Best Stamped Shortbread Cookies Recipe
These shortbread-stamped cookies are a treat for both kids and adults. This is a simple and easy recipe to make. They are butter based with a soft crumb that melts in the mouth. This a must-have recipe when you need an afternoon tea cookie. Also, you can use them as a gift or festive treat during the holidays or any time of the year.
Growing up, festive cookies like these were a treat, especially during the holidays. We didn’t have fancy cookie stamps back then, but today, my kids love using them for these buttery, crisp shortbread cookies that hold their beautiful designs.
My mom only made them during Christmas time. The best part? She made tons of these. She used to sell little Christmas hampers with different goodies in them like these Shortbread Stamped Cookies, 3 minute Dark Chocolate Fudge, Coconut Macaroons, Linzer Cookies, Marzipan/Almond Fruits… ah, the lists go on. Now you know why I have a sweet tooth, don’t you?
I loved helping Mom with making these treats, and she loved having a little help from me and my sister. Being a single mom was really hard, yet she made it look effortless.
Back then, she had a few treasured Christmas designs and stamp cookie cutters. And yet, nowadays we are spoiled with lots of choices. Whenever I ever see a stamp cookie cutter – I’m buying it! I have already collected quite a few.
Why You’ll Love This Shortbread Stamped Cookies Recipe
- Holds shape: This cookie stamp recipe keeps designs clear without spreading.
- Crumbly texture: Buttery, soft, melts in your mouth.
- Easy to make: Simple ingredients, no complicated steps.
- Fun for kids: Let them press designs using cookie stamps or textured mats.
- Versatile: Perfect for holiday stamped cookies or any occasion.
Ingredients and substitutes
- All-purpose flour – yes, plain all-purpose flour is what you need for these cookies. NO self-raising flour, no pastry flour. These will spread out.
- Cornstarch – This makes these cookies crumble in the mouth texture. If you omit cornstarch, add some rice flour. Also, you can add all-purpose flour. And yet, the cornstarch and rice flour add nice crispiness.
- Sugars – white sugar adds lightness to the cookies when the creaming method while powdered sugar works best for the texture and consistency of the dough. You can add all white sugar and make sure to cream it well but I find this balance works just perfectly with these cookies keep them crumbly without spreading.
- Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter in my baking. And yet if you have to use salted butter – go ahead and just omit the salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla – A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. Premium vanilla can be expensive which is why I make my own homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.
How to Make Stamped Shortbread Cookies (Step-by-Step)
- Dry ingredients – In a bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
- Dough – In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream butter, sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Followed by the flour mixture. This is a soft dough.
- Chill – Divide the dough into two discs and wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until cold enough to roll
- Roll – Working with one disc at a time. roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Stamp – Dip the cookie stamps in flour and dust off excess. Press firmly to impress but not too much that it cracks the dough. Cut out the cookies.
Pro tip 1 – some stamps come in two parts. Stamp the dough then center the cutter and cut the disc.
Pro tip 2 – Also note, If the dough is too chilled, it will crack when rolling and the stamps will not create an impression.
- Tray – Place cookies on a parchment or silicone-lined baking tray. Chill the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes while the oven is preheating.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F /180 °C / Gas Mark 4
- Bake – Transfer the cookie sheet to the oven. Bake the cookies on the center rack for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Cool – Once baked cool on the cookie sheet for 10 mins then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Pro tip – try not to move them as soon as they are baked. The soft cookies could lose shape.
Tips for Using Cookie Stamps Successfully
- Chill the cookie dough before rolling and baking to prevent spreading.
- Don’t overwork the dough; if it’s stiff, let it sit for a few minutes instead of kneading.
- Keep cookies thick so the stamped pattern stays visible. Thin cookies lose the design while baking.
- Dust cookie stamps with flour to prevent sticking and ensure a clean impression.
- Brush off excess flour after stamping, before baking.
- Bake at 180°C / 360°F for 8–10 minutes. Too low will cause spreading; too high will make cookies hard.
- Use a rolling pin with spacers for even ¼ inch thickness.
- My cookie stamps were 3 inches round and ¼ inch thick.
- Follow this cookie stamp recipe as written for best results. Substitutions may affect the dough.
Troubleshooting Stamped Cookie Dough
- My stamp cookies spread too much in the oven – First, ensure the butter is at room temperature when you start making the cookie dough. Soft butter can cause the cookies to melt when baking. Secondly, bake at the right temperature, a low oven can cause the butter to melt and also spread the cookies.
- My stamped cookies are overbaked – Shortbread cookies typically take between 8 to 10 minutes unless they are rolled too thick. However, the cookies will continue to bake on the hot baking tray even after taking them out of the oven. And yet, if you feel the cookies are very under-baked, you can put them back into the oven for 2 to 3 minutes. But keep a close eye as they can easily over-bake.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Stamped Cookies
Stamped shortbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days. If you want to keep them longer, you can freeze them in an airtight box for up to 2 months.
