Simple Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies

I absolutely adore shortbread – it’s so buttery and tender and absolutely perfect alongside a steaming cup of tea. And there are few ways I think that it can be improved, however, I’ve found that browning the butter is one of them!

This easy recipe hits all the notes of classic shortbread cookies, however, it includes the extra step of browning some of the butter. This is simple yet it adds such a wonderful dimension to these already delightful biscuits that it’s a step I will never leave out of shortbread again.

Still using only 5 ingredients, this is a classic shortbread with a bit of a twist – and it’s absolutely perfect for the holidays or simply as a sweet treat with a cuppa!

How to Make Shortbread Cookies with Brown Butter

Shortbread is a fundamentally simple biscuit to make so long as you know the general ratios – and there are infinite riffs you can make from there. At its core, traditional shortbread uses a 3:2:1 ratio of flour to butter to sugar.

This is the same ratio I follow here, however, I have swapped out 50 grams of flour for cornstarch (cornflour) to ensure that the finished results are really tender.

But before we get there, the first step is to brown the butter which is a simple step I’ve outlined in recipes like my apple pie.

Add half of your butter (more on that later) to a small saucepan and then set it over medium heat. Melt the butter and then, stirring constantly, allow the butter to bubble away.

You will notice it starts to foam and then the foam will begin to subside. When this happens, you will start to see some brown bits collect on the bottom of the pan.

It can be helpful to use a light-coloured pan to easily see when the butter is browning and to prevent it from burning.

It can go from browned to burnt very quickly. As soon as you notice browned bits appear and a distinct nutty aroma coming from the butter, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl.

Let the butter come to room temperature before mixing it in your cookies. You’ll notice this is the same step I follow in my brown butter sugar cookies.

Meanwhile, mix together your dry ingredients. Simply add your flour, cornstarch and a bit of salt to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set it aside until you need it.

Now it’s time to cream the butter and sugar. Because browning butter removes the water content of butter and changes how it behaves in baking, I do call for keeping half of the butter un-browned.

This ensures that your shortbread is not greasy after baking. It is important that the butter is at room temperature to easily cream it with the sugar.

Add the browned butter, room-temperature butter and a bit of sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Using a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the mixer speed to high.

Beat the butter and sugar until it’s light, fluffy, creamy and aerated – about 2-3 minutes in a stand mixer or 3-4 minutes if you’re using a hand mixer.

Go ahead and scrape down the sides of the bowl again and then add your dry ingredients. Mix these on medium-low speed until just incorporated but some dry spots still remain.

Then, switch to a spatula to finish incorporating the dry ingredients by hand until everything is just combined – you do not want to overmix these!

Now, scrape the dough into a lightly great removable-bottom tart pan. Use your hands to compact it evenly across the dish and smooth the surface.

If you don’t have a tart pan or prefer square shortbread biscuits over wedge-shaped cookies, then you can also press the dough into an 8in (20cm) square baking dish (preferably a metal on. Line the dish with parchment so that it acts like a sling to easily remove the biscuits once baked.

Whatever dish you use, move it to the fridge to firm up for about an hour before prepping to bake.

Once the dough has chilled, it’s time to put the finishing touches on your shortbread! First, use a paring knife to gently score 8 equal wedges to serve as a template for where you will cut the biscuits once baked.

Then, cut a 2cm (½in) wide circle from the middle of the dough. This makes it much easier to get a clean cut once they’re baked. Finally, use a skewer or a toothpick to prick several holes all the way through the dough. This prevents puffing while baking.

If you’re baking in a square dish, score 12 biscuits in a 3×4 grid. No need to make a cut-out here, but you do still need to prick holes in the biscuits.

Then, move the pan to a low 150°C/300°F and bake until the biscuit slap is dry to the touch and lightly golden. This will take about 40-50 minutes.

Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes in the pan before unmoulding and cutting along the score marks – it’s much easier and cleaner to cut the cookies while they’re still hot! Let the cut biscuits finish cooling completely on a wire rack.

After they’ve cooled, all that’s left is to dig in! The cookies also keep for some time stored in an airtight container, making them perfect to give away as gifts for the holiday season.

Whether you’re making them as a no-reason sweet treat for yourself or as Christmas cookies to give to friends, this browned butter shortbread is extra-special and incredibly delicious.

Do you want to make classic shortbread with browned butter? Have any questions about this recipe? let me know in the comments!