Enjoy this amazing recipe for Italian whipped shortbread cookies and make a batch this coming weekend. It requires 20 minutes of hands-on time to make the world's best butter cookies. They are just what you need for your cup of tea or coffee!
After I made traditional French butter biscuits, I came up with another idea of making Italian butter cookies.
They both call for the same basic ingredients, but these Italian shortbread cookies are fluffier than the French palet Breton.
They are even lighter than the regular shortbread cookies due to their unique technique of making the shortbread dough.
No wonder once you give it a try, you will consider this recipe the best butter cookie recipe ever.
I slightly adapted it from the authentic recipe created by the famous Italian chef Iginio Massari, who owns a pastry shop, “Pasticceria Veneto,” in Italy. So, as you can imagine, this recipe is for real Italian bakery cookies.
So, why not follow this Italian butter cookie recipe and bake the cookies yourself? Not only will you make up to 25 of them at once, but a homemade dessert is always divine. You will love the recipe!
Jump to:
- Whipped shortbread cookies
- The best butter for baking cookies
- Piping whipped shortbread cookies
- Italian shortbread cookies variations
- Why the Italian butter cookie recipe works
- Ingredients
- How to make Italian butter cookies
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- More delicious cookie recipes you will love
- Recipe card
- Comments
Whipped shortbread cookies
These cookies categorized as shortbread are also called whipped shortbread cookies or melt in your mouth shortbread cookies. Why?
The matter is that there is one secret to their delicateness and “melt-in-your-mouth” quality: whipping the butter/sugar mixture for about 10 minutes.
This step adds more air to the cookie batter, which gives additional lightness and tenderness to the cookie texture after baking. If you have ever heard about the expression "5-star shortbread cookies," this is the case!
The best butter for baking cookies
The main ingredient of these Italian shortbread cookies is butter. It is responsible for the dough texture, cookie flakiness, and buttery taste.
So, which butter to buy to get the beautiful texture and flavor of baked cookies? It is recommended to use a high-quality European-style butter with lower water content and more butterfat (from 82 to 87 percent). This extra fat helps create better flakiness.
European-style butter also has a slight tang flavor that is often felt in the baked goodies, but this is the flavor that we appreciate.
Piping whipped shortbread cookies
Once you make the shortbread dough/batter, transfer it to a pastry bag with your favorite tip and pipe right away. Do not chill the dough; otherwise, it will become thicker and more difficult to pipe. If it becomes too stiff to pipe even at room temperature, you can add a few drops of milk.
Pipe the batter in the way you desire, which makes the process of cookie customization enjoyable. The most common piping technique is to create a classic swirl using an open star pastry tip. The larger tip, the better since the batter is quite thick.
Pipping the shortbread cookie batter is very forgiving. Pipe it on the parchment paper till you perfect the shape of the cookies.
If you go wrong, discard the “ugly looking cookie” into a pastry bag and pipe again. Now it becomes obvious why this kind of cookie is called piped cookies.
Italian shortbread cookies variations
You will love to customize the cookies! Using a single recipe, you can get lots of variations. Top cookies with different nuts or chocolate chips before baking and make them extra pretty and tasteful.
Pipe cookies into rosettes and top them with maraschino cherries. Or dip baked cookies in the melted chocolate and then nuts or sprinkles to make these cookies the festive ones.
You can also sandwich two of them with a jam or preserves to make sandwich cookies. Using different decorations, you can even make a beautiful platter of assorted Italian shortbread cookies.
And it does not matter which way you choose to customize them; their flavor is buttery and exceptional.
Why the Italian butter cookie recipe works
- These rich buttery cookies are one of the quickest cookies to make. They require 20 minutes of active, hands-on time and 13 to 15 minutes to bake.
- It is an easy and fun baking project you can make with kids.
- Freezing the batter shaped into cookies for up to 3 months is a great make-ahead option.
- These Italian butter cookies make a great edible gift during the holiday season. First, double or triple the recipe and make a whole batch of these whipped shortbread cookies for a cookie swap. Then, wrap them up or place them in a tin and send them to your family or friends.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
Butter: use the softened European-style unsalted butter. Take it out of the fridge 2 hours before baking. You can also make salted butter cookies using salted butter if you prefer.
Icing sugar: make it at home using a coffee grinder or buy powdered sugar.
Egg yolks: separate egg yolks from egg whites while the eggs are chilled. If you double or triple the recipe during a holiday season, use leftover egg whites to make Brown Butter French Financiers.