To prevent stamped cookies from spreading, use room-temperature butter (not too soft), measure flour accurately, and chill the dough before stamping and baking. Also, ensure your oven is preheated to the correct temperature.
Yes, chilling helps the stamped design hold shape during baking and prevents spreading.
Yes, you can chill the dough overnight. In fact, chilling stamped cookie dough overnight helps deepen flavor and improve the stamped design during baking.
Yes! Shape and stamp your cookies, then freeze them in a single layer on a tray. Once frozen, transfer to a zip-top bag and bake from frozen, adding 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
Absolutely! Try adding lemon zest, orange zest, almond extract, or even spices like cinnamon to give your cookies a festive flavor while using your cookie stamps.
The design may fade if the dough is too warm, rolled too thin, or if you don’t press firmly enough when stamping. Always chill stamped cookies before baking and keep the dough thickness at ¼ inch for best results.
Yes, this shortbread stamped cookie dough works well with an embossed rolling pin or cookie stamp set. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness, emboss, and cut out your shapes.
Definitely! This is a perfect holiday stamped cookie recipe for Christmas, Easter, or any festive occasion. Just swap out the stamps according to the season.
This recipe is specifically developed to hold the shape of cookie stamps and embossed designs, making it one of the best recipes for cookie stamps and embossed cookies.
Shortbread Stamped Cookies Recipe
Learn how to make stamped shortbread cookies that hold their shape and don’t spread! This easy recipe makes buttery, crisp cookies perfect for cookie stamps or embossed rolling pins.
Ingredients
- 335 g (2⅔ cups) All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- ½ tsp Salt
- 226 g (1 cup) Unsalted butter room temperature
- 100 g (½ cup) Sugar
- 60 g (½ cup) Powdered sugar confectioners
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Method
- Dry ingredients – In a bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt.335 g All-purpose flour, 2 tbsp Cornstarch, ½ tsp Salt
- Dough – In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream butter, sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Followed by the flour mixture. This is a soft dough.226 g Unsalted butter, 100 g Sugar, 60 g Powdered sugar, 1 Egg, 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Chill – Divide the dough into two discs and wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until cold enough to roll.
- Roll – Working with one disc at a time. roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Stamp – Dip the cookie stamps in flour and dust off excess. Press firmly to impress but not too much that it cracks the dough. Cut out the cookies. Pro tip 1 – some stamps come in two parts. Stamp the dough then center the cutter and cut the disc. Pro tip 2 – Also note, If the dough is too chilled, it will crack when rolling and the stamps will not create an impression.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F /180 °C / Gas Mark 4
- Bake – Transfer the cookie sheet to the oven. Bake the cookies on the center rack for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Cool – Once baked cool on the cookie sheet for 10 mins then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Tips for Perfect Stamped Cookies
- Chill the cookie dough before rolling and baking to prevent spreading.
- Don’t overwork the dough; if it’s stiff, let it sit for a few minutes instead of kneading.
- Keep cookies thick so the stamped pattern stays visible. Thin cookies lose the design while baking.
- Dust cookie stamps with flour to prevent sticking and ensure a clean impression.
- Brush off excess flour after stamping, before baking.
- Bake at 180°C / 360°F for 8–10 minutes. Too low will cause spreading; too high will make cookies hard.
- Use a rolling pin with spacers for even ¼ inch thickness.
- My cookie stamps were 3 inches round and ¼ inch thick.
- Follow this cookie stamp recipe as written for best results. Substitutions may affect the dough.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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I have not tried the recipe yet, but have a question… I have not used corn flour before and while I was looking for info it indicated that corn flour is similar to cornstarch, but definitely not the same. Do you know if it would change the consistency and/or flavor of the shortbread cookies if I were to use cornstarch? Would cornmeal be another option?
Sallie – cornstarch, and cornflour are the same. They are supposed to be flour consistency.
Some places do sell cornmeal as cornflour which is semolina consistency. Please do not use that.
You want cornstarch/cornflour that is a flour consistency. I hope this helps
Thank you!!
Hi, where did you get the cookie stamps.
Tks for sharing
I got them locally here. But, can’t find the same on Amazon.So,I linked similar ones.
I plan to try your recipe but before I do I need clarification on your comment about cornflour. Cornflour is not the same as cornstarch. Cornflour is made from the whole corn kernel and cornstarch is made only from the ground endosperm. So, which do I use? Cornflour has a masa-y flavor while cornstarch has no flavor and acts as a thickening agent.
Carin. I think you are talking about polenta. Cornflour and cornstarch are both flour consistency. That’s what you should use.
Thank you for clarifying. The baking adventure begins tomorrow!
What cookie stamps did you use
Hey Margaret. Sorry, I can’t find the stamps I used on Amazon. I purchased them locally. But, I linked some similar ones on the blog.
