Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

These all-natural raspberry shortbread cookies are buttery, tender, and laced with a sharp fruity punch thanks to freeze-dried raspberries. They’re based on my classic shortbread, so they’re easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. Finished with a drizzle of white chocolate or served plain, these cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day, tea parties, or anytime you’re craving that classic shortbread melt with a pop of raspberry.

This raspberry shortbread cookie recipe is an update of the original recipe. I added more freeze-dried raspberries for a stronger flavor and replaced the ruby chocolate with white chocolate because ruby chocolate is hard to find.

What Makes This Raspberry Shortbread Recipe Different

I created this recipe because I love both shortbread and raspberry and they're incredible together in this cookie. The goal was to get bold, all-natural raspberry flavor without compromising the buttery, tender texture of classic shortbread.

Key ingredients that make this cookie work:

• Freeze-Dried Raspberries: Add concentrated flavor without the moisture that would come from frozen or fresh raspberries. The cookie texture stays tender and the freeze-dried fruit brings a sharp berry flavor to the rich, buttery base.
• Vanilla Extract + Almond Extract: I love this combination. The vanilla enhances the sweetness of the raspberry flavor and the almond extract surprisingly enhances the raspberry flavor.

If you're already a fan of classic shortbread or looking for something similiarly fruity I recommend my strawberry shortbread cookie shortbread cookie, or the pistachio with raspberry glaze.

Raspberry Shortbread Cookie Ingredients

Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

Step 1: Cream the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and almond extract until creamy.

Step 2: Add the flour and mix on low speed until it's mixed in and the dough is crumbly.

Step 3: Add the pulverized freeze-dried berries to the dough.

Step 4: Mix in the berries until the dough has a marbled appearance.

Step 5: Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface. As you can see it's still crumbly.

Step 6: Knead the dough together and shape into a rectangle

Step 7: Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness.

Step 8: Cut out your shapes using your favorite cookie cutter.

Step 9: Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Step 10: Bake the cookies until they are no longer shiny on top.

Step 11: Remove the cookies from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then move them to a wire cooling rack.

Tips for Baking These Cookies at Home

• Use weight measurements for key ingredients. The ratio of flour, butter, sugar, and freeze-dried raspberries is carefully tested by weight. You’ll get the best texture and flavor by weighing, not scooping.
• Break, don’t crush, the raspberries. You want small bits, not powder. This keeps the dough marbled and prevents the flavor from getting muted.
• Mix gently after adding raspberries. Overmixing dulls both the flavor and color. Stop when you see red streaks throughout.

If you these fruity shortbread cookies please leave a rating and a comment below.

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Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

5 from 12 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

These raspberry shortbread cookies are buttery, tender, and full of natural raspberry flavor thanks to freeze-dried berries. The dough is easy to roll and cut, and you can enjoy them plain or with a white chocolate drizzle.

Servings: 25 cookies

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Cheryl Norris

Ingredients

Shortbread Cookie

• ▢ 20 grams freeze-dried raspberries plus 1 tablespoon for decoration
• ▢ 125 grams (4.4 ounces) granulated sugar
• ▢ 227 grams (8 ounces) unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• ▢ 340 grams (12 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

White Chocolate Glaze

• ▢ 4 ounces white chocolate

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Instructions

Make the Cookie Dough

• Place 20 grams of freeze-dried raspberries in a plastic bag. Lightly tap the bag with rolling pin until the freeze-dried berries are broken up into the size of small beads. You don't want to turn the berries into a powder. Set the berries aside.
• Place the sugar, butter, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Add all of the flour at once, turn the mixer to low speed and mix until all the flour is mixed in and the dough starts to form small clumps.
• Add the freeze-dried raspberries and mix on low speed until the berries are barely mixed into the dough. The dough will be marbled red and white with visible bits of freeze-dried berries.
• Turn the cookie dough out onto a lightly floured surface. You can also use a large piece of parchment paper or Silpat.
• Use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together and then shape it into a rectangle. Cut the dough in half and set aside one piece.
• Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Lightly flour the top of the dough if the rolling pin sticks.
• Use a 2-inch or 3-inch heart-shaped or round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.
• Reroll the cookie dough and continue to cut out cookies until most of the dough has been used. You might have a small piece left over.
• Prick the center of the cutouts with a fork, then place them on parchment lined baking sheet or cutting board and refrigerate for 30 minutes. If refrigerating overnight, cover the cookies with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

Bake the Cookies

• When ready to bake the cookies preheat the oven to 300°F and line a half baking sheet with parchment paper.
 Place 12 cookies on the baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. The bottom of the cookies will be lightly golden brown. Take the cookies out of the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a wire cooling rack to completely cool.

White Chocolate Glaze

• Break or chop the chocolate bar into small pieces. Place them in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the chocolate with a spatula. Microwave the chocolate for 15 second intervals stirring after each interval until 80% of the chocolate is melted and it is smooth.
• Note: White chocolate burns more easily than dark chocolate so be careful not to burn it.

Decorate the Cookies

• Place the cookies on a piece of parchment paper. Scrape the chocolate into a piping bag (or a quart size freezer bag). Cut a small piece off the end and drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
• While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle crushed freeze-dried raspberries over the cookies.
• When all the cookies are done, allow the chocolate to set. The chocolate will take about 90 minutes to set at room temperature, but you can speed the drying by refrigerating the cookies.

Storing the Cookies

• The cookies can be stored without the white chocolate glaze at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 10 days. With the white chocolate glaze the cookies can be stored for up to 5 days.

Notes

The marbled look is intentional. Don't overmix the freeze-dried raspberries - the red and white marbling creates visual appeal and distributes flavor without crushing all the berries.

Storage Tip: These cookies actually improve after a day - the raspberry flavor becomes more pronounced as it mellows into the buttery dough.

Freezing the Cookie Dough: The cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months after cutting out the shapes. Freeze the cookies on a baking sheet in single layers with parchment paper between each layer, then place the cookies in a freezer bag. Bake the cookies straight from the freezer allow an extra 2-5 minutes for baking.

Metric vs Imperial: For best results, weigh the ingredients. Volume measurements for flour and freeze-dried raspberries can vary significantly based on how you scoop.

If you don’t have a scale to weigh ingredients, use the following measurements:

• Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons (spoon and level)
• Unsalted Butter: 1 cup (16 tablespoons)
• Granulated Sugar: 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons

Nutrition

Calories: 159kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 52mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 229IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

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