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shortbread cookies drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes
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5 from 6 votes

Holiday Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread Cookies come together in a snap and offer the perfect canvas for fun and festive decorations such as drizzles of chocolate and sprinkles of crushed candy canes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chilling time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 30 minutes
Course: All Recipes, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: candy cane, cookies, holiday shortbread, pepeprmint shortbread, shortbread cookies
Servings: 20 servings
Calories: 148kcal
Author: Kimberlee Ho

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • white chocolate baking bar* (see note) and dark chocolate baking bar or chips for drizzling
  • crushed candy canes for sprinkling

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined and light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
    1 cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and cake flours. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition
    1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup cake flour
  • Tear off a large piece of plastic wrap and place it on a clean countertop. Dump the shortbread dough out onto the plastic wrap and form the dough into a round with your hands (doesn’t have to be perfect). Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside
  • Lightly flour a clean work surface. Unwrap cookie dough and place on the floured surface. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about ½-inch thickness. If the dough is too solid to roll, whack it a few times with the rolling pin to loosen the dough a bit. Or simply wait 5-10 minutes to allow the cookie dough to warm a bit. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut the refrigerated dough (dip the cookie cutter in flour if the dough is sticking to it) and place on baking sheet 1 inch apart (cookies will not spread much). Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are just starting to turn golden at the edges, about 15-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow cool on the baking sheets
  • In two small microwavable bowls, melt separately the white chocolate and dark chocolate in 30 second intervals on 50% power until melted and smooth. Using a fork, dip the tines into the chocolate and drizzle over top of the cookies. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes before the chocolate sets
    white chocolate baking bar* (see note) and dark chocolate baking bar or chips, crushed candy canes

Notes

  • *White chocolate baking bars such as Ghirardelli or Baker's are recommended. White chocolate chips contain stabilizers that help retain their shape even when melted, so these are not recommended for melting and drizzling
  • Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days
  • Undecorated shortbread cookies can be frozen up to 3 months. Place baked and cooled cookies on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze at least one hour. Store frozen cookies in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. Thaw at room temperature then decorate as desired

Nutrition

Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 31mg | Potassium: 17mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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