Easy Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

This chocolate chip shortbread cookie combines the best of shortbread cookies with the best of chocolate chip cookies (the chocolate chips!) for a buttery, tender cookie. Just 4 ingredients combine for a delicious bite any time of day!

We love a good buttery shortbread cookie. They are not really crunchy, not really soft, and they just melt in your mouth! The addition of mini chocolate chips to this 3-ingredient shortbread recipe makes this a cookie made in cookie heaven!

Jump to:

• What is the Difference Between Shortbread, Butter, and Sugar Cookies?
• How to Make These Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Some Fun Riffs
• Pro Tips for Making Shortbread Cookies
• How to Shape Shortbread Cookies
• Equipment We Used
• Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Tips
• Other Favorite Cookie, Bar, and Dessert Recipes
• Common Shortbread Cookie FAQ's
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments & Reviews

What is the Difference Between Shortbread, Butter, and Sugar Cookies?

While these cookies are very similar they do have a few differences. In very basic terms,

• Shortbread cookie recipes contain just a few ingredients; butter, sugar, and flour and have a higher ratio of butter to flour. Shortbread is not (usually) very sweet and is baked at a lower temperature. They may tend to spread more than other cookies due to the high butter content. Shortbread should be soft and almost crumbly inside with a little bit of a crisp exterior.
• Butter cookies have a bit higher flour to butter ratio than shortbread and usually have additional ingredients like salt, eggs, and vanilla. They are usually a little sweeter and will hold their shape a little better than a shortbread cookie. Butter cookies also bake at a higher temperature than shortbread cookies.
• Sugar cookies have the highest ratio of flour to butter of these three cookies. They also have additional ingredients like a leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda), salt, egg, and vanilla. They are sweeter than a shortbread cookie, bake at a higher temperature, and hold their shape if cut.

How to Make These Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Combine butter and sugar. Use a hand or stand mixer for easiest results. Doing this by hand takes a little time but works. Mix only until sugar and butter are combined. Over mixing can cause too much air in the dough and might cause the cookies to spread when baking.
• Mix in flour. Mix until completely incorporated with the butter-sugar mixture.
• Add chocolate. We used mini chocolate chips but you can also use regular chips or chop a chocolate bar into pieces. Use the type of chocolate you like - semi-sweet, dark, milk chocolate.
• Form and refrigerate dough. We flatten the dough, wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Chilling the dough helps the cookies hold their shape and have that soft, tender inside.
• Bake and enjoy. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, cut, place on a lined baking sheet, and bake. Let cookies cool and enjoy.

Pro Tips for Making Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are easy to make, but with only a few ingredients they can be a bit tricky. Here are some of our best practices for making a successful shortbread cookie.

Use good quality ingredients

With so few ingredients, each ingredient should be the best quality possible. Focus on the two main ingredients, butter and flour, for the most flavorful and tender cookies.

• Butter. We love Kerrygold butter - it is richer, creamier, and just better than the generic butter we get in the grocery stores. While we usually use unsalted butter, especially for baking, you can use salted butter with no noticeable difference in this recipe. NOTE: We used Land 'O Lakes unsalted butter when shooting the recipe.
• Flour. After doing a side by side test of flour (when making this amazing artisan bread) we were surprised to find that flour made a BIG difference in texture and taste. I now use King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill exclusively. These cookies will work with whatever flour you have, but pick up some King Arthur or Bob's next time you are at the store to see the difference.

Use room temperature butter

It is almost impossible to thoroughly mix butter and sugar if the butter is cold. Remove the butter 1-2 hours before mixing the cookies. If you forget to soften the butter, put it in the microwave on 50% power for 10 second bursts. Turn the stick of butter over with each burst and continue until butter is soft. Yes, I've had to do this! I find it usually takes 3-4 bursts until my butter is soft.

Don't over mix butter and sugar

We generally don't worry about how long we cream the butter and sugar. However, this step incorporates air into the dough and too much air in the shortbread cookie dough can contribute to the cookies spreading too much while baking. Mix just until combined thoroughly.

Place cold dough into the oven for baking

This is one of the most important steps. If the dough is not cold it will tend to spread more than desired. The cookies will still taste good, they just won't have the desired look and shape.

Use a kitchen scale when measuring

Measuring flour with cups is notoriously unreliable, so please use a kitchen scale if you have one! Measuring by weight (with a scale) is much more accurate than measuring by volume (with cups). No kitchen scale? Measure your flour with the scoop and level method for best results!

How to Shape Shortbread Cookies

There are a few options when shaping shortbread cookies. We've done them all and it really is just a matter of preference.

PRO TIP: Remember, the dough needs to be cold before going into the oven!
Refrigerate again after shaping if necessary.

• Cut before refrigerating.
  • Flatten dough with your hand or a rolling pin to desired thickness.
  • Use a cookie cutter or a knife to cut the cookies into desired shapes - circles, hearts, squares, rectangles.
  • Place on a lined baking sheet, cover, refrigerate for at least an hour. Remove and bake in a preheated oven.
• Cut after refrigerating.
  • Flatten dough with your hand or a rolling pin to desired thickness.
  • Wrap dough and refrigerate at least an hour.
  • Remove dough, cut cookies with a cookie cutter or a knife into the desired shape - circles, hearts, squares, rectangles - and place on a lined baking sheet.
  • If the dough is out too long and warms up, refrigerate again before baking.
  • Bake in a preheated oven.
• Slice cookies from a dough log roll.
  • Roll the dough into a log about 1 ½ inches in diameter, wrap tight, and refrigerate at least an hour.
  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice into ¼ inch discs.
  • Place dough slices on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated oven.
• For more information on these techniques visit our Pecan Shortbread Cookies recipe.

Equipment We Used

We use a nonstick silicone baking mat to line our baking sheet pans but you can also use parchment paper. We love using a silpat because it is reusable. Just wash, dry and use again!

Please use a kitchen scale when measuring flour! Measuring flour with cups is notoriously unreliable. A kitchen scale is much more accurate than measuring by volume (with cups). If you don't have a scale measure your flour with the scoop and level method for best results!

Other Favorite Cookie, Bar, and Dessert Recipes

Common Shortbread Cookie FAQ's

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