Frosted Fudge Shortbread Cookies (Video)

If you love Keebler fudge cookies, but wish that they made a softer version, you’