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    Home » Recipes » Cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes

    Easy shortbread stars - a 3-ingredient recipe

    Published: Nov 20, 2021 · Modified: May 31, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to recipe Jump to video

    These easy shortbread stars are so crispy and buttery, and taste to moreish! It's hard to stop at eating just one. They have a melt-in-the-mouth texture and an incredible buttery taste, yet they are made with only 3 ingredients. What's more, they only take minutes to mix and bake.

    Shortbread stars in a tin with a picture of a stag's head, next to a strand of red beads for decoration.

    These shortbread stars stay fresh for up to a week in an airtight tin, so you won't have any excuses for not having any biscuits when friends drop in for a coffee.

    Jump to:
    • Easy homemade shortbread
    • Ingredients
    • How to make homemade shortbread
    • Convert and scale the shortbread recipe
    • Questions
    • Save for later
    • Related recipes
    • 📋The recipe

    Easy homemade shortbread

    I love homemade shortbread. It's such a delicious biscuit to have on hand for those times when you need to relax with a cup of tea or coffee. This 3 ingredient shortbread recipe is one of my favourites. I've been making it for years and it never fails. I normally make it in a round tin and cut it into triangles, (or petticoat tails as they are sometimes known) in the traditional way. But because Christmas is coming, I decided to make festive shortbread stars instead.

    I think you'll love this recipe too.

    • You only need three ingredients - can't get much easier than that!
    • You can use a food processor to mix it up, or if you don't have one, it mixes just as easily with a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease.
    • This shortbread doesn't need any frosting - a light dusting of caster sugar on top as the shortbread comes out of the oven is all you need.
    • Because this is such an easy recipe, it's perfect for youngsters to make.
    • Packed into a pretty tin, this shortbread makes the perfect Christmas gift.
    Close up of a shortbread star dusted with caster sugar.

    Ingredients

    These are the 3 ingredients you will need:

    Ingredients for homemade shortbread.

    The recipe is very easy to remember. It's just 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part sugar by weight. For those of you who use cups or millilitres as measurements (ie volume rather than weight), I've done the conversion for you. Read the paragraph convert and scale the recipe for the details.

    Flour - you will need plain all-purpose flour (or cake flour) - not self-raising flour. There is no leavening agent in this recipe.

    Butter - salted or unsalted is fine. If you use unsalted butter you may like to add half a teaspoon of salt to the mixture. I just used salted butter instead.

    Caster sugar - I like to use caster sugar rather than granulated sugar because caster sugar is finer and dissolves more easily into the dough. If you only have granulated sugar, you can use it but you will have to beat it with the butter for a bit longer to give the sugar time to break down and incorporate into the butter.

    Vanilla essence - this is optional. I don't normally use it in this recipe but you can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence if you like.

    How to make homemade shortbread

    I like to make the shortbread in a food processor because it takes all the hard work out of creaming the butter and sugar. You can use a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl if you prefer, but you will have to beat the butter and sugar for much longer to get the creamy consistency we are looking for.

    Steps for mixing the shortbread dough.
    • Start by creaming the butter and sugar in a food processor. You should let the food processor run for at least three minutes until all the sugar is incorporated into the butter, and the mixture has turned into a pale and creamy paste (image 1 above).
    • Add the flour (about one quarter at a time) and process until just combined (image 2 above). Once the flour has been fully incorporated the dough should come together if you squeeze it gently in your fingers (image 3 above).
    • Tip the flour mixture from the food processor and press it gently together into a soft ball. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and place the dough into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to allow the butter to harden slightly.

    Roll and bake

    Steps for rolling and baking the shortbread stars.
    • Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about one-quarter of an inch in thickness and cut into shapes using a star cutter (image 1 above).
    • You can press any remaining scraps of pastry together and re-roll to get more biscuits. If the pastry becomes greasy and difficult to roll, just put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes to let the butter harden again.
    • Place the biscuits onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment or a silicone baking mat to prevent them from sticking to the baking tray. Prick the shortbread with a fork to form the distinctive holes (image 2 above).
    • For an even crispier biscuit, refrigerate the tray of biscuits for about 15 minutes before putting it into the oven. (I didn't bother with this step and my shortbread had the perfect texture).
    • Bake in a preheated oven (180C / 350F) for 10 to 12 minutes. Don't do as I did and let them get too brown. You need to check on them at the 10-minute mark and remove them from the oven as soon as they show signs of browning. I turned my back for literally a few seconds! You will know your shortbread is cooked (even if it hasn't started to brown) when it starts to smell like biscuits rather than dough.
    • Dust the biscuits lightly with a little extra caster sugar as soon as they come out of the oven, while they are still hot. The biscuits will be very soft as they come out of the oven, but they will harden and turn crispy as they cool.
    • Let them cool on the baking tray and then store them in an airtight tin in a cool place. These biscuits will stay fresh for up to a week.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    Convert and scale the shortbread recipe

    As I mentioned above, you need a ratio of 3 : 2 : 1, for the flour, butter, and sugar.

