How to make perfect whipped shortbread! This is my Grandma’s shortbread recipe that we have been using for decades now and this is the only shortbread that we ever make at Christmas! It makes great gifts and is perfect for your holiday dessert table.

a plate of whipped shortbread — Whipped Shortbread

Perfecting Whipped Shortbread

Over the years I have finally perfected my Whipped Shortbread Recipe to the point where I won’t fiddle around with it anymore. Usually when someone asks me about my treasured Christmas recipe, it’s all about my Grandma’s Christmas Pudding. While that is one hundred percent a family favorite, whipped shortbread has always and I do mean always been something that my family bakes at Christmas.

It seems to be something that a lot of Canadian Prairie folk make at Christmas as well. It’s never any other shortbread than whipped. Ever. This is all that graces our dessert tables at Christmas for shortbread.

That might change with my perfecting my Scottish Shortbread recipe however, as those are crispy, buttery perfection! Give those a try if you are looking for a harder shortbread.

Can I use margarine for this recipe?

Over the years, we’ve had to change from a 50/50 split of butter and margarine to all butter. Margarine lately has been declining in quality and lots of brands, specifically Imperial, just do not work with this recipe. It’s better with all butter anyway but if you are curious if you can use margarine, I do not recommend it any longer.

How to Make Whipped Shortbread

To make this whipped shortbread, you’ll need the following ingredients:

1 cup salted butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
candied cherries
sprinkles

Directions

Whip the butter and icing sugar together well. Once it looks all deliciously creamy, resist from eating it by the spoonful, and get your flour ready.

Start the mixer and slowly add in the flour, until it has all been added in. Then you can proceed to let your mixer do all the work for you and whip it for 6 minutes. You are wanting lighter than air shortbread here.
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough out onto an ungreased baking sheet or alternatively, use a piping bag and pipe it out. You can also use a cookie press to make shapes.

Top with sprinkles or a piece of Christmas cherry.

Bake them in a 275-degree oven for about 30-35 minutes; you want to dry out the shortbread in essence, not bake it, thus the low temperature. (If you have a warm kitchen or live in a warm climate, cool the cookies in the fridge then bake. They won’t flatten out).

How to Store Whipped Shortbread

Whipped Shortbread freezes very easily but also breaks easily so my recommendation is to store in an airtight container in layers between sheets of wax or parchment paper. You can store it in the freezer for a few months easily so if you make them a couple of months prior to Christmas, you can easily thaw them out in time for the holidays and they will taste amazing as always!

Whipped Shortbread Tips and Tricks

Whipped shortbread is notoriously fragile and while using cookie presses are so much fun, when I gifted the shortbread I wanted it to stay together a bit more. After experimenting, I found that the best way to make it for gifting is using a cookie scoop or piping bag. The rounded dome and thickness helps these airy bites of buttery delight stay together much better than being dropped by the teaspoonful or shapes from a cookie press.
You can use a cookie press like I did, but they are more fragile and finicky
Whipping it for at least 6 minutes is also mandatory; most people don’t whip it long enough and then it’s just not as airy as it should be. These cookies should literally melt in your mouth.
We never have used cornstarch and never will. I find it gives a weird mouth feel to it that I don’t like.
Baking it a low temperature is the way my family has always made it. We dry it out, like a meringue, and don’t bake it so much. Most recipes are 350 degrees, but we always bake it at 250. However, over the years, I have found that 275 works the best. This also helps the shortbread melt in your mouth instead of baking up a little bit harder which is what baking it at 350 will do.

Happy Baking everyone!

Love,

Karlynn