Milk: the recipe calls for whole milk.
Vanilla bean: since the flavor makes a difference in making these buttery cookies, it is essential to use the best quality wholesale Madagascar vanilla beans.
Lemon zest: use organic, untreated lemon. The best tool to use is a zester grater to get the zest.
All-purpose flour, baking powder.
How to make Italian butter cookies
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, place softened butter and whip, gradually adding powdered (icing) sugar. Add scraped seeds of vanilla bean, lemon zest, and salt, and continue to whip until light and fluffy for about 10 minutes (photo 1).
In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with milk using a fork. In another bowl, sift half of the flour using a flour sifter. Add egg yolks/milk mixture to the principal preparation, alternating with flour, and beat until well-combined after each addition (photo 2).
Sift the remaining flour with baking powder and combine with a rubber spatula, working from bottom to top (photo 3).
Transfer the cookie batter into a pastry bag with an open star pastry tip and pipe rings onto a baking sheet covered with parchment (photo 4).
Sprinkle cookies with nuts and chocolate chips, or leave them plain. Refrigerate the cookie sheet for about 30 minutes (photo 5).
Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Bake cookies for about 13 to 15 minutes, until the cookie edges are lightly browned (photo 6).
Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Sprinkle cookies with powdered (icing) sugar if you desire.
Expert tips
- Whip the butter/sugar mixture for about 10 minutes to aerate the preparation. It is a mandatory step in making these cookies.
- Use a cookie press if you do not have a pastry bag with a tip.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time. In this case, you will avoid the burning of cookies placed on a lower rack.
Frequently asked questions
How to make Italian shortbread cookies in advance
Cut shortbread cookies out of the dough, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once the unbaked cookies are firm, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for three months. Bake frozen cookies, but add 2 to 4 minutes to the baking time.
How to store shortbread cookies
Store baked shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for one week.
How to freeze shortbread cookies
Place the cooled shortbread cookies in a freezer-friendly container or ziplock bag with parchment paper in between the layers of cookies to prevent them from sticking together.
Freeze cookies for up to one month. To thaw the cookies, remove them from the container/bag, place them on a baking sheet, and let them thaw at room temperature.
More delicious cookie recipes you will love
- Easy Four-ingredient Coconut Macaroons
- Healthy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Valentine’s Raspberry Shortbread Cookies
- Browse all the Cookie Recipes
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PrintRecipe card
Authentic Italian Shortbread Cookies
Enjoy this amazing recipe for Italian whipped shortbread cookies and make a batch this coming weekend. It requires 20 minutes of hands-on time to make the world's best butter cookies. They are just what you need for your cup of tea or coffee!
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 20-25 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4.4 oz (125 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered (icing) sugar
- 2.5 tbsp (40 g) egg yolks (see note #1)
- 3 â…“ tbsp (50 g) whole milk
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp (2 g) baking powder
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 lemon, zest
- 1 pinch of salt
- nuts, chocolate chips (optional)
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
-
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, place softened butter and whip, gradually adding powdered (icing) sugar. Add scraped seeds of vanilla bean, lemon zest, salt and continue to whip until light and fluffy (about 10 minutes).
-
In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with milk, using a fork. In another bowl, sift half of the flour, using a flour sifter. Add egg yolks/milk mixture to the principal preparation, alternating with flour, and beat until well-combined after each addition.
-
Sift the remaining flour with baking powder and combine with a rubber spatula, working from bottom to top.
-
Transfer the cookie batter into a pastry bag with an open star pastry tip and pipe rings onto a baking sheet covered with parchment. Sprinkle cookies with nuts, chocolate chips, or leave them plain. Refrigerate the cookie sheet for about 30 minutes.
-
Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Bake cookies for about 13 to 15 minutes, until the cookie edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Sprinkle cookies with powdered (icing) sugar if you desire.
Notes
- 40 g egg yolks approximately equal 2 raw fresh egg yolks from extra large size chicken eggs.
- Whip the butter/sugar mixture for about 10 minutes to aerate the preparation. It is a mandatory step in making these cookies.
- Use a cookie press if you do not have a pastry bag with tip/s.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time. In this case, you will avoid the burning of cookies placed on a lower rack.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 51 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.7 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 5.4 g
- Cholesterol: 347 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was adapted from https://www.pinellaorgiana.it/ It was originally published in November 2018. The recipe has been re-tested and revised to include improved content and photos. All the posted pictures are mine.
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