Simple, 3 Ingredient Honey Shortbread

Simple honey shortbread only requires 3 main ingredients, one bowl, and is so easy to mix together. It’s a delicious, light, buttery cookie that pairs perfectly with a hot cup of tea. Glaze them, or leave them unglazed, either way you have a delicious cookie.

Honey shortbread is a simple, easy cookie with just 3 main ingredients. You probably have everything you need right in your pantry! These easy shortbread cookies are crisp and buttery, with a delicate, lightly sweet taste. These are the kinds of cookies you enjoy while you’re sipping a cup of tea in front of the fireplace while a Hallmark movie is on. These one bowl, simple honey shortbread come together in 10 minutes, are frozen for 30 minutes, then baked till golden brown, while the chilling time is not optional, I promise they’re worth the wait!

WHAT IS SHORTBREAD?

Shortbread is actually a traditional Scottish cookie! It uses a very simple, 1-2-3 ratio of ingredients, which is how they get that classic, crisp, buttery, cookie. The ingredients are measured by weight so there’s 1 part sweetener, 2 parts butter, and 3 parts flour. My recipe uses cups, but only after I weighed the ingredients and used the closest possible measurements to make this recipe easy for those who do not have a kitchen scale. (which I recommend getting!)

HONEY SHORTBREAD INGREDIENTS

• Butter
• Honey
• Flour
• Cinnamon
• Salt

HOW TO MAKE 3 INGREDIENT HONEY SHORTBREAD

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, honey, flour, cinnamon, and salt until a dough forms
2. Roll out the honey shortbread dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until it is 1/4 inch thick
3. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the shortbread dough into your desired cookie shape, but leave the dough together
4. Place the honey shortbread dough onto a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and place the baking sheet into the oven
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the shortbread cookies look like a light golden brown
7. Take the tray out of the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the tray before breaking them apart into your cookie shape

MORE CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

EXPERT TIPS

• Read the full recipe before you begin
• Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to make the honey shortbread dough, it would be hard to mix by hand
• Roll out your dough to 1/4 inch thick, this is the best thickness for shortbread
• Cut the cookies into any shape you want, you do not have to do the squares like I did
• Please do not skip the chilling time! This is important to let the dough rest, hydrate, and develop more flavor
• After baking, let the honey shortbread cookies cool completely on the tray before you attempt to separate them
• Glaze these if you want a sweeter cookie, or enjoy a light, delicate buttery cookie if you keep them plain

Did you make this recipe? If you did, I would greatly appreciate you leaving a comment and rating down below! In addition, you can follow me on Instagram, @coleinthekitchen, and tag me so I can see your creation there.

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