Easy Traditional Irish Butter Shortbread Cookies

Easy Traditional Irish Butter Shortbread Cookies

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

Sometimes I feel like having cookies, but I don’t feel like scooping out cookie dough and shifting around the pans, etc. And if I think scooping is too much of a chore, I certainly am not in the mood for breaking out a rolling pin or cookie cutters.  Basically, when I am feeling just a little bit lazy I turn to these Easy Traditional Irish Butter Shortbread Cookies. With just four ingredients, this delicious recipe produces the best shortbread, delicate and buttery. Simply press the shortbread dough into a baking pan (a 9-inch pan, either round or square) and that’s it! It’s a really great recipe when you are short on time – or energy – but want a little treat to have with a hot cup of tea. These are also the perfect St. Patrick’s Day treat, uncomplicated but festive – even if they aren’t green.

Some of the best features of this recipe:

Few Ingredients: Only four required ingredients – butter, confectioners sugar, all purpose flour, and vanilla.

No eggs: Have you seen the price of eggs!? Well, this is your lucky day: no eggs are involved!

Easy: Mix by hand or with an electric mixer, then spread the shortbread dough into a prepared pan. No need to chill the dough or roll anything out!

Versatile: Change up the butter, add some different flavors or toppings. You can make a new version almost each time! And if you’re feeling a little ambitious, you can always try these other shortbread recipes, Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread or Strawberry Shortbread Sandwich Cookies. 

As with all of my recipes, these Easy Traditional Irish Butter Shortbread Cookies are super simple to make with no complicated cooking techniques, no special equipment, and with simple ingredients found in any grocery store.

Recipe Ingredients

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional but delicious)

2 cups all purpose flour

​Sparkling sugar (optional)

Helpful Tools

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment/electric mixer/wooden spoon
• ​Dry measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Fine mesh sieve
• Large bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Parchment paper
• Baking pan (9-inch pan square or round)
• Bench scraper
• Fork
• Wire cooling rack
• Sharp knife

Ingredient Notes

Butter is the most important ingredient in shortbread. I always use salted butter and skip adding salt. If you choose to use unsalted butter, I would suggest adding a hint of salt, about 1/4 tsp. I also tend to use the grocery store brand butter because it is the cheapest. If you really want to step up the flavor, however, and create a truly traditional Irish shortbread, I would suggest using Irish butter. Irish butter, like most European butter, has a highter fat content so it produces a richer taste and a creamier texture. It probably also adds a more authentic flavor.

Speaking of butter, most the time when recipes call for softened butter, you shouldn’t melt it in the microwave, but really need to let it sit out and soften. Happily, this recipe allows you to microwave the butter a bit without any negative effects. Perfect for people like me who a) have super cold kitchens and/or b) always forget to take the butter out. Do not melt the butter entirely, just heat until softened enough to mix.

I absolutely love almond extract. It is definitely not a part of the traditional Irish recipe, but I think it really elevates the flavor. Feel free to leave it out if you choose. Frankly, I also spread raspberry jam on my cookie and, with the almond, it ends up tasting like a linzer tart cookie.

Sparkling sugar is another optional ingredient, but I highly recommend it. The crunch of the sugar adds a nice texture to an otherwise very tender cookie.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Prepare the baking pan. Cut out a piece of parchment paper that fits the bottom of the pan, either round or square.

3. Spray the baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, lay the parchment paper in the bottom and spray that lightly as well. Set aside.

4. Measure out the flour into a large bowl (see Tips & Tricks).

5. Add the softened butter and confectioners sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (See Tips & Tricks for a note on sifting the sugar.) 

6. Beat on low speed until creamed, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all the sugar gets incorporated.

7. Add in the vanilla extract, and the almond extract if using, and briefly mix on low speed until combined.

8. Gently pour the flour into the butter and sugar mixture. Combine on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until just combined. Do not over mix.

9. Press the dough into the prepared pan. This is a rather sticky dough, so it is easiest to push the dough in with your fingers. Be sure to spread it out evenly, especially when pressing the dough into the corners. You can smooth out the dough to remove your fingerprints with the back of a tablespoon or with the bottom of a dry measuring cup.

10. I like to score a design on my shortbread. Later, I will use those marks as a guide to cutting the cookies. When using a round cake pan, I lightly press the sharp part of a bench scraper vertically, horizontally, and then twice, diagonally to create 8 triangles. I use the bench scraper first so that if my marks are really uneven, I can smooth it over and start again.

11. Press into the top of the dough with the tines of a fork about halfway through. This makes a fun pattern and also makes the shortbread easier to cut. 

12. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar. 

13. Bake in the preheated oven for 28-30 minutes until the shortbread is golden brown.

14. Let the shortbread cook in the pan for 10 minutes, they place it on a wire cooling rack until completely cooled. 

15. Cut these easy Irish shortbread cookies along the lines you scored earlier.

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for these Easy Traditional Butter Shortbread cookies, with step-by-step directions, below.

Storage

You can store the cooled cookies cut or uncut. When storing them uncut, it is easiest to wrap them in plastic wrap. I like to be double sure they aren’t exposed to the air and I put that into a Ziploc.

Store cooled, cut cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Tips & Tricks

When working with confectioners sugar and flour, you may find them to be a bit lumpy. You can quickly and easily sift your ingredients by placing a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and adding the dry ingredients (separately) and gently shaking the sieve back and forth.

​Always measure flour using the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour loosely into a dry measuring cup and then level off the top with the back of a knife. This will provide you with the most accurate measurement.

Delicious butter shortbread not enough for you? How about delicious buttery shortbread dipped in chocolate? If you used a square pan, you can cut the cookies into rectangles. You can leave the triangles from the round pan as is, or you can cut them in half. Set up a dipping station of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and a wire rack fitted on top. Finely chop chocolate and melt it in a microwave safe dish in 30 second increments, stirring between heating. Dip the ends of the cookies into the melted chocolate and let the excess fall back into the dish. For a special occasion, try adding sprinkles to the melted chocolate before cooking. Green sprinkles are the perfect St. Patrick’s Day addition! 

Looking for some other St. Patrick’s Day treats? Try one of these:

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Baileys Buttercream

No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Jars

Easy Irish Soda Bread Muffins (without buttermilk)

Quick & Easy Food Processor Irish Soda Bread Scones