Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Follow along this step-by-step recipe for buttery, tender shortbread cookies speckled with mini morsels of chocolate chips! Perfect for your holiday spread or Christmas cookie tin, they take just minutes to make. Don’t be fooled by the dainty size of these little cookies; like the Italian gelato of the same name, they pack a big flavour. You can even customize them with crushed candy canes, nuts, or toffee bits!
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Makes 36 to 48 small cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Notes: The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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• Ingredients •
1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (65 g) icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1¾ cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (48 g) potato starch
¼ tsp fine salt
½ cup (90 g) mini chocolate chips
You can replace the mini chips with practically anything; try crushed canes, chopped nuts or toffee bits. You can even leave the chocolate chips out and just bake the shortbread as is.
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• Directions •
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on its own on medium-high speed to make it fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat in, starting on low and then increasing to medium-high, until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour, potato starch and salt and blend in on low speed until the dough comes together. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
3. Use a small mechanical scoop to portion the cookies; if your scoop is larger than the size of the cookie you want (just larger than a Canadian toonie), scoop the dough and then cut each portion in half. Roll each cookie portion into a ball between the palms of your hands and place onto the baking tray, leaving 1½ inches (4 cm) between them. Use a fork dipped in flour to press each cookie down (or use a cookie stamp, if you have one).
4. Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes. They will show a touch of light browning on the bottom but should not be brown otherwise. Cool the cookies on their trays on a rack before packing in an airtight container.
Follow along this step-by-step recipe for buttery, tender shortbread cookies speckled with mini morsels of chocolate chips! Perfect for your holiday spread or Christmas cookie tin, they take just minutes to make. Don’t be fooled by the dainty size of these little cookies; like the Italian gelato of the same name, they pack a big flavour. You can even customize them with crushed candy canes, nuts, or toffee bits!
--------
Makes 36 to 48 small cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Notes: The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
--------
• Ingredients •
1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (65 g) icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1¾ cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (48 g) potato starch
¼ tsp fine salt
½ cup (90 g) mini chocolate chips
You can replace the mini chips with practically anything; try crushed canes, chopped nuts or toffee bits. You can even leave the chocolate chips out and just bake the shortbread as is.
--------
• Directions •
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on its own on medium-high speed to make it fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat in, starting on low and then increasing to medium-high, until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour, potato starch and salt and blend in on low speed until the dough comes together. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
3. Use a small mechanical scoop to portion the cookies; if your scoop is larger than the size of the cookie you want (just larger than a Canadian toonie), scoop the dough and then cut each portion in half. Roll each cookie portion into a ball between the palms of your hands and place onto the baking tray, leaving 1½ inches (4 cm) between them. Use a fork dipped in flour to press each cookie down (or use a cookie stamp, if you have one).
4. Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes. They will show a touch of light browning on the bottom but should not be brown otherwise. Cool the cookies on their trays on a rack before packing in an airtight container.
