Shortbread Sugar Cookie Hybrid: a rollable dough with a sandy texture
This recipe is my shortbread-sugar cookie hybrid, combining the sandy, crumbly texture of shortbread with the roll-ability and sweetness of classic sugar cookies. These cookies are also highly versatile—you can decorate them with royal icing or make jam-filled cookies, as I’ve done here.
If you make this cookie, you must promise me one thing: try to use high-quality butter. Butter is the star of this cookie, and through my experiments, I’ve found shortbread to be one of the most worthwhile recipes for splurging. Look for butter labeled European-style or with 82% fat or higher. My top picks, in order, are Plugra Salted, Kerrygold Unsalted (cultured), Kirkland Signature Grass-Fed, and Strauss Creamery European-Style Butter. There are so many great options—feel free to use your favorite!
Step by step:
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Read this before you begin
Measure by weight, if possible.
Measuring by weight is the best way for you to replicate my recipes. I develop recipes using ingredients (even liquids) measured in grams, which is why you see them listed first in the recipe cards. For measurements under 5 grams, I will typically only list the volumetric measurements (teaspoons, etc.), as most home scales are not precise for such small weights.
In most cases, I have converted grams to volumetric measurements (aka US customary units) for bakers who prefer this method. However, the measurements are not as precise and may have awkward proportions. The recipes should still work, but for the ultimate precision, try to use weight.
This is the OXO scale I use daily. I also purchased this budget version of a good scale, which I keep at my Mom’s house for baking. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.
Use room temperature ingredients.
All my ingredients should be used at room temperature, or 65-75 °F/18-24 °C. I will always indicate if you need something outside this range. If no details are given, room temperature is the default.
Pay attention to the ingredient descriptions.
I try not to be brand-specific, but I will always note an interesting result from a type of ingredient, be it negative or positive.
A specific note regarding salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for everything on this site except for frostings. In frostings, you want the salt to dissolve more easily, and kosher salt tends to leave granules behind. If you substitute table salt (more finely granulated) for recipes that list kosher salt, you must use half the volume indicated in my recipes.
Substitutions are hard.
That’s not to say they’re impossible, though. For instance, in many cases, substituting reduced fat for whole milk (and thus reducing fat by less than 2%) will probably be fine. Using applesauce for oil or even Greek yogurt when sour cream is listed will definitely alter the fat content and adversely affect the crumb texture and density of the cake.
I experiment for hours to get these recipes to work for us. First, try to make them as written or use one of my tested substitutions, which I often dedicate a section to. Then, if necessary, you can make modifications afterward. Even then I would be pretty cautious, as substitutions are one of the hardest things to investigate in recipe development.
Read all the recipe instructions before beginning.
I’m in the “Pre-read the Chapter before Class Lecture” club... and I invite you to join! Baking new recipes can be intimidating, so let’s set you up for success. I want you to think about timeframes. Most fillings and frostings can be made ahead of time, and give you an extra day for mental space. Also, as you become a more proficient baker, you can anticipate and recognize steps. (“Oh, this has a meringue step, so I’ll need an extra clean bowl…” etc.) Ensure you go down the ingredient list and have everything at the right temperature.
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Shortbread-Sugar Cookie
- 210 g (1 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour, bleached or unbleached
- 24 g (3 ½ tablespoons) cornstarch
- 100 g (½ cup) white granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt*
- 160 g (½ cup + 3 ½ tablespoons) unsalted butter**, softened and cut into large 1-2 inch chunks
- 10 g (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 20 g (1 large) egg yolk, cold from the refrigerator
- Assorted jams or jellies (optional; for fingerprint cookies)
*Omit if using salted butter.
**You can use unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. Try to use a high-fat (82% or higher), high-quality European-style butter for the most delicious cookies.
- 210 g (1 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour, bleached or unbleached
- 24 g (3 ½ tablespoons) cornstarch
- 100 g (½ cup) white granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt*
- 160 g (½ cup + 3 ½ tablespoons) unsalted butter**, softened and cut into large 1-2 inch chunks
- 10 g (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 20 g (1 large) egg yolk, cold from the refrigerator
- Assorted jams or jellies (optional; for fingerprint cookies)
*Omit if using salted butter.
**You can use unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. Try to use a high-fat (82% or higher), high-quality European-style butter for the most delicious cookies.
- Preheat oven and prepare pan(s).
Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 °F/180 °C.
Prepare sheet tray(s) with silicone mats or parchment.
- Make Sugar Cookie Dough.
Add flour, cornstarch, white granulated sugar, and salt (if using) to a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium-low speed with a paddle attachment until the ingredients are combined.
Add the softened butter and vanilla to the bowl. Mix on medium-low speed until the crumbs are completely coated in butterfat. You’ll know they’re coated when the crumbs start forming large clumps, and you can pick up a handful of dough and easily create a ball.
Add the cold egg yolk and gently mix on low until there are no streaks of yolk in the dough. Use your hands to form the dough into a smooth ball. - Roll out the dough as desired.
Very lightly sprinkle flour onto a clean work surface. I like to do half the dough at a time, so I tear off about half to begin. Gently roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin, turning and flipping the first few times.
You may experience some cracking during the first few rolls. This is a good thing! It means your baked cookie will be ultra-crumbly and sandy. So don’t worry about the large cracks; just gently push the dough back together and gently roll over it to seal the seam. For cracks that appear on just the surface while rolling, use your finger to smear the dough gently until it’s smooth. The heat from your finger will melt the butterfat slightly to mend any hairline cracks and create a super smooth surface. Keep rolling until you like the thickness; I prefer my cookies around ¼” thick.
Cut your cookies into desired shapes and use a spatula to move them to your parchment-lined tray, spaced around 1 inch apart. You can bake them immediately, and they will puff up just a little, or you can chill them for about 15-20 minutes to get a tighter shape. If you’re doing jam cutouts, like in my pictures (or thumbprints, which are balls flattened and indented in the middle), you can fill the centers with jam or jelly. - Bake until the edges are very lightly golden brown.
The bake time will depend on the shapes of your cookies, but aim for around 13-16 minutes. The cookies remain rather pale when fully baked, but you should see some browning on the edges. If you lift up a cookie to peek at the bottom, there should be some golden-toasted areas.
Allow the cookies to sit on the sheet for about a minute before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
If you’re doing jam-filled cookies, I usually do some touch-ups with extra jam as sometimes the water will evaporate from the jam.
Recipe Card - Adriana's Notes
*Omit if using salted butter.
**You can use unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. Try to use a high-fat (82% or higher), high-quality European-style butter for the most delicious cookies.
Recommended Sugar Lab Recipes + Experiments
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