    Unfortunately, this ratio will only work for weight-based measurements such as grams and ounces. This is because a cup of sugar and a cup of flour both take up the same volume, but a cup of sugar weighs more than a cup of flour on a scale.

    Don't worry, I've done the conversion from weight to volume for you in the tables below, and scaled the recipe so you can easily make larger or smaller batches.

    I've rounded up the cup measurements to the most sensible amount (ie the nearest quarter cup) so you may find you get one or two extra biscuits if you use the cup measurements.

    8 shortbread stars

    IngredientOuncesGramsUS CupsMillilitres
    Flour390½ cup + 2 Tbsp145
    Butter260¼ cup60
    Sugar1302½ Tbsp35

    16 shortbread stars (this is in the recipe card)

    IngredientOuncesGramsUS CupsMillilitres
    Flour61801¼290
    Butter4120½120
    Sugar260¼70

    24 shortbread stars

    IngredientOuncesGramsUS CupsMillilitres
    Flour92701¾435
    Butter6180¾180
    Sugar390¼ cup + 3 Tbsp105

    32 shortbread stars

    IngredientOuncesGramsUS CupsMillilitres
    Flour123602½580
    Butter82401240
    Sugar4120½ cup + 2 Tbsp140

    Questions

    Why is shortbread pricked with a fork?

    Shortbread is pricked with a fork to allow the heat to penetrate easily and ensure that the shortbread cooks evenly. The distinctive holes have become synonymous with shortbread.

    Where did shortbread originate?

    Shortbread originated in Scotland, and Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived in the mid-16th century, was said to be very fond of Petticoat Tails.

    Why is it called shortbread?

    In baking terms, a dough is termed 'short' if it has a high proportion of butter (or fat) to flour. Shortbread was originally made with scraps of dough left over from bread-making. Over the years it evolved, with the addition of sugar and the yeast being replaced with butter.

    Save for later

    If you would like to make these shortbread stars yourself, why not pin the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

    Related recipes

    If you enjoyed these shortbread stars, you might like to try some of my other festive recipes:

    • A dish of chocolate truffles, rolled in coocnut and chocolate sprinkles, in front of a bottle of Baileys.
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    • Walnut crescent cookies on a doily.
      Walnut crescent cookies (Vanillekipferl)
    • A silver dish of Christmas mince pies in front of a pile of red and white tinsel.
      Christmas Mince Pies
    • A plate of Christmas fruit pinwheels.
      Christmas mince pinwheels

    You can find all of these and similar recipes on my Christmas recipes page

    📋The recipe

    Shortbread stars in a tin with a picture of a stag's head, next to a strand of red beads for decoration.

    Easy shortbread stars - only 3 ingredients

    These easy shortbread stars are so crispy and buttery, and taste to moreish! It's hard to stop at eating just one piece. They have a melt-in-the-mouth texture and an incredible buttery taste, yet they are made with only 3 ingredients. What's more, they only take minutes to mix and bake.
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Baking
    British
    Calories 190
    Prep 20 minutes minutes
    Chilling time (if needed) 15 minutes minutes
    Cook 12 minutes minutes
    Total Time 47 minutes minutes
    Servings: 16 biscuits
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
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    4.67 from 3 votes

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Food processor
    • Baking sheet
    • Rolling Pin
    • Star cookie cutter

    Ingredients

    • 6 ounces / 180 grams plain all-purpose flour
    • 4 ounces / 120 grams butter
    • 2 ounces / 60 grams caster sugar
    • 1 tablespoon caster sugar to sprinkle on top of the biscuits
    • ½ teaspoon salt optional
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla essence optional

    Instructions

    • Cream the butter and sugar together using either a food processor or a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. The mixture should come together into a creamy paste.
    • Add the flour (¼ at a time) and process until just combined. The dough should hold its shape when squeezed gently in your fingers.
    • Once combined, tip the mixture out of the food processor and press it together with your fingertips until it forms a smooth ball.
    • Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill.
    • Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F
    • Roll the chilled pastry to ¼-inch thickness and cut it into shapes using a star cutter.
    • Place the biscuits onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment or a silicone baking mat to prevent them from sticking to the baking tray. Prick the shortbread with a fork to form the distinctive holes.
    • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
    • Remove from the oven and dust the biscuits lightly with caster sugar while they are still hot.
    • Allow them to cool on the baking sheet and then transfer them to an airtight tin.

    Notes

    Do be careful when baking the biscuits - they can turn from perfectly cooked to burned and brown in the blink of an eye.  The biscuits will be cooked when they start to smell like cookies and not like raw dough.
    The biscuits will be soft when they come out of the oven but they will harden as they cool.
    See the actual post for details of how to scale the recipe and convert the ingredient measurements into US cups and millilitres.

    Nutrition

    Calories - 190kcal | Carbohydrates - 12.3g | Protein - 1.2g | Fat - 6.2g | Saturated Fat - 3.9g | Cholesterol - 16mg | Sodium - 43mg | Potassium - 14mg | Fiber - 0.3g | Sugar - 3.8g | Calcium - 3mg | Iron - 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

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