These whole wheat shortbread cookies are the perfect melt in your mouth butter cookie. They are just the right amount of sweet and super easy to make.
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We love making cookies around here, they are easy to make and always hit the spot when your sweet tooth is being pesky.
These whole wheat shortbread cookies are great because they are less sweet than say a chocolate chip cookie, but they are so mouth wateringly delicious, especially when paired with a cup of coffee or tea.
What's Cool About This Recipe
- 100% whole grain: Like all our cookie recipes, this whole wheat shortbread is made with 100% whole wheat flour. Remember, ther type of whole wheat flour you use matters greatly.
- Not too sweet: One of the things we love about whole wheat butter cookies, they aren’t very sweet, but they still feel like a dessert.
- Easy and Fast: These whip up super fast because you use cold butter (no softening time) and you don’t have to chill the dough.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Whole wheat flour: We use whole wheat flour ground from soft white wheat.
- Sugar: We use granulated raw cane sugar (evaporated cane juice). We have successfully made these cookies with coconut sugar and 1:1 monk fruit sugar replacement. The texture varies a little but they were still yummy.
- Salt: We use fine sea salt.
- Vanilla extract: We like to use pure vanilla extract (one that smells good).
- Butter: The quality of butter you use can make or break your butter cookies. Because the butter taste is so prominent you will want a butter that tastes really good. Our favorite is Kerrygold. We use unsalted, you can use salted, just skip the salt in the recipe.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
- You can add spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or allspice to make spiced shortbread cookies.
- Dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate.
Instruction Photos
Overview of instructions with photos. See recipe card for quantities and full instructions.
Step 1: Cut the cold butter into cubes. In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
Step 2: Add the sugar and vanilla extract, beat until combined and fluffy.
Step 3: Add the flour and salt, mix on low speed until combined and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 4: If the mixture isn’t combing together with the mixer, use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together.
Step 5: Place the dough onto a floured surface and roll into a 4x9 inch rectangle.
Step 6: Cut into twelve 1x3 inch pieces (4 on the short side and 3 on the long side).
Step 7: Place the cookies 1 - ½ inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Step 8: Bake for 12-14 minutes at 325°F or until the edges are slightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. If the cookies spread a little while baking you can use a butter knife to gently push them back into shape right after they come out of the oven.
Serving Suggestions
Some of our favorite ways to serve whole wheat shortbread cookies are:
- With coffee or tea
- Dipped in chocolate
- With ice cream
- On their own as a dessert or snack
Storage
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag at room temperature for 4-6 days.
How to Freeze
Place cookies into a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Tips From Our Kitchen
Do not chill the dough, it becomes too hard to roll out and will just crack. If you need to chill it, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before rolling out.
These cookies are actually better the next day, so they are great to bake ahead of time.
If your altitude is 3000’ or higher add 1-2 tablespoons extra flour to the dough.
FAQ
If your cookies spread while baking, they probably need more flour. For the most accurate results use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients.
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Whole Wheat Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter cold
- ¼ cup (52 g) granulated cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups (150 g) soft white wheat flour whole wheat pastry flour
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉ with the rack in the center or upper third position.
- Cut ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter into cubes.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add ¼ cup (52 g) granulated cane sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, beat on medium speed until combined and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Add 1¼ cups (150 g) soft white wheat flour and ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Knead together with your hands until the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and roll into a 4x9 inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife dusted with flour, cut into twelve 1x3 inch pieces, (3 on the long side and 4 on the short side).
- Place about 1½ inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. If the cookies spread a little while baking, use a butter knife to gently push them back into shape while they are still hot from the oven.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
We calculate these nutritional facts using an estimate and they can vary drastically between ingredients used and measuring technique. So, they are not intended for medical use.
Noelle
These beat Walker’s and have been deemed “the best cookies ever” by my entire family.
WholeWheatKitchen
That just made our day! Thanks for telling us!
Lori Boyd
These were so easy to make and delicious!
WholeWheatKitchen
Awesome! We’re so glad you like them!
Karey
These are easy fresh milled flour recipe. So good. I doubled it, upped the salt to 1 tsp, used unsalted butter. I baked them into a parchment lined 13x9 glass Pyrex dish. After pressing into the parchment I used a small rolling pin to press evenly while using the butter paper between to keep from sticking to roller. Baked them at 325 for 10 min- removed from oven and cut into 7 - 1” lengthwise slices, then cut the width side into 4 bars=28 bars. Poke bars 3 times with fork. Bake 10
Karey
These are easy fresh milled flour recipe. So good. I doubled it, upped the salt to 1 tsp, used unsalted butter. I baked them into a parchment lined 13x9 glass Pyrex dish. After pressing into the parchment I used a small rolling pin to press evenly while using the butter paper between to keep from sticking to roller. Baked them at 325 for 10 min- removed from oven and cut into 7 - 1” lengthwise slices, then cut the width side into 4 bars=28 bars. Poke bars 3 times with fork. Bake 10 min more. I used my convection setting. So good!!
WholeWheatKitchen
We’re glad you liked the recipe! Thank you for letting us know how it worked out for you!