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SHORTBREAD COOKIE BARS all dressed up for Christmas! These shortbread bars are so thick, buttery, and just the perfect amount of sweet.
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Every year my kids and I make giant batches of Christmas cookies to share with friends and family.
We usually do a combination of old favorites and new recipes…the problem is that the new recipes usually become old favorites and our list of ‘must make cookies’ grows every year. 😉
Our baking day gets longer and longer, but we haven’t received any complaints yet about the growing assortment of goodies we pass out. Haha!
One of the ways I like to speed up the process is to make bar cookies.
Bar cookies are great because you spread the dough into one pan and bake it all at once. You don’t need to do a bunch of scooping and baking up multiple cookie sheets.
Traditional shortbread:
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Shortbread is traditionally made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour.
I like to add in a bit of cornstarch to help keep that sandy shortbread texture.
When an all wheat dough gets overworked (which is easy to do!), the cookies get a bit tough. Adding in cornstarch helps prevent that.
We dress them up for Christmas with a hefty dose of red and green sprinkles.
You can make these shortbread cookies thick or thin! We normally bake these in a 10×15 rimmed baking sheet for about 40 minutes.
Today, I’m sharing a thicker version that was baked in a 9×13. You’ll want to bake them an extra 5-10 minutes, just until the edges are golden brown.
However you bake these, thick or thin, they come out so perfect every time. I just love a simple shortbread recipe! Check out my cinnamon sugar shortbread too!
For sharing, I like to stock up on these cookie boxes. They’re budget friendly and friends don’t have to worry about returning them after they finish off their cookies. Plus they’re cute!
More Christmas treats to bake:
- Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Christmas Crack Recipe
- Christmas Crunch Bars
- Soft Ginger Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- Christmas Popcorn
- Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
Christmas Shortbread Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the flour and cornstarch until well combined.
- For thick shortbread bars, pat dough into a 9×13 baking dish. Prick with a fork. For thinner shortbread bars, pat into an ungreased 10×15 rimmed baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork.
- Sprinkle the bars with sprinkles.
- Bake for 50 minutes (40 minutes for thinner bars) or until the edges are lightly golden and the cookie is set.
- Cut into squares while warm, but do not remove from pan until fully cooled.
Peggy says
Is it salted or unslated butter?
Karly says
I use salted butter, but if you use unsalted just add a pinch of salt to the dough. 🙂
Ella says
I was going to make this but was just inquiring if the pan is greased, lined, or nothing. I could not see it in the video or in the recipe. I made a batch of the Fatter cookies and she loved them. Son in law says “double the recipe, please.
Karly says
We do not grease or line the pan. 🙂
Lisa Chmiel says
Looks delicious. I was going to make this but was just inquiring if the pan is greased, lined or nothing. I could not see in the video or in the recipe. Thank you.
Karly says
We don’t grease or line the pan. 🙂
jen says
sounds great and looks delicious! Have you ever tried using cookie cutters on these? Or dipping the bars in chocolate? 🙂
Karly says
Hi Jen! I haven’t tried either of those things, but the chocolate dip sounds delicious! I’m not sure if the dough would hold up to cookie cutters or not – it’s pretty crumbly when you pat it into the pan.
Chris Ade says
I am not sure how much butter to use in the video it shows 2 sticks which is 1 cup but the recipe calls for 2 cups which is 4 sticks of butter. Can you explain.
Karly says
Hi Chris! Please follow the written recipe with 2 cups of butter. 🙂
Sabrina says
great cookies, or bars, thank you! Love the sprinkles that you chose in the photographs too
Vivian @RISVK says
Surely gonna try these on christmas
Karly says
Enjoy!
Therese Melkert says
Mine turned out crumbly and I only cooked for 30 minutes as I could see the edges browning . I did the thick ones.
Karly Campbell says
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that! Did you have your oven at 325?
Maggie Martin says
Daughter is a shortbread nut so I made a batch of the Fatter cookies and she loved them! Son in law says “double the recipe please”.
Thanks Karly! Happy Thansgiving
Maggie
Karly says
Oh yay! Thanks, Maggie! Always appreciate your reviews. 🙂
BRENDA HAY says
Could you dress these up with some other decoration ?
Karly says
Yes, for sure. 🙂