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    You are here Home » food

    by Melissa

    Fall Shortbread Cookies (one dough, 2 cookies)

    Fall does not need to be only about pumpkin and apple recipes. Cookies are a fun, festive and easy way to celebrate too and these Fall shortbread cookies are the perfect Fall treat.

    Fall shortbread cookies
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Fall shortbread cookies: Bottom is the cutout cookies and top is the pecan cookie balls.

    This recipe makes one dough and with that, two types of cookies, a cutout and a cookie ball. The cookie ball is to use up the scraps from the cutout cookies so there is no need to re-roll here.

    I really like this method of one dough that that makes two cookies because it really saves time when you want a variety of cookies. I do this at Christmas with my snowball cookies as well.

    If you decide you want more of each type of cookie, just make a double batch of these and follow the steps for making the cookies below.

    This dough will work for any time of year including Christmas. The pecan addition to the cookie balls are to celebrate the pecans in the Fall but you leave these out for Christmas time.

    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Fall Shortbread Cookies

    An easy cookie recipe that makes two types of cookies with one dough.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time10 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Servings: 2 dozen

    Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!

    Ingredients

    • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract
    • ½ cup of pecans for the cookie ball garnish
    • 1 cup of powdered sugar
    • 1 cup of water for dipping your fingers when making cookie balls
    US Customary - Metric
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    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°.
    • Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.
    • In a separate bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer, add butter, vanilla and sugar and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
    • Reduce speed to low and gradually add in flour, mixing until the dough just comes together.
    • Transfer dough to a clean surface, divide in half and and form into two balls.
    • Wrap dough balls in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

    Cut Out Cookies

    • On a lightly floured work surface, roll each dough ball out to a ¼-inch thickness.
    • Use your fall shaped cookie cutter to cut cookies.
    • Place cookies on parchment lined baking sheets.
    • Reserve scraps from your cutting out the cookies (do not re-roll).
    • Bake cookies for 8 -10 minutes, until just browned around the edges.
    • Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Cookie Balls

    • Take a large pinch from your scraps of dough and roll it into a ball with your hands.
    • The ball should be about the size of a jack ball or small bouncy ball. If the dough is too dry, dip your fingers in your cup of water then try rolling the dough again. Don't be afraid to squish the dough to soften the butter it won't ruin the cookie I promise!
    • Do this with all of the scraps of dough you have left until it is all used up.
    • Place the cookie balls on a non-lined baking sheet and gently press into the top one pecan piece on all of the cookie balls.
    • Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cookie balls start to look brown on edges and bottom.
    • While they are baking, add 1 cup of powdered sugar to a medium bowl.
    • When the cookies are done baking, remove from the oven and one by one take a cookie off the baking sheet and place into your bowl of powdered sugar rolling it around to coat it well (be careful they are hot!).
    • Place on a cooling rack to completely cool. Repeat this step for all of the cookie balls.
    • Enjoy!

    Notes

    To make ahead of time:

     
    Make the dough and shape into 2 discs and wrap in plastic wrap.
     
    Place in the fridge for up to 2 days.
     
    When ready to use, remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes to soften a bit and then proceed to rolling and cutting out shapes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 4mg

    Nutrition Values are estimates only.

    See full nutrition disclaimer here
    Course :Dessert
    « Pumpkin Cutout Cookies
    Our Favorite Mushroom Pizza Recipe »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rich says

      October 04, 2021 at 5:09 pm

      5 stars
      These were really tasty and the cookie ball version melts in your mouth!

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Pumpkin Cake (or Bread!) • Keeping It Simple Blog says:
      November 6, 2020 at 4:36 pm

      […] Fall Shortbread Cookies […]

      Reply
    2. Buttery and Delicious Oatmeal Cookies • Keeping It Simple Blog says:
      November 13, 2020 at 10:12 pm

      […] Fall shortbread cookies (this recipe is not just in Fall) […]

      Reply
    3. The Best Salted Shortbread Cookie • Keeping It Simple Blog says:
      December 1, 2020 at 10:44 pm

      […] recipe. I also like to double this recipe and divide the dough into different bowls and get two cookies with one dough. It is a lot like my holiday snowball cookies and citrus […]

      Reply
    4. Cardamom Shortbread Cookies with Dark Chocolate and Coconut • Keeping It Simple Blog says:
      February 11, 2021 at 9:51 pm

      […] Fall Shortbread Cookies (one dough, 2 cookies) […]

      Reply

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    I am so excited you are here. My name is Melissa and I started this recipe website a few years ago to share recipes that I have been cooking for family and friends for years.

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