Vintage Shortbread Recipes That are Perfect for the Holidays (2024)

Home Holidays Christmas

Caroline StankoUpdated: Feb. 25, 2022

There's no better way to celebrate Christmas than baking up a few dozen shortbread cookies. We've rounded-up our top 20 shortbread recipes so you can do searching for a recipe and more baking!

1/20

Shortbread

I live in Missouri, but many of our family recipes come from New Zealand, where I lived as a youngster. I proudly claim a Down Under heritage! These special-occasion cookies bring back warm and sweet memories of my childhood, and I'm going to make sure they're passed on to the next generation in my family—no matter where they live. —A. Swenson, Camdenton, Missouri

Go to Recipe

2/20

Taste of Home

Shortbread Hearts

These flaky cookies melt in your mouth. Dipped in chocolate, they look festive.—Barbara Birk, St. George, Utah

Go to Recipe

3/20

Lemon Shortbread Trees

Here's a fun holiday recipe children can help with. And no cookie cutters are needed! I just shape the dough into a triangular log, refrigerate it and cut it into tree-shaped slices to bake and decorate. Broken pretzel sticks form the tree trunks. —Phyllis Schmalz, Kansas City, Kansas

Go to Recipe

4/20

Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies

Whenever I visit friends in Lutsen, Minnesota, I make sure to buy maple syrup there because I think it's even better than in Quebec. These delicious cookies can be decorated with sprinkles but they're just fine as is.—Lorraine Caland, Shuniah, Ontario

Go to Recipe

Buttery 3-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies

With only a few ingredients, these butter shortbread cookies are so simple to prepare. —Pattie Prescott, Manchester, New Hampshire

Go to Recipe

6/20

Cranberry Shortbread Stars

My family loves shortbread and I love cranberries, so I decided to put the two together to make cranberry shortbread cookies. The star shape is a festive addition to my holiday cookie tray. —Sonya Labbe, West Hollywood, California

Go to Recipe

7/20

Scottish Shortbread

My mother, who is of Scottish heritage, passed this shortbread recipe, along with other favorite recipes, on to me. When I entered this treat at our local fair, it won a red ribbon. —Rose Mabee, Selkirk, Manitoba

Go to Recipe

8/20

Whipped Shortbread

These whipped shortbread cookies melt in your mouth. Mostly I make them for the holidays, but I'll also prepare them year-round for wedding showers and afternoon teas. —Jane Ficiur, Bow Island, Alberta

Go to Recipe

9/20

Homemade Chocolate Shortbread

This recipe has been in my files for a long time...probably from when I first learned to bake. Any chocolate lover will like these melt-in-your-mouth cookies. I make them year-round with variations. They're even richer with a thin coat of icing or as a sandwich cookie with frosting in the middle. —Sarah Bueckert, Austin, Manitoba

Go to Recipe

Shortbread Cutouts

I found this recipe in a magazine over 30 years ago and have made these shortbread cutout cookies for Christmas ever since. They're an oh-so-simple recipe to whip up during the hectic holidays. —Jean Henderson, Montgomery, Texas

Go to Recipe

14/20

Light and buttery, these delicate shortbread cookies are melt-in-your-mouth good. The coconut flavor makes them extra special. —Roberta Otto, Duluth, Minnesota

Go to Recipe

15/20

Taste of Home

Carrot Cake Shortbread

I really love carrot cake and wanted to make a cookie that had the same flavors. These comforting cookies are just the ticket! Cinnamon, maple and vanilla make them perfect for the holidays. —Elisabeth Larsen, Pleasant Grove, Utah

Go to Recipe

16/20

Taste of Home

Crisp Lemon Shortbread

Fresh juice and zest pair up to give my buttery cookies a lemony pop. Sprinkle sugar on top for extra sparkle. —Marcia Whitney, Gainesville, Florida

