containers (this way no condensation will form) and let them thaw at room temperature. In our house no one waits for them to thaw!

Nutrition

Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 58mg | Potassium: 17mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

12 Comments

    1. Hi Patricia, they are just small chunks of chocolate sold in bags like chocolate chips, if you can’t find them then chocolate chips are a perfect substitution. 🙂

    1. Hi Maria, in order to receive a weekly newsletter you need to sign up. There is a signup form on the side bar. “Subscribe Today, Never miss a recipe”. Thanks have a great weekend.

  1. Hi. We just got back into our home after the Oct 8, 2017 Tubbs Fire in California. Have to buy a few baking items before I can get back to baking. This will be first on my list. Thank you for your recipe

    1. Hi Charlyene, All the best to you, that fire was so devastating, thank you and I hope you enjoy it. Take care.

    1. Hi Janice, all powdered sugar has some cornstarch in it, that is to keep it from clumping. So yes just go ahead with the recipe. I hope you enjoy it, let me know.

  2. 5 stars
    It’s great to say It’s raining, but not if your not in a place to keep warm. I love all of your recipes and I wish someday I will be making something from your post.

    Warm regards,
    Sandra M. California USA

Leave a Reply

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

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.