3-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies

All I had the energy to do on Friday was bake a batch of this shortbread. It was definitely a sick day! I cuddled up with a cookie and a cup of pumpkin spice tea, grabbed a big blanket and my favorite chick flick. Along with a handful of cold medicine, it put me right back on track for the weekend… Until we decided it would be a lazy, minimally productive one, starting Saturday with a big feast of a brunch and a boat ride through Austin. No complaints here!

To feel like I was getting at least one thing done, though, I checked this wonderful buttery, crumbly shortbread off my list… and I’m glad I did! It was so simple to make. I’m not usually a girl for roll-out cookies, either. They always turn awry – the dough is too soft, the end result is too floury and dense. Just, no good. But these! Oh, people.

Three ingredients: Butter, sugar, flour (What’s better in this world anyway?), and 10 whoppin’ minutes. Roll ‘em out, cut ‘em up and you have Christmas cookie perfection ready to slide alongside a mug of hot tea.

I know you have the ingredients (I’m psychic like that) and I knoowwww you have 10 minutes, so why not whip these up? A ball of dough gets ya roughly 15 cookies, so keep some for your morning cup and toss the rest over to your cookie lovin’ friends. They’ll pay you in smiles, I promise.

Bake up these crisp, buttery rounds of love and I bet you’ll see why it’s become my new go-to for a basic shortbread. You can also use this as the base for any recipe that calls for shortbread. I recommend rolling them out with powdered sugar, though, since additional flour can make them too dense… and I have experience with dense cookies!

3-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies

Yield: Makes approx. 15 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and continue to mix until mixture forms a soft dough (it will be crumbly at first, but keep mixing and it will form a dough). Form dough into a cohesive ball with your hands.

Roll dough 1/4-inch thick on a surface dusted with flour or powdered sugar* with a well-dusted rolling pin. Cut into rounds and place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat as necessary.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until cookies are pale golden brown. Let cool on baking sheets.

Enjoy!

TIPS

You can use either flour or powdered sugar to roll out your cookies, but I prefer powdered sugar. Since you’re re-rolling the dough repeatedly, powdered sugar keeps the cookies from becoming too dense/floury.

Remember to keep your surface and rolling pin well-dusted with flour/powdered sugar. Using powdered sugar, you may need to dust your surface and rolling pin more often.

Do not use the parchment paper with foil lining underneath; This paper tends to curl up and over your cookies as they’re baking.

Store baked cookies in a re-sealable container or plastic bag at room temperature, up to 4 days.

Serve with tea or coffee, or use as a base for any recipe requiring shortbread.

Adapted from Dine & Dish