last updated on September 23, 2026
These holiday shortbread cutout cookies are the perfect cookie to round out any holiday cookie box. Tender, flaky shortbread is sandwiched with your favorite filling (mine is biscoff), to make the ideal cookie sandwich. I cannot get enough shortbread, so these are always a must-make for the holiday season.
what you need for this recipe
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, cold
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups (355 g) all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
- 1/4 cup biscoff spread or any filling you’d like: jam, nutella, lemon curd, etc
how to make shortbread cutout cookies
- Cream the egg and sugar. Add the cold butter and sugar to a bowl. Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, mix on low speed until the butter starts to break down. Then increase the speed for 3-4 minutes until fully combined.
- Add in the wet ingredients. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients. Measure the flour (I use a kitchen scale to make sure the dough doesn’t end up dry), then add it to the dough along with the salt. The dough will feel shaggy– this is good! It should be able to hold its form when squished together, but still be crumbly. Add in one tablespoon of cold water, and another if needed, until the dough comes together.
- Make the tops and bottoms of the cookies. Roll the dough out to be about 1/4″ thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circle shapes. Then, using small holiday cookie cutters, cut out the middle of half of the circles. These will be the tops (and with the cutouts, you can see the filling inside through the top!).
- Chill the cookies. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes. While they’re chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake. Once they’re chilled, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until set. There should be little to no browning on the cookies when they’re done.
- Fill the cookies. After letting the cookies cool, spread your favorite filling on the bottom cookies, and then top them with the cute cutout cookies. Enjoy!
faqs
Using cold butter rather than melted butter is essential for achieving shortbread’s classic, tender, and crumbly texture. Don’t stress when the dough doesn’t look like other cookie dough! Shortbread has the highest ratio of butter to flour in the cookie world, and that’s why its dough is shaggy and feels more like biscuit or pie dough.
Because shortbread originated in Scotland, technically, all shortbread is Scottish. But traditional Scottish shortbread contains only three ingredients: flour, butter, and sugar (and sometimes salt). They have a classic 3:2:1 ratio with 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter, and 1 part sugar (by weight). My Ted Lasso shortbread cookies are a take on traditional Scottish shortbread!
With this recipe, choosing different fillings is my favorite way to change it up. Beyond my favorite filling, Biscoff, I’ve also used jam, Nutella, and lemon curd. People also love to dip shortbread in chocolate, add powdered sugar to the tops of cookies, or frost/ice them. If you want a frosted shortbread cookie, my Hunger Games shortbread cookies are one of my favorites!
other recipes you’ll love
- christmas sprinkle cookies
- cinnamon oatmeal cookies
- christmas crack cookies
- brown butter maple cheesecake cookies
holiday shortbread cutout cookies
ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, cold
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups (355 g) all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
- 1/4 cup biscoff spread or any filling you'd like: jam, nutella, lemon curd, etc
instructions
- Add the cold butter and sugar to a large bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, mix on low until the butter starts to break down, then increase the speed and mix for 3-4 minutes until fully combined and fluffier.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until combined, about 1 minute. Add the flour and salt and mix again until combined, about 1 minute. The dough will be very shaggy, but do not fear! With the mixer on low, slowly add the cold water until the dough comes together, starting with 1 tablespoon and adding more as needed.
- Roll the dough to 1/4” thick. Cut out the cookies with a 3-inch cookie cutter, then use small christmas cookie cutters to cut out the middle of half of the cookies — these will be the tops.
- Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- After chilling, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, just until the cookies set. They should barely be browning, or not brown at all.
- Let the cookies cool completely, then add the filling! Spread a thin layer of biscoff spread on the cookies that aren’t cut out in the middle, then top with the ones that are cut out in the middle, so you can see the filling peaking through. Feel free to use any filling you want — biscoff, jam, peanut butter, lemon curd, etc!
Easy to make. I am going to freeze them and thaw them to give to my parents for Christmas. Made mine with strawberry jam. Looks delicious, but I won’t eat them until everyone else can too! (Mine came out a bit thicker than anticipated, but I think the thickness is necessary so they don’t burn in the oven. If they feel a bit squishy or look pale coming out of the oven, don’t worry, just follow the times the recipe instructs or you’ll over cook them. It’ll turn into a normal feeling cookie once it cools down.)
yay so glad you enjoyed these!!
Making these for Christmas! If I use unsalted butter, how much salt should I add?
just a pinch! like 1/4 teaspoon.