Browned Butter Shortbread
By Morgan BollingPublished on December 14, 2025
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour chilling and cooling
Yield
Makes 48 to 54 cookies
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We give instructions for two different shapes for the cookies, but as long as you roll according to instructions in step 3, you can cut the dough into diamonds, rectangles, squares, or triangles in step 4.
Instructions
- Melt 20 tablespoons unsalted butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling skillet constantly, until milk solids in butter are color of milk chocolate and have toasty aroma, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to bowl of stand mixer. Let cool in refrigerator until opaque in color and completely cool, about 30 minutes. While butter chills, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Whisk 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon baking powder together in medium bowl. In stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat cooled butter, 1⅓ cups (9⅓ ounces) sugar, and ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons water and continue mixing until fully combined, scraping down bowl as needed with silicone spatula. With mixer running at low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Give dough final stir with spatula to ensure no flour pockets remain.
- Transfer dough to counter and divide into 2 equal pieces. Place 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece covered with plastic wrap) in center of large sheet of parchment and press into approximate 4-inch square. Place second large sheet of parchment over dough and roll dough into 10-inch square, about ¼ inch thick. Remove top piece of parchment.
- FOR DIAMONDS: Using pizza cutter or chef’s knife, trim away outer ½ inch of dough to make clean square shape with neat edges. Cut dough lengthwise into 1½-inch-wide strips, then cut diagonally into 1½-inch-wide strips to form diamonds (pieces around edges will not be whole diamonds; this is OK). Slide sheet of parchment onto rimless baking sheet (leaving cookies touching). Repeat with remaining dough.FOR RECTANGLES: Using pizza cutter or chef's knife, trim away outer ½ inch of dough to make clean square shape with neat edges. Cut dough in 3 equal strips lengthwise (about 3 inches each), then cut into 9 equal strips crosswise (about 1 inch each). Slide sheet of parchment onto rimless baking sheet (leaving cookies touching). Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are just golden, 13 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate then let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 10 days.)
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour chilling and coolingYield
Makes 48 to 54 cookiesIngredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
For a salty-sweet shortbread with nutty depth, we started by browning butter, meaning we cooked the butter until it turned toasty-brown and irresistibly fragrant. This imparted a rich butterscotch flavor to the cookie dough. Adding a little milk powder emphasized the sweet dairy notes of the browned butter. Cooling the butter before creaming it with sugar kept the cookies tender and prevented a greasy feel. Lastly, cutting the shortbread both before and after baking ensured beautiful, clean-edged cookies.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
We give instructions for two different shapes for the cookies, but as long as you roll according to instructions in step 3, you can cut the dough into diamonds, rectangles, squares, or triangles in step 4.
Instructions
- Melt 20 tablespoons unsalted butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling skillet constantly, until milk solids in butter are color of milk chocolate and have toasty aroma, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to bowl of stand mixer. Let cool in refrigerator until opaque in color and completely cool, about 30 minutes. While butter chills, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Whisk 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon baking powder together in medium bowl. In stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat cooled butter, 1⅓ cups (9⅓ ounces) sugar, and ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons water and continue mixing until fully combined, scraping down bowl as needed with silicone spatula. With mixer running at low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Give dough final stir with spatula to ensure no flour pockets remain.
- Transfer dough to counter and divide into 2 equal pieces. Place 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece covered with plastic wrap) in center of large sheet of parchment and press into approximate 4-inch square. Place second large sheet of parchment over dough and roll dough into 10-inch square, about ¼ inch thick. Remove top piece of parchment.
- FOR DIAMONDS: Using pizza cutter or chef’s knife, trim away outer ½ inch of dough to make clean square shape with neat edges. Cut dough lengthwise into 1½-inch-wide strips, then cut diagonally into 1½-inch-wide strips to form diamonds (pieces around edges will not be whole diamonds; this is OK). Slide sheet of parchment onto rimless baking sheet (leaving cookies touching). Repeat with remaining dough.FOR RECTANGLES: Using pizza cutter or chef's knife, trim away outer ½ inch of dough to make clean square shape with neat edges. Cut dough in 3 equal strips lengthwise (about 3 inches each), then cut into 9 equal strips crosswise (about 1 inch each). Slide sheet of parchment onto rimless baking sheet (leaving cookies touching). Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are just golden, 13 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate then let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 10 days.)
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