Featured in our Spring 2025 Food + Entertaining article, Connections, these simple perfection shortbread bars always get a round of cheers! They are a bit different than traditional shortbread…They’re softer and less crumbly. They’re best eaten fresh out of the oven (and with a piping hot cup of tea!). It’s also fun to add a bit of food coloring to the icing on holidays to make your cookies or bars a bit more festive. They look great dressed up in pink on Valentine’s Day!
Simple Perfection Shortbread Bars
Course: DessertServings
4
servingsIngredients
¾ pound butter (3 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons water
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a 9 x 9-inch pan with wax paper.
- Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, flour and salt together (it will be thick). Press the dough into the pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
- Mix the powdered sugar with water. Drizzle icing on top once the shortbread is cooled. Slice into bars.
Notes
- Recipe from Ruth McKeaney’s book, Hungry for Home: A Year Together at Hillside Farm
- Ruth’s Pro Tip: You can also roll the dough out to roughly ½-inch thick and cut out cookies using a cookie cutter. Bake at 350° until lightly browned on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.