Toffee Shortbread Cookies are made with just a few simple ingredients and easy to customize and make your own. They are sublime, buttery, and perfect for the holiday baking or a cookie exchange!
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add powdered sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla. Beat at low speed until combined.
Add toffee bits and chocolate chips if using (I like to split my dough in two, do half with no chocolate, and add ¼ cup chocolate chips to half of my dough). The dough should be tacky but not stick to your hands.
Divide the dough in two and shape it into a cylinder about 2" in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice each cookie dough roll into 12–14 cookies, ½" thick, to ensure even baking and a good texture. Place the cookie dough slices on prepared pans (leave the extra dough in the fridge until ready to slice and bake).
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are just golden brown. If your cookies spread slightly or the toffee melts out, you can use a knife or round cookie cutter to quickly reshape the cookies while they are hot.
Chocolate Drizzle
Place chocolate in a medium glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water.
Stir the chocolate until melted.
Drizzle over the cookies as desired.
Notes
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Butter: I have tested this recipe with hard margarine (that is not spreadable out of the fridge) and it does work, but they will spread more and be thinner than if you use butter. Butter is the best option, but if you need a vegan dessert, very hard margarine will work in a pinch (just don't say I didn't warn you).
Flour: It's best to stick to all-purpose flour for this recipe to achieve the desired texture and taste. The amount of flour is very important here, as you do not want your cookies to lose their shape when baking and you don't want them dry and crumbly. I recommend using a scale to weigh your flour, or fluff the flour and spoon it into a measuring cup, then level off the top of the cup with a knife.
Salt: I like my shortbread cookies with a noticeable amount of salt (don't knock it til you try it!). If you are using salted butter and don't like to have that bit of salt to offset the sweetness, you can omit the salt. Believe it or not, salt is crucial to all sweets and desserts.
Toffee bits and chocolate chips: feel free to add more chocolate chips, or to switch up the mix-ins in this recipe! This is my favorite combo, but lots of others will work. Nuts, dried fruit, other chocolates, etc.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: To prep ahead for the holiday season, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer. When you’re ready to bake cookies, simply thaw the dough in the refrigerator, slice, and bake as directed.
Store: Store Toffee Shortbread Cookies in an airtight container once they have cooled completely on the wire rack. Ensure that the container is sealed tightly. If stored properly at room temperature, the cookies can remain fresh for up to a week.
Freeze: Place your cooled cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the cookies to a freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months!