Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Whipped shortbread cookies blend butter and sifted sugar for five minutes, then add flour and cornstarch before shaping one-inch rounds.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canadian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 22

Total Time 1 12

Servings cookies

Calories 40

Equipment

as needed Baking Sheets for the large batch of one-inch cookie rounds
1 Electric Hand Mixer for the full five-minute butter and sugar whipping step
1 Fine-Mesh Strainer for sifting the confectioners’ sugar
1 Fork for pressing the tops of the dough balls
1 Large Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl for mixing the whipped shortbread dough
1 set Measuring Cups and Spoons for the butter, sugar, flour, and cornstarch
1 Oven for baking at 300°F
1 Silicone Spatula for folding the dry ingredients and scraping the bowl
1 Wire Cooling Rack for the second cooling stage

Ingredients

Whipped Shortbread

3 cups butter softened
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups cornstarch plus a little extra for dusting hands
multicolor nonpareils optional, for topping
candied cherries optional; halved, for topping

Instructions

Mix and Shape

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Sift the confectioners’ sugar and measure the remaining ingredients.
Beat the softened butter and sifted confectioners’ sugar in a large stainless steel mixing bowl for a full 5 minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice so the mixture becomes evenly pale and airy.
3 cups butter, 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Add the all-purpose flour and cornstarch in manageable additions. Fold and scrape only until the dry streaks disappear and the dough is evenly blended.
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
Dust clean hands lightly with extra cornstarch and roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Place them 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets and press each gently with a floured fork. Leave plain or top selected cookies with multicolor nonpareils or one candied cherry half.
multicolor nonpareils, candied cherries

Bake and Cool

Bake at 300°F for 20 to 22 minutes, checking at 20 minutes. The bottoms should be lightly browned while the tops remain pale.
Let the cookies cool on their baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack and cool completely before stacking or serving.

Notes

Dust hands and the fork only lightly with extra cornstarch or flour as needed. Nonpareils and candied cherry halves are optional and are not included in the nutrition estimate. The 204-cookie serving basis is the midpoint of the 16-to-18-dozen batch range.

Nutrition