These cookies look perfect. WHERE can I get the stamp? I tried some nordic ware stamps but they are really too big, especially if I am baking cookies which will be joined with a butter / fondant filling. I tried an Amazon search and the closest I could find were moulds for moon cakes.
Hey, Allan. These stamps I picked locally. I have not been able to find them overseas or I’d leave a link. Sorry
I am so utterly disappointed in this recipe! I am a baker and have never had a cookie spread as much as these did… I followed the directions precisely and used a kitchen scale in grams to measure everything precisely as well, including the cornstarch (which is what I used in lieu of cornflour as that’s what the comments said to do?? They taste of delicious butter but are far too malformed to display 🙁
Hey Andrea. So sorry to hear that. I’m surprised but not sure I understand why. Cornstarch and cornflour are just two names for the same product. So that is definitely not the issue. I did check the recipe again and everything looks fine.
This is my very standard cookie dough recipe and I’ve used it as a base in many other cookies as well. Some have videos as well so you can see the process. I highly recommend you look at the recipe again to see what could have happened. It is a soft dough which is why we need to chill it but it should not spread in the oven at all.
I’ve added a troubleshooting section just based on your comment.
Also, if you look at the comments below you will see many have had success with this recipe and loved it.
Again, I’m sorry for your outcome. I wish I could help troubleshoot more.
Have a good day.
Hi sweets and thanks for your reply. I chilled the dough 24 hours before molding, allowed the dough to sit for only 5 minutes before molding, rolled the dough to 3/8″ between dough guides, and chilled the molded cookies 2 hours before baking at 340 degrees. I used Argo cornstarch (which is the consistency of baking powder/baking soda/AP flour), even though 30 grams didn’t seem like much compared to the 256 grams of AP flour (for which the recipe has been changed since I printed it last week to 375 grams?!)
Hey Andrea. Sorry to hear that but not sure how?
375 grams sounds about the right amount for 1 cup butter. And so many have tried this recipe before you. You can see in the positive reviews below.
I’m so sorry, not sure what happened when you printed it out. I just printed and my copy has the same as the post.
Cornstarch is definitely not an issue with this recipe but if you used 256 gram flour then yes, that could be the culprit.
I will check with the tech guys to test the print outs but this has not happened before.
Thank you so much for the feedback
Yes, that must be the culprit as I’m looking right at the recipe I printed and it says 256 grams! Phew!!! ! I’m very anxious to try these again. I also have Bird’s Custard Powder so I’ll try that in liue of the cornstarch. I’ll keep you posted – thanks again!!!
Thank you, Andrea. Yes, I do hope you try this recipe again. And again I’m sorry about your print out.
I was surprised to see your comment this morning because it was the first on this one after so many positive ones.
Thank you for being so understanding. Appreciate that.
Have a good day.
OK, I can’t post a photo, but I tried the recipe again and doubled it and have beautiful shortbread now using the proper amount of flour 🙂 Thank you so much! I’m going to try the linzers as well. Have a sweet day!
Yeey, I am so happy to hear that. Again I apologize that you had an issue with the printout before.
Thank you for being so understanding and thanks for the feedback. I’m so happy it all turned out great.
Yes, you must try Linzer cookies with this dough – my kids love it.
Have a great day Andrea.
Oh and you can tag me on any social media @veenaazmanov so I can see your photos. Alternatively, you can upload an image on Pinterest below my image (click add photo). You will find the link in the post. Thanks
Love love love this recipe and the Classic Linzer. Best I’ve ever made. I’d also be interested in the cookie stamp you used if your able to get more from your local shop. Keep these awesome recipes coming and thank you for all the hard work, it’s greatly appreciated! Annie
Hey Annie. So happy to hear you enjoyed both these recipes. I think I still do have two sets which I can send out. Message me on my Facebook page and I can check on shipping for you. Thanks
Love the recipes! I’m very interested in the cookie stamp you used,
Thank you
Rhonda
Hey Rhonda. Sorry, I don’t have any more of these cookie stamps. I don’t sell these but I did buy a few extra when they were available and sent them to the first few that asked for it. But it’s all over now. Thanks
Hi can we make these short bread cookies without egg
I believe some of the girls used 2 tbsp of yogurt instead of the egg.
Thank you for the amazing recipe! How long do these keep, and would you recommend refrigerating or freezing them?
Shortbread cookies have a good shelf life when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They can last for up to two weeks, but they are often enjoyed within a few days due to their deliciousness!
Yes, these cookies freeze well. Place them in an airtight container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Hi Veena.
These cookies were amazing! Going to make these again Can you make these in advance and freeze them? Either baked or unbaked?
Hey Anika. So happy you enjoyed these cookies.
Yes, you can freeze these cookies. personally, I like to freeze them unbaked and bake them fresh. You can also freeze them baked. Wrap them well in parchment then ziplock bag so the condensation will stay on the paper, not the cookies
Thank you so much! Can’ wait to make these 🙂