Recipe This | Air Fryer Shortbread (2024)

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Air Fryer Shortbread. How to air fry Scottish shortbread fingers, round shortbread biscuits and shortbread balls.

But did you know that this traditional Christmas Scottish biscuit recipe can also be the base for many cookies and has just three ingredients? You can even shape it for any season with any cookie cutters.

We originally shared with you how to make shortbread in an air fryer back in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and have updated it for you again in 2021. Just because its an excuse to eat it again!

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Homemade Shortbread

I love shortbread in the air fryer. I don’t think I said that loud enough I LOVE shortbread. The way it melts in your mouth, the way it breaks away when you eat it, how rich it is because of the butter and of course how easy it is to make.

When I was growing up my mum and dad had this lovely book keeper to help them with their accounts.

He was called Jim and at the time he was in his 60’s and had a really broad Scottish accent and I used to love the way he would say “Samantha” it just sounded do much better than the way my mum would screech it around the supermarket.

At Christmas as a Christmas gift he would always bring us someScottish homemade shortbread and it tasted amazing. It would always be gone in10 minutes and we all thought it was the most delicious cookie we had evereaten.

Ever since then we have becomeaddicted to shortbread. However due to the high quantity of butter in it we haveto save it for special occasions otherwise we would end up super fat and superunhealthy.

But for a treat once in a while,it is delicious and well worth making. Oh, and did I mention the preparation onit is super-fast?

Plus, as well as our free newsletter, we also have a free air fryer mini course. It is ideal for air fryer beginners or those that want to get more confident with their air fryer. The free course runs for 5 days with a new lesson delivered each day to your inbox.

Can I Bake Biscuits In My Air Fryer?

Yes, you sure can. Any air fryer biscuits UK or air fryer cookies US, can be cooked in the air fryer.

Though in my biscuits and cookies recipes, I do recommend you add a layer of foil, like you see below:

This then creates an area for them to sit on, without them sticking to the air fryer basket and keeping your air fryer clean.

What IsShortbread?

If you are not familiar with shortbread it is the Scottish biscuitor as Americans call it, cookie. Famous throughout Scotland and the world,shortbread is rich thanks to its high butter content and perfect for afternoontea.

Shortbread consists of just butter, sugar and flour. Due to the high level of butter, the butter binds it together without the need for milk or eggs.

It also saves washing up as you don’t need one bowl for dry ingredients and one bowl for wet ingredients.

3 Ingredient Air Fryer Cookies

Because shortbread is just 3 ingredients and can be flavoured or can be left as it is, it serves as a fantastic 3 ingredient air fryer cookies recipe.

Something that you can use in so many different ways.

Air Fryer Shortbread Recipe Ingredients

Butter – If you want to know the secret to good shortbread, then its lot of quality butter. You know that thing of how everything tastes better with butter. Well, shortbread has more butter than any other cookie.

Flour – If you can, use a quality flour like bero. Its amazing and it makes your air fryer Scottish shortbread taste so much better and be nice and light and never heavy.

Sugar – The third ingredient is the sugar. Any white sugar you regularly use for baking will work perfectly in this recipe. Avoid brown sugar as it will make the shortbread taste bland.

And that really is it! No kidding this is 3 ingredient air fryer cookies at their best!

Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this shortbread in air fryer, it has just been our Cosori Air Fryer. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of air fryer recipes and perfect for an easy air fryer cookie recipe.

How To Make Air Fryer Shortbread?

Load. Into a bowl load your three ingredients. Aim for your butter in small chunks and then it makes the process even faster.
Mix. Using your hands rub the butter into the sugar and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then form it into a soft dough ball. Because of the high butter in Scottish shortbread it doesn’t need water or milk to bind.
Cut. Sprinkle your worktop with flour and roll out your shortbread dough. Then use a cookie cutter to do whatever shapes you want. Such as using an angel or a tree for Christmas or a pumpkin at Halloween.
Cook. Load into the air fryer on a bed of foil and cook for 8 minutes at 180c/360f.
Cool. Allow to cool before decorating or serve plain.

Can You Make Shortbread With Self Raising Flour?

You will be surprised to learn, that I recommend shortbread with self raising flour. One of the secrets to the best shortbread recipe UK is that you use self raising over plain flour.

That is because it puffs it up and makes it much bigger once cooked. It also means you need less dough to make a good batch.

Apart from my recommendation for using self raising over plain this is very much a traditional shortbread recipe that people in the UK have been making for many decades.

How Long To Cook Shortbread?

Shortbread is very quick at cooking in the air fryer and takes JUST 8 minutes. You don’t need to preheat the air fryer, as that’s 8 minutes from placing them in a cold air fryer.

