These 3 ingredient shortbread cookies use only butter, powdered sugar, and flour to make buttery, crumbly cookies that melt in your mouth.
The dough is pressed into a pan, baked, cut while hot, and baked again so the cookies stay pale and tender. Most of the roughly 1 hour 45 minutes is hands-off cooling in the turned-off oven, so active work takes about 15 minutes.
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Why This 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies Recipe Works
With only three ingredients, the butter is the star. Use a good quality butter that tastes rich on its own, because nothing else covers it up.
Powdered sugar gives a finer, more tender crumb than granulated sugar. It dissolves fully into the butter and leaves no gritty texture.
Baking in a pan and cutting while hot makes shaping easy. You get neat, even rectangles without chilling dough or using cookie cutters, and the second short bake sets the edges.
Ingredients for 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (2 sticks plus 2 tbsp) salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Salted butter. Soften it until a fingertip leaves a dent but the butter still feels cool. If it turns greasy or shiny, the cookies spread and lose their crumb.
Powdered sugar. Also called confectioners sugar. Sift it first if you see lumps so it blends into the butter without pockets of sugar.
All-purpose flour. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off. Scooping packs in extra flour and makes the dough dry and the cookies tough.
Parchment paper. A sheet of parchment with a little overhang lets you lift the whole slab out of the pan for clean cutting.
Slow cooling. Resting the cookies in the turned-off oven lets them dry out gently, which gives a sandy crisp texture rather than a soft bend.
How to Make 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 325 degrees F, or 300 degrees F for a fan oven. Butter a 9×13 inch pan and line it with parchment, leaving an overhang on the long sides.
2. Cream the butter. Beat the softened butter with a mixer for about 1 minute until smooth, then add the powdered sugar and beat until fully combined.
3. Add the flour. Mix in half of the flour until the dough looks like wet sand, then add the remaining flour and mix until the dough just comes together.
4. Shape the dough. Form the dough into a smooth ball, pat it into a rectangle, and press it evenly into the pan. Roll lightly over the top with a small rolling pin or a glass to smooth it.
5. Bake the first time. Bake about 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden while most of the surface is still pale.
6. Cut and prick. Take the pan out, cut the slab into 12 rectangles, and prick each one all over with a fork.
7. Bake the second time. Return the pan to the oven for about 8 minutes, until light golden but not browned.
8. Cool in the oven. Turn the oven off, crack the door open, and leave the cookies inside for at least 1 hour. Lift them out by the parchment and finish cooling on a rack.
How to Serve 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
Serve shortbread with tea or coffee, or stack it on a platter next to double chocolate chip cookies and coconut chocolate chip cookies for a cookie tray. Cut out sugar cookies and cinnamon streusel coffee cake fit well on a holiday dessert table.
How to Store and Reheat 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, freeze them in a single layer, then stack with parchment between layers in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Tips and Variations for 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
Soften butter gently. Leave it out until pliable. Microwaving often melts the edges and ruins the texture.
Spoon and level flour. Measuring carefully keeps the dough tender instead of dry.
Mix just enough. Stop as soon as the dough forms. Extra mixing makes shortbread tough.
Watch the color. Pull the pan when the edges are pale gold. Browned shortbread tastes bitter.
Cut while hot. The slab cuts cleanly right out of the oven and shatters once it cools.
Prick well. Fork holes let steam escape so the cookies stay flat and even.
Dust or dip. A sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dip in melted chocolate dresses them up.
Skip the raw dough taste. Raw flour should be cooked before eating, and see raw dough safety guidance from The Ohio State University for details.
Frequently Asked Questions About 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
Why are my 3 ingredient shortbread cookies tough?
Overmixing or too much flour is the usual cause. Mix until the dough just comes together and measure the flour by spooning and leveling.
Can I make 3 ingredient shortbread cookies with unsalted butter?
Yes. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dough to replace what salted butter provides.
How do I store 3 ingredient shortbread cookies?
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Can I use granulated sugar?
You can, but the texture will be slightly crunchier and less delicate than with powdered sugar.
Can I bake the dough in a different pan?
Use a pan of a similar size. A smaller pan makes thicker cookies that need a longer bake.
3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Electric mixer
- Small rolling pin
- Fork
- Wire rack
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 18 tbsp salted butter 2 sticks plus 2 tbsp, softened (or unsalted butter plus 1/4 tsp salt)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
Cooking
- Preheat. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F (300 degrees F for fan). Butter a 9×13 inch pan and line it with parchment with an overhang.
- Cream. Beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar until fully combined.
- Add the flour. Mix in half the flour until it looks like wet sand, then add the rest until the dough just comes together.
- Press. Shape into a ball, pat into a rectangle, press evenly into the pan, and roll lightly to smooth the surface.
- First bake. Bake 20 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the surface is still pale.
- Cut and prick. Cut into 12 rectangles right away and prick each all over with a fork.
- Second bake. Bake 8 minutes more until light golden, not browned.
- Cool. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and cool the cookies inside for at least 1 hour. Lift out with the parchment and cool completely on a rack.
