Sparkling Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

Can these be made by hand, without a mixer?

Hi, I was wondering what brand of colored sugar you used? The colors held up nicely after baking.

Place the wrapped dough logs in an empty paper towel roll to maintain the round shape while it chills

Is it okay to use salted butter and not add the kosher salt? I just don’t have any unsalted butter at the moment…

Just made these, baked 10 min and switched the pan around, baked another 10 min as directed. 20 minutes is too long, cookies turned dark and sugar crystals burned. Will try another log for 8 and 8 minutes.

Needed several tablespoons of water to get the dough sticky enough to roll.Use non-pareils.

I used a food processor to mix the dough and it as a perfect consistency, that might work better than a mixer

Am I the only one without a stand mixer? I can wing it, but find the absence of any alternate instructions kind of irritating, and possibly intimidating to less adventurous cooks.

Related to my comments above, I waited 24 hours to cook the second log. It was much more firm and I made the cookies a little thicker. 16 to 18 minutes was the perfect amount of time and then the cookies were delicious.

My note to my son: Make these but add good vanilla. I used Mexican this time. I used two yolks because they were small eggs. Do the ziplock bag log roll. (Throw the crumbly dough in a bag and roll it to form the log. No muss no fuss.) Don’t skip the egg white wash. The sugar sticks better and they gain a nice crisp. You can use regular sugar or whatever. I’m going to use maple sugar for the next log because I have it. I had to add 2 minutes more to the baking time. But check it at 22.

So many readers complained of dry, crumbly dough, so instead I used a whole egg and added a teaspoon on good vanilla. No need for ice water. Dough was perfectly pliable. Refrigerated overnight and baked the next day. Wonderful cookie and so pretty with the sparkly sugar.

Old fashioned wax paper works well for the rolling.

Not very firm after 30 minutes in the refrigerator. After baking 22 minutes they were brown. The next batch, at 15 minutes were still too brown, and the oven temperature was correct. Watch them carefully!

Love the dough. Had none of the problems rolling into logs mentioned in other comments. The recipe calls for 1/2” thick slices. Those in the photo are clearly thinner than that. Because I cut mine to the proscribed thickness, baking time was 23 minutes, resulting in a darker (but to me extra delicious!) toasty bottom. Sprinkles split along the sides but adhered well none the less. Will make again, but cut thinner next time.

Had to add a little ice water to pull the dough together as it was way too dry to roll following the recipe.

I made these with King Arthur Gluten-Free flour using the 2 egg yolks and they are sheer absolute utter complete perfection.

I made these to put in holiday cookie bags and they were a hit. Buttery & sweet but not too sweet. They are great with morning coffee and desert after dinner.

I will not be making these again. The finished cookies were hard, without a lot of flavor.

Baked in Australia. Ingredients by weight made a soft dough better sliced after an hour. Used Bling sugar (spotlight)Baking time correct at 20mins when 1cm thick sliced biscuits. Added three tbsp cocoa. Delicious. Also used as base recipes for folded/marbled cookies. Work well with Donna Hay 1 for 1 gluten free flour but refrigerate overnight.

I followed the recipe exactly and they melted in the oven to a flat looking French crepe. Flavor wasn’t bad after all.

Super easy, great base cookie! I made them as prescribed the first time and then the second time left out the sparkle sugar and added chopped pistachios instead. Very versatile. Baking for 8 min at 350 and then spinning the sheet around and doing another 8 min was the perfect formula for me.

Bake 9 minutes and switch oven racks for 9 minutes. 18 minutes total.If using salted butter, eliminate the tsp. of kosher salt.

Made these without a stand mixer using a wooden spoon, bowl, and elbow grease. The cookies were phenomenal. Gentle reminder that you don’t need a stand mixer to make cookies—people made cookies just fine before stand mixers existed. :)

Made this GF & really didn't like them. You only need to cook them for 16 minutes & they still are tough. Wasn't a fan.

I added 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom & it was the right thing to do. Then about half of them I drizzled in dark chocolate. Also a good move if you are into that sort of thing. You’re welcome.

I rolled mine overnight in a round log. Made smaller cookies which cut down on sweetness. Before baking, I brushed log wit egg yolk and then sugar. Cut dough thin. Baked 17 minutes with rotation 8 mins in. Came out perfect and would make again.

Turned out very well. Baking time was confusing to me as well. I started the timer with a total of 15 minutes, added a second timer for about eight minutes, and did the rotation at that point. At the end of the total time, they looked a little under, so I added another four minutes. Came out very well.

How can I make the cookies texture/ taste a little lighter? Currently they seem “heavy”, dull, too flour-y, despite all the butter and egg yolk.

Delicious and easy. I used 2 yolks and found 16 minutes in the oven to be the perfect number. I used various flavored sugars I had around for the finishing step and they worked great. Lemon lavender was a favorite.

Dough came together perfectly, but I think that the diameter of log is more important than the length for more consistently shaped cookies. The Zip-loc method suggested below seems a good one. Next batch.