Go to Recipe

17/20

Chocolate Shortbread Trees

You can use this rollout chocolate cookie dough to create all kinds of shapes and sizes, but I like to make trees because they are so easy to decorate. —Deirdre Cox, Kansas City, Missouri

Go to Recipe

18/20

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

This simple three-ingredient shortbread cookie recipe makes wonderfully rich, tender cookies. Serve them with fresh berries of the season for a nice, light dessert. You'll get miles of smiles when friends see these at an afternoon tea or a bridal shower. —Marlene Hellickson, Big Bear City, California

Go to Recipe

19/20

Candy Cane Shortbread Bars

I created these bars for my daughter, who loves peppermint. The buttery shortbread texture just melts in your mouth. They're a hit wherever I take them. —Susan Ciuffreda, Huntersville, North Carolina

Go to Recipe

20/20

Taste of Home

Shortbread Squares

Here's a traditional shortbread recipe that's perfect with a cup of hot tea or coffee. It's a favorite during the holidays. —G. C. Mayhew, Grass Valley, California

Go to Recipe

Originally Published: December 12, 2017

Caroline Stanko

Caroline has been with Taste of Home for the past seven years, working in both print and digital. After starting as an intern for the magazine and special interest publication teams, Caroline was hired as the third-ever digital editor for Taste of Home. Since then, she has researched, written and edited content on just about every topic the site covers, including cooking techniques, buzzy food news, gift guides and many, many recipe collections. Caroline also acts as the editorial lead for video, working with the Test Kitchen, videographers and social media team to produce videos from start to finish.When she’s not tip-tapping on a keyboard, Caroline is probably mixing up a killer co*cktail, reading a dog-eared library book or cooking up a multi-course feast (sometimes all at once). Though she technically lives in Milwaukee, there is a 50/50 chance Caroline is in Chicago or southwest Michigan visiting her close-knit family.

Vintage Shortbread Recipes That are Perfect for the Holidays (2024)

FAQs

What is the world's famous shortbread? ›

Walker's Shortbread Fingers are our most world famous product and have a unique bite – a crunchy yet crumbly texture with a pure butter taste – which is achieved through Walker's 100-year-old family recipe and using the finest natural ingredients.

What's the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

Tell Me More ›

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

Why is shortbread unhealthy? ›

However, lipids, which are a component to food such as shortbread cookies are considered unhealthy because they are the most energetic nutrients in food and are a source of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (usually 40%) and sometimes also trans fatty isomers (TFA) [4,5,6].

Should butter be cold or room temperature for shortbread? ›

Fine Cooking explains that the butter should be at refrigerator temperature. While many cookie recipes call for softened butter or at room temperature, if your butter isn't cold when making shortbread, it's likely to turn out greasy or be difficult to roll out.

Get More Info ›

Why is shortbread pricked with a fork? ›

Prick shortbread.

Once all the rounds are on the lined baking tray, then use the tines of a fork to press holes about halfway down into the dough (Image 8). This helps the dough from bubbling up whilst baking and allows the steam to release, plus it gives it quite a traditional, signature look!

Discover More ›

What are the qualities of a successful shortbread biscuit? ›

It's all in the quality of the ingredients. With such a short ingredient list, the quality makes a big difference. The perfect shortbread cookie should be crumbly, but not dry, buttery but not greasy and sweet but not sickly.

View Details ›

What makes shortbread taste like shortbread? ›

Butter. The one thing that you shouldn't skimp on with shortbread cookies is the butter. They are butter shortbread cookies after all. So, use a GOOD QUALITY butter, because the flavor of butter is first and foremost in this buttery shortbread cookie recipe.

What makes shortbread extra short? ›

Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word "short", as opposed to "long", or stretchy). The cause of this texture is its high fat content, provided by the butter. The short or crumbly texture is a result of the fat inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten) strands.

Keep Reading ›

Should butter be cold when making shortbread? ›

Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out. If the dough does get soft or sticky as you're rolling or cutting it, just put it back in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the butter.