Buttery, rich peppermint shortbread cookies that everyone in your family will love. Easy preparation — slice and bake!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: With only six ingredients, they are easy to whip up.
How long it takes: about an hour but that includes 30 minutes chilling time
Equipment you’ll need: mixer, baking sheet, parchment paper
Servings: makes 40 cookies, more or less
This is a sponsored post on behalf of United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
Today I’m bringing you more butter love with one of my favorite types of cookies — shortbread.
It might have a little to do with how easy these cookies are to make (SO easy), but it also has a lot to do with the rich buttery taste and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. I really just adore shortbread.
Why You’ll Love Slice-and-Bake Cookies
Make the dough ahead of time. These shortbread cookies are slice-and-bake cookies. Simply put, you can whip up a batch of the dough, form it into a log, and throw it in the fridge or freezer. I have a bunch of these convenient slice and bake cookie recipes.
Bake the cookies when you need them. When you happen to have unexpected guests, all you need to do is slice off what you need, stick them in the oven and voila! Fresh cookies. Everyone will think you’re amazing. And you are!
About These Shortbread Cookies
A simple list of ingredients (butter! flour! sugar! salt!) really lets the flavors of both the butter and the peppermint shine. Peppermint shortbread cookies are great with a cup of coffee or tea. Who knows? Santa might even dig a few with his milk.
What You’ll need
- Butter: Use good-quality unsalted butter for these cookies. Make sure it’s softened or at room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar (Confectioner’s Sugar): Because this sugar is so fine, the cookies just melt in your mouth.
- All-Purpose Flour: I haven’t tried whole wheat flour for these cookies because they just aren’t suited for the hearty quality of whole wheat.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: This baker’s friend really enhances the flavor of the cookie dough.
- Salt: Keeps the cookies from tasting flat.
- Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips: These chips are really the star of the show here. Keep reading for substitutions you can make.
How To Make Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Add the flour and mix just until blended. Fold in the peppermint chips.
Now I realize that not everyone has a stand mixer (or it’s stored in the basement and you don’t feel like hauling it out). You can make the cookie dough with a good hand mixer or even by hand. You’ll probably have to stir the flour in by hand anyways because the dough gets pretty stiff.
On a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper, form a nice even log, about 12 to 14 inches long (or two logs, 6 to 7 inches long). Wrap the paper around the dough and freeze it for thirty minutes.
Meanwhile, get your oven preheating. After thirty minutes, remove the dough log from the freezer, unwrap it, and slice it into quarter-inch slices. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and bake them.
Shortbread cookies have a higher amount of butter and a lower amount of sugar than butter cookies or sugar cookies. They are not overly sweet cookies and are fairly dense in texture. They do not contain eggs.
Adding eggs will change the texture of your shortbread. The cookies won’t be as crisp and crumbly.
Shortbread is perfect with most any beverage: coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or even wine. Serve shortbread with homemade eggnog, microwave hot cocoa, or a vanilla bourbon fizz. Shortbread makes good dippers for creamy hot chocolate dip, too.
Make It Your Own
- Like mint with chocolate? I love those thin mint Girl Scout cookies, don’t you? Try drizzling these peppermint cookies with melted chocolate chocolate chips. Or, if you love the peppermint/chocolate connection, check out these peppermint chocolate sugar cookies. They are the easiest cut-out cookies to roll out.
- Can’t find Andes Peppermint Chips? Try their Creme de Menthe chips or substitute English toffee chips.
Baked cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to a week in a tightly covered container or in the freezer for up to a month. Make sure they are completely cool before covering.
Unbaked cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to a month, wrapped thoroughly. To bake, remove log from freezer and allow to warm up for a half hour or so. Slice and bake as directed.
More Slice and Bake Cookies
Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Andes peppermint crunch baking chips
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Gradually add flour and mix on low until combined. Add Andes baking chips and continue mixing on low until fully combined.
- On wax paper or parchment paper, form into a 12- to 14-inch log and freeze at least 30 minutes or until firm.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the shortbread dough into ¼ -inch slices and bake for 13 to 15 minutes on parchment lined baking sheets.
Notes
- If you want to make these even more festive, dip cookies halfway into melted chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
- Dough logs can be frozen for up to one month. Wrap well and label. Allow the logs to warm up at room temperature for a half hour before slicing and baking as directed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!Disclosure: This post is a collaboration with United Dairy Industry of Michigan. I was paid to develop and photograph this recipe but my love for butter is 100% the real thing.
Rachel,
Your cookie recipe is a real keeper!! One of the best and easiest shortbread doughs I have worked with in a long time. I am an avid baker and I can usually tell how the recipe will turn out, no disappointment here.
I finally found the Andes baking chips in Target in their Christmas candy section. Thank you for a great recipe.
I’m so glad that you liked this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I made these but used broken up candy canes, they came out great!!!
I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I altered this recipe slightly- I used white sugar instead of icing sugar and I used 7 drops of peppermint essential oil (do Terra) into the dough. I sprinkled a dusting of crushed candy cane onto the top just before baking which gave a little color and touch of chewiness. To make even more festive, I also dusted lightly with confectioners (icing sugar) so they look kinda snowy. I am super happy with them!
Loving your adaptations! I’m so glad you liked these! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this but am wondering if it’s possible to use cookie cutters?
I haven’t tried rolling out the dough or using cookie cutters with this recipe so I can’t promise good results. They hold their shape pretty well, so it could work! Let me know if you try it.
I followed the directions exactly as written and my cookies came out delicious. The combination of flavors with the shortbread and Andes peppermint crunch baking chips were fabulous! Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
These are great, I just made some with the Andes creme de menthe they are just as good thanks for the recipe ❤️
So glad you liked these cookies, Cindi! I can’t wait to try them with the creme de menthe Andes! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I just made a small test batch of these by quartering the recipe, and I substituted crushed soft butter mint-type mints instead of the Andes chips. I’ve not tried Andes chips yet so I’m not sure how the crushed butter mints compare, but I thought the soft butter mints worked really well! I did do something else differently: Instead of rolling into a log, freezing, then slicing, I rolled them individually into small balls and baked right away for 14-15 minutes at 325 (I was experimenting with the baking instructions for another shortbread cookie recipe I saw that used a ball shape) and after they cooled I dipped the bottoms of the cookies into melted semi-sweet chocolate. I’ll definitely be including these in the Christmas treat tins I’m making my coworkers. Happy to find this recipe! :) P.S. The quartered recipe made 12 cookies rolled into a ball shape, and I crushed up 5 mints (“Bob’s Sweet Stripes Soft Peppermint Candies”) which weigh 5 grams each, so when I make a full batch I’ll use approximately 20 mints or 100 grams crushed mints. Like some other commenters, I did find the mixture somewhat crumbly, but it held together well when rolled into balls and baked up wonderfully.
So glad you liked them! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment!
I tried the same recipe…After baking, the cookie expanded and it was flat ..Not sure what mistake I did.
Sorry to hear you didn’t get good results from this recipe, we love it!
These looked so good! Not sure what I did wrong but they are just crumbly. Can I just add water to fix them?
Hmmm, I’ve never had that problem? Did you roll them into a log and freeze? I don’t think water would remedy the problem, unfortunately. It could be related to how you measured the flour. I always spoon it into my measuring cup, I never scoop. Is that what you did?
Mixed up and froze these a few days ago, set the roll out for 30 minutes and baked them just now. DELICIOUS! Tender, not overly greasy like some shortbread, minty-zippy!
YES! So glad you like them! Merry Christmas!