Flower Shaped Shortbread Delicate (Printable)

Buttery shortbread delicately shaped as flowers, perfect for festive occasions and teatime.

# What You Need:

→ Shortbread Dough

01 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
02 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
04 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
05 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Decoration

07 - 2 tablespoons coarse sanding sugar or colored sprinkles, optional
08 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting, optional
09 - Edible flower petals or pastel icing, optional

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes.
03 - Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overwork the dough.
06 - Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/4-inch thickness.
07 - Using a flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.
08 - Sprinkle with sanding sugar or lightly press in edible flower petals, if desired.
09 - Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are just turning golden.
10 - Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11 - Dust with powdered sugar or decorate with pastel icing, if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The dough comes together with almost no effort, yet tastes like you've been baking all morning.
  • One batch yields enough cookies to fill a pretty tin or share generously without feeling like a kitchen marathon.
  • They're buttery enough to feel luxurious but light enough to eat more than one without guilt.
02 -
  • Softening butter means genuinely soft, not melted—hard butter won't cream properly, and melted butter creates dense, greasy cookies instead of tender ones.
  • The cornstarch is not optional for authentic shortbread texture; it's what creates that distinctive sandy crumb that makes these different from ordinary butter cookies.
03 -
  • Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling if your kitchen is warm; cold dough cuts cleaner and bakes more evenly.
  • Bake at the exact temperature your oven maintains rather than what the dial says—use an oven thermometer to verify, because a 25-degree difference changes everything.
Return