More Air Fryer Cookie Favourites

Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
Air Fryer White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Air Fryer Oatmeal Cookies
Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies
Air Fryer Smartie Cookies

Print Recipe

Air Fryer Shortbread

Air Fryer Shortbread. How to air fry Scottish shortbread fingers, round shortbread biscuits and shortbread balls.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time18 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Air Fryer

Servings: 6

Calories: 408kcal

Author: RecipeThis.com

Ingredients

Kitchen Gadgets:

Air Fryer
Foil

Air Fryer Shortbread Recipe Ingredients:

Metric – Imperial

Instructions

Load into a bowl your flour, sugar, and butter. If you have not done so already, use a knife to chop your butter into small chunks as it will make the prep quicker.
Using your hands rub the fat into the flour and sugar until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then combine together and knead a little until it makes a soft shortbread dough.
Flour a clean kitchen worktop and flour a rolling pin too and roll out your shortbread.
Use cookie cutters if making festive shortbread or use rounds for traditional shortbread cookies and cut into your desired shapes.
Add a layer of foil into the air fryer basket and then place the shortbread over it.
Air fry for 8 minutes at 180c/360f then allow to cool.

Notes

Festive. If decorating wait until cool before adding decorations to your shortbread.

Size. You can do any shape or size that you want. You can also make shortbread balls with the leftovers like I do.

Additions. You can also add in extras such as chocolate powder, chocolate chips, vanilla essence etc.

Thanks for reading our air fryer shortbread recipe on Recipe This. We have many more air fryer recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like to try more air fryer baking recipes, I recommend you try our air fryer chocolate cake next.

Nutrition

Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Recipe This | Air Fryer Shortbread (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to shortbread? ›

For great shortbread, regardless of your chosen recipe:

Sift the flour before mixing to help remove lumps.
Avoid over-mixing the dough.
Score the surface for even baking without bubbles or cracks.
Chill the shaped dough thoroughly before baking.
Cut the shortbread while it is still warm, for smooth, even slices.

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What are common mistakes when making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

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How to know if shortbread is cooked? ›

Check doneness by looking for an even, light brown colour across the top of the biscuits, with slight darkening at the edges. Begin checking at the tail end of the cooking time. Undercooked shortbread will be doughy and chewy. Slightly overcooked and it will become chalky, brittle and hard.

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Why is my shortbread not crunchy? ›

One thing to check is your baking time and temperature. Make sure you're baking it long enough and at the right heat to get that golden crispiness. Also, try using colder butter and chilling your dough before baking—it helps with the texture. Hopefully, these tips get your shortbread back to its crispy glory!

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Is powdered sugar or granulated sugar better for shortbread? ›

Takeaway: look for recipes that use granulated sugar for a more crisp-style shortbread and powdered sugar for a more tender shortbread!

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What is the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

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Is it best to chill shortbread dough before baking? ›

Chill Before Baking

The goal is to ensure the butter in the dough is cold when it goes into the oven. This will prevent the shortbread from spreading.

Why poke holes in shortbread? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

What happens if you don't poke holes in shortbread? ›

Creating little holes in the top of the shortbread helps any moisture escape from the dough so it cooks more evenly, this also helps create the very 'short' texture of the biscuits. In baking terms, 'short' means crumbly with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

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Should butter be cold when making shortbread? ›

Fine Cooking explains that the butter should be at refrigerator temperature. While many cookie recipes call for softened butter or at room temperature, if your butter isn't cold when making shortbread, it's likely to turn out greasy or be difficult to roll out.

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What happens if you use self-raising flour instead of plain flour in shortbread? ›

Shortbread is not usually leavened, and self riding flour contains leavening. This will cause the short bread to rise and spread similar to a sugar cookie, and will make the shortbread more crumbly.

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What happens if you put too much butter in shortbread? ›

Using too much butter will: Cause your cookie to spread out way too much during baking. Cause your cookie to brown.

What happens if you don't chill shortbread dough? ›

After shaping the cookies, don't rush to the oven! Instead, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so (overnight is OK, too). A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much.

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Is shortbread meant to be soft when it comes out of the oven? ›

If the shortbread has been properly mixed and kneaded and has risen after baking at the right temperature at the right time. It should be a nice golden colour but will be soft when removed from the oven so until it has cooled and hardened it cannot be judged.

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How to crisp up shortbread? ›

Return to the 350F oven, BUT IMMEDIATELY TURN THE OVEN OFF! Let sit on the baking sheet in the still-warm oven for 30-45 minutes. (30 minutes for a lightly crisp, light coloured cookie or up to 45 minutes for a crispier, lightly golden cookie). Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

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Should you chill shortbread dough before rolling? ›

Roll out the shortbread dough.

Note: if the dough is too soft at this point then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or longer until it firms up slightly and makes it easier to roll out. Keep an eye on it as if the dough is too hard, it will crack when you try to roll it out.

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How do you keep shortbread from falling apart? ›

Start with a teaspoon of fat and mix your dough well. If the dough is still falling apart, you can keep adding more in small increments. And at the end of the day, you can always add a little bit of water as well if your shortbread still hasn't formed a cohesive dough.

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