By Yewande Komolafe
- Total Time
- 35 minutes, plus chilling and cooling
- Rating
- 4(1,673)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Classic shortbread is buttery and crumbly, with a crispness that melts as you devour it. These cookies are simple and perfect for holiday indulgence. Each gets adorned with decorative sugar around the perimeter, which adds some sparkle and an additional layer of crunch in every bite. The shaped logs can be refrigerated up to a week, or frozen for up to a month. Slice while the dough is cold, and bake. These cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. (This cookie is one of six cookies that you can make with this Butter Shortbread Dough recipe. If you make that dough, you can make a double batch of the Sparkling Shortbread or try any of the other five recipes.)
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Ingredients
Yield:3 dozen cookies
- 1cup/230 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1cup/207 grams granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1 to 2large egg yolks
- 2½cups/320 grams all-purpose flour (see Tip)
- 1large egg white, beaten
- ½cup decorative sugar
Dough (or Use Half-batch of Butter Shortbread Dough)
For Finishing
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (36 servings)
114 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 55 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Beat on low speed until incorporated and smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. (Do not beat until fluffy, you don’t need to incorporate air into the dough.) Add the egg yolk and mix until just combined. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step
2
Add the flour to the bowl all at once and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer speed to low and beat until flour is fully incorporated, scraping the bowl again if needed, about 30 seconds. The dough will be in large crumbles.
Step
3
(If you’re starting with a half batch of Butter Shortbread Dough, start here.) Form the dough into two 9-inch logs. (If the dough is too crumbly to form into a log, mix in an additional egg yolk.) Wrap each log firmly in a strip of parchment paper and twist the ends shut. Refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to slice, about 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
Step
4
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step
5
Brush the surface of each log all over with the egg white. Sprinkle a sheet of parchment paper with the decorative sugar and roll the log in the sugar to completely coat. Slice each log into ½-inch rounds. Lay the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least ½ inch apart.
Step
6
Bake until the cookies are golden at the bottom edges, rotating once halfway through baking, 18 to 22 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The baked cookies can also be stored frozen in an airtight container for up to 10 days. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Tip
- If using volume measurements, using a spoon, fluff and scoop the flour into a measuring cup, then scrape with a straight edge to level the surface. This will help prevent adding too much flour which can yield overly crumbly dough.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,673
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Cooking Notes
Saitou
Can these be made by hand, without a mixer?
Katy
Hi, I was wondering what brand of colored sugar you used? The colors held up nicely after baking.
Deb C
Place the wrapped dough logs in an empty paper towel roll to maintain the round shape while it chills
Tina in Jerz
Is it okay to use salted butter and not add the kosher salt? I just don’t have any unsalted butter at the moment…
maureen
Just made these, baked 10 min and switched the pan around, baked another 10 min as directed. 20 minutes is too long, cookies turned dark and sugar crystals burned. Will try another log for 8 and 8 minutes.
Deanne
Needed several tablespoons of water to get the dough sticky enough to roll.Use non-pareils.
dlc
I used a food processor to mix the dough and it as a perfect consistency, that might work better than a mixer
teedubya
Am I the only one without a stand mixer? I can wing it, but find the absence of any alternate instructions kind of irritating, and possibly intimidating to less adventurous cooks.
Karen
Related to my comments above, I waited 24 hours to cook the second log. It was much more firm and I made the cookies a little thicker. 16 to 18 minutes was the perfect amount of time and then the cookies were delicious.
carol h
My note to my son: Make these but add good vanilla. I used Mexican this time. I used two yolks because they were small eggs. Do the ziplock bag log roll. (Throw the crumbly dough in a bag and roll it to form the log. No muss no fuss.) Don’t skip the egg white wash. The sugar sticks better and they gain a nice crisp. You can use regular sugar or whatever. I’m going to use maple sugar for the next log because I have it. I had to add 2 minutes more to the baking time. But check it at 22.
Libby in SF
So many readers complained of dry, crumbly dough, so instead I used a whole egg and added a teaspoon on good vanilla. No need for ice water. Dough was perfectly pliable. Refrigerated overnight and baked the next day. Wonderful cookie and so pretty with the sparkly sugar.
Nadine
Old fashioned wax paper works well for the rolling.
Karen
Not very firm after 30 minutes in the refrigerator. After baking 22 minutes they were brown. The next batch, at 15 minutes were still too brown, and the oven temperature was correct. Watch them carefully!
FitlerSquareDad
Love the dough. Had none of the problems rolling into logs mentioned in other comments. The recipe calls for 1/2” thick slices. Those in the photo are clearly thinner than that. Because I cut mine to the proscribed thickness, baking time was 23 minutes, resulting in a darker (but to me extra delicious!) toasty bottom. Sprinkles split along the sides but adhered well none the less. Will make again, but cut thinner next time.
Mik
Had to add a little ice water to pull the dough together as it was way too dry to roll following the recipe.
AR
I made these with King Arthur Gluten-Free flour using the 2 egg yolks and they are sheer absolute utter complete perfection.
Joan
I made these to put in holiday cookie bags and they were a hit. Buttery & sweet but not too sweet. They are great with morning coffee and desert after dinner.
HollyLiz
I will not be making these again. The finished cookies were hard, without a lot of flavor.
mez
Baked in Australia. Ingredients by weight made a soft dough better sliced after an hour. Used Bling sugar (spotlight)Baking time correct at 20mins when 1cm thick sliced biscuits. Added three tbsp cocoa. Delicious. Also used as base recipes for folded/marbled cookies. Work well with Donna Hay 1 for 1 gluten free flour but refrigerate overnight.
Disaster
I followed the recipe exactly and they melted in the oven to a flat looking French crepe. Flavor wasn’t bad after all.
Emily
Super easy, great base cookie! I made them as prescribed the first time and then the second time left out the sparkle sugar and added chopped pistachios instead. Very versatile. Baking for 8 min at 350 and then spinning the sheet around and doing another 8 min was the perfect formula for me.
RV - A cook from Napa CA
Bake 9 minutes and switch oven racks for 9 minutes. 18 minutes total.If using salted butter, eliminate the tsp. of kosher salt.
naari
Made these without a stand mixer using a wooden spoon, bowl, and elbow grease. The cookies were phenomenal. Gentle reminder that you don’t need a stand mixer to make cookies—people made cookies just fine before stand mixers existed. :)
Emily
Made this GF & really didn't like them. You only need to cook them for 16 minutes & they still are tough. Wasn't a fan.
Annya
I added 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom & it was the right thing to do. Then about half of them I drizzled in dark chocolate. Also a good move if you are into that sort of thing. You’re welcome.
BCE
I rolled mine overnight in a round log. Made smaller cookies which cut down on sweetness. Before baking, I brushed log wit egg yolk and then sugar. Cut dough thin. Baked 17 minutes with rotation 8 mins in. Came out perfect and would make again.
charlene
Turned out very well. Baking time was confusing to me as well. I started the timer with a total of 15 minutes, added a second timer for about eight minutes, and did the rotation at that point. At the end of the total time, they looked a little under, so I added another four minutes. Came out very well.
Heather
How can I make the cookies texture/ taste a little lighter? Currently they seem “heavy”, dull, too flour-y, despite all the butter and egg yolk.
Megan
Delicious and easy. I used 2 yolks and found 16 minutes in the oven to be the perfect number. I used various flavored sugars I had around for the finishing step and they worked great. Lemon lavender was a favorite.
Marc
Dough came together perfectly, but I think that the diameter of log is more important than the length for more consistently shaped cookies. The Zip-loc method suggested below seems a good one. Next batch.
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