The 8 Shortbreads of Christmas
Updated: Feb 22, 2020
It’s that time of the year again, and for me that means it’s time for a classic family tradition: shortbread. It honestly doesn’t feel like Christmas until the classic shortbread is baking in the oven. Making shortbread has been something that has been passed down from my grandmother, to my mom, and now to me. You’re thinking, of course, Kate, it’s the season of cookies. And you’re right. But there is just something so wonderful about fresh crisp shortbread.
This year I decided to be a little different, and to experiment with my family's classic shortbread recipe. So I created eight different kinds of shortbread, and let me tell you. Eight batches of cookies is far too many! But they have made lovely gifts to all my friends. And as my roommate and I have slowly made our way through three full tins and four full Tupperware's, each of these shortbreads is better than the last.
PIN THIS POST!
So I’d like to share with you eight recipes for shortbread, including my families original recipe for shortbread. I hope you enjoy these many cookies with all your family and friends this holiday season.
HOW TO MAKE SHORTBREAD
Shortbread might be one of the easiest cookies to make as it only requires three ingredients: sugar, butter, and flour. Which also makes it the easiest to add different flavors to! Despite being easy to whip up a batch, you don’t want to over flour it or it will be crumbly, and despite it needing to bake for a long time you can over cook it. The trick to shortbread is to bake it at a low temperature (250°F) for a long time (45 minutes).
All the different shortbreads are made from the base dough, so once you have created that you can add in all the different flavors you’d like! Feel free to mix and match and create your own flavors, but make sure to share them with me!
Happy baking!
Original Shortbread (Base Dough)
- 1 cup of softened butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1.5 cups flour
- Set oven to 250°F
- Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer on medium for 1-2 minutes.
- Add flour and mix again, making sure to wipe down sides of bowl. Do not over mix. Dough should be a little crumbly but still hold together.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes.
S’mores Chai Shortbread
- Base dough
- ¼ cup ground David’s Tea S’mores Chai tea (could also use an earl grey tea or any other type of chai, if you use from a tea bag it should be ground enough already to use. If you use a loose leaf tea run it through a food processor for a few minutes.)
- Once you have created your base dough, add the s’mores chai and mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
Chocolate Shortbread
- Base dough
- ¼ cup coco powder
- Once you have created your base dough, add the coco powder and mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread
- Base dough
- ½ cup white chocolate
- ¼ dried cranberries
- Chop white chocolate into fine bits, or use chocolate chips. Dice cranberries until they are tiny pieces.
- Once you have created your base dough, add the chopped chocolate and cranberries, mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
Toffee Pecan Shortbread
- Base dough
- 1/3 cup Skor pieces
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- Once you have created your base dough, add the Skor bits and pecans and mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
Lemon Shortbread
- Base dough
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 full lemon squeezed or 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- Use a zester to remove the peel from your lemon and set aside. Juice one lemon and save juice.
- Once you have created your base dough, add the lemon juice and zest and mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
Maple Walnut Shortbread
- Base dough
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- Once you have created your base dough, add the maple syrup and walnuts and mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chips
- Base dough
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- Once you have created your base dough, add ½ cup chocolate chips and mix until completely combined.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a bit of flour over the paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and form a rolled log. Freeze or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cut chilled dough into half inch circles, place an inch apart on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 250°F.
- When the cookies have cooled, melt the remaining cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Dip half of the cookies in the melted chocolate, but be careful they might crumble!
- Place the dipped cookies on parchment paper and chill for 20 minutes or until set.
The first time I melted the chocolate, I didn't melt enough and applied the chocolate with a spoon. You can't have too much chocolate, so make sure you melt enough and dip while it's still hot to get the best coverage.