Bourbon Shortbread Cookies

Name: Bourbon Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 23 min
Total time: 38 min
Cuisine: cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces); 1/2 cup sugar; 4 tablespoons bourbon; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 cups flour

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This shortbread recipe makes the most delicious, buttery, and super crumbly cookies. It also has a delightful hint of bourbon, which adds a fantastic flavor and produces a wonderful texture.

shortbread cookies lined upon 4 rows on a brown table.

Why this recipe works:

Shortbread is such a classic cookie, but it isn't easy to get the recipe right. It's hard to achieve that super buttery flavor and really crumbly texture. There are a lot of methods that people have come up with over the years to be able to get both, like adding sieved egg yokes or corn starch. Mine adds four tablespoons of bourbon, which helps make the dough pipable, adds a nice vanilla bourbon flavor, and the alcohol mostly evaporates in the oven, making the texture very short.

This easy shortbread recipe is perfect any time of year, but they make particularly great Christmas cookies!

Key ingredients:

traditional shortbread is famous for having just three ingredients. This one adds just one more, but trust me, it makes all the difference!

Butter: Butter is the fat in this recipe and provides a lot of flavor to the cookies. This is the recipe to use your best European-style butter since the flavor really comes through in these cookies.

Sugar: The sugar sweetens the cookie dough and provides structure. Regular granulated sugar is perfect for this recipe.

All-purpose flour: flour gives these cookies most of their structure and holds them together while baking.

Bourbon: bourbon adds a bit of liquid to the dough, making it more pliable and good for piping. It also evaporates while baking, leaving a very short structure.

How to make this recipe:

This recipe is so easy to make!

Time needed: 30 minutes

Start by creaming together the butter and sugar.
Next, add the bourbon and salt and mix again.
Lastly, mix in the flour until it just comes together.
Transfer the cookie dough to a piping bag with a rose tip.
Pipe little swirls on a parchment-lined baking tray.
Freeze for 30 minutes.
Bake at 350 for 23 minutes, or until very lightly browned.

Piped shortbread on a lined baking sheet.

Tips for recipe success:

Do not over mix the dough; this will make the cookies tough. Mix until everything just comes together.
If the dough is too stiff to pipe, let it rest in a piping back on the heating oven, which will loosen it up and make it more pliable.
Freeze the piped cookies. This is what keeps that rosette shape; if you bake without freezing, they will lose their shape.

Shortbread cookies lined up around a glass of bourbon

FAQ's

What is shortbread?

Shortbread is a classic Scottish cookie that is traditionally made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. This recipe is really close to that ratio, but I have added salt and bourbon. Shortbread is also traditionally made in Scotland around Christmas and new year, which is why it's such a popular Christmas cookie.

What are shortbread cookies supposed to taste like?

Shortbread typically has just three ingredients butter, sugar, and flour. This makes them taste incredibly buttery and perfectly sweet.

What texture is shortbread supposed to have?

Shortbread cookies get their name because they have a very "short" texture, and this means that they are incredibly crumbly and fall apart when eaten

shortbread cookies in a metal tray with glasses of bourbon

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THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING ABOUT THESE AWESOME COOKIES! IF YOU MAKE IT BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND/OR GIVE THIS RECIPE A RATING! I'D LOVE TO HEAR EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS!