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These Easy Peppermint Holiday Shortbread Cookies are super simple and super delicious. They make the perfect addition to your holiday cookie trays! These slice and bake cookies are crispy and buttery, and only need a few ingredients and can be made in no time!
These Shortbread Peppermint Cookies are the easiest holiday cookies to make! They are great with a cup of coffee, tea or simply dipped into a glass of milk. Great for the family or as an easy holiday gift, or cookie exchange parties.
If you’re looking for more cookie recipes, why not also try my Danish Butter Cookies Recipe and my Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies!
Why you’ll love these Holiday Shortbread Cookies
- Delicious homemade shortbread. Buttery, crumbly and utterly delicious!
- Mint cookies. Made with peppermint chips, these cookies have a pop of peppermint they works perfectly with the buttery shortbread.
- Easy shortbread cookies. These are slice and bake cookies, made with only six ingredients, easy to whip up. Perfect for a hectic holiday kitchen!
Shortbread Cookie Ingredients
- Butter– shortbread cookie cannot be shortbread cookies without all the buttery goodness.
- Confectioner Sugar-gives cookies a smoother texture and easier to mix.
- Vanilla Extract-add flavor to the cookies.
- Flour- I used all purpose flour. Sift and measure well.
- Salt-balances the sweetness.
- Peppermint Baking Chips-use any kind, just as long as they are chip sizes.
How to Make Easy Shortbread Cookies
- Make the shortbread dough. With a stand mixer, mix butter, vanilla, powdered sugar until creamy.
- Mix the dough: Add in your flour/salt mixture. Finally add in the mint baking chips.
- Knead: Lightly knead the dough with your hand and form a log shaped dough.
- Roll: Roll the dough into a long with equal thickness from one end to another.
- Chill the dough. Roll the dough into a log, cover in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 3hrs.
- Make the cookies. Slice the log into 1/4″ discs. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake. In an oven at 350 F, bake for 10-13 mins or right until the bottom and edges start browning.
- Allow to cool, serve and enjoy!
Tips to Make these Butter Shortbread Cookies
- Use a preheated oven.
- Roll dough evenly sized from one end to another.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the cookies from the dough log.
- Make sure the log is cold not soft before cutting, as well as bake while the cut out cookies are cold.
- Do not grease the pan before adding the cookies on it to bake.
- Bake the cookies on a sheet lined with parchment paper, for easy removal and clean up.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer into the cooling rack.
- If you want to make these even more festive, dip cookies halfway into melted chocolate and cover with Christmas sprinkles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shortbread should usually have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into them. Shortbread should not generally be damp or soggy underneath. Shortbread cookies should be light golden brown which isn’t much different to the color of the dough.
Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days at it’s best but they can last longer.
You can prepare and freeze the dough for up to a month in advance. Be sure to wrap well with food plastic wrap and keep in an airtight container.
If you are freezing cooked cookies, allow the cookies to cool completely and stack in layers in an air tight container, separated with parchment paper.
The cookies will be starting to change color on the bottom and sides when they ready to be taken out of the oven. The longer they cook, the crispier they will be.
Butter cookies are actually better than shortbread cookies! The main difference between the two is the amount of sugar and the baking temperature.
Shortbread Cookies Variation
- Use almond extract to give the cookies a different flavor.
- Add zesty flavors like lemon zest or orange zest.
- Try mixing in finely chopped nuts instead of peppermints.
- Add sprinkles to the cookie dough.
- Top with coarse colored sugar.
- Top with icing sugar and use different toppings to decorate the cookies.
- Dip the cookies with chocolate.
Other Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies
- Maamoul Date Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Icing
- Strawberry Jam Linzer Cookies
- Buckeye Candy Balls
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this Peppermint Holiday Shortbread Cookies. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
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Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup peppermint baking chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times so everything is well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt.
- Reduce the mixer to its lowest speed. Gradually add the flour and salt mixture to the beaten butter mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Add the peppermint baking chips and mix with a spatula or with the mixer on its lowest speed.Note: The dough should be firm but still pliable. It should hold its shape when rolled into a log without crumbling or feeling overly soft or sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper lightly sprinkled with flour. Roll the dough into a 10-inch log, about 2-3 inches thick.
- Wrap the dough in parchment paper and refrigerate for about 3 hours or overnight. Once firm, use a sharp knife to cut it into slices about ¼ inch thick.
- Arrange the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Notes and Recipe Tips
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight. Make sure the log is firm before slicing, and keep the sliced cookies cold until you’re ready to bake them.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper instead of greasing it. This also makes the cookies easier to remove and cleanup easier.
- For a festive option, dip the cooled cookies halfway into melted chocolate and finish with Christmas sprinkles.
Where do I get peppermint baking chips ? Is there a brand name u use?
Thank you .
They are usually at the stores. I got mine from tjmaxx once. I can’t remember the brand. I can check and see if I have any more and email you. But you can always get them on amazon.
I followed the directions to a T. I baked the cookies they didn’t get a gold brown yet the chips melts and that is all that turned brown. Help any suggestions to why?
Sometimes the temperature of the room and ovens are different than others, you may need to cook it just a tiny bit more until you get light brown color on the edges. As for the candy, I am not sure how different brands will cook. I got my chips from Homegoods, I can’t really remember the brand but it was pretty good.