These Holiday Shortbread Cookies have just five base ingredients: butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, flour, and salt. Put these cookies in your “best recipe” category. If shortbread isn’t in your best ever cookie category, it should be. I first came across this much-loved recipe as lemon lavender cookies when Jennifer Dickie won “best cookie” at the 2014 Indiana State Fair. Gold Medal Flour supported the contest. For a base recipe, left out the lemon zest and lavender, and added vanilla. You can find that lemon lavender cookie recipe at our sister site StateFairRecipes.com. After tweaking the amount of flour and upping the butter (because, why not) we got the exact texture we wanted. Butter gives this cookie its melt-in your-mouth texture. You’re going to love them!

Holiday Shortbread Cookies-Make Your Colors Pop

Added 12/29/2020: I’ve been asked about the color intensity of these cookies. I used-and loved-Amoretti’s Natural Red Food Color. As a result, the shortbread takes on a deep rich color that really pops. Another benefit: you need far less that most other food colorings to achieve an intense color.

If you’re a big fan of colorful cookies, be sure to also try these raspberry sweet treats.

Enjoy-

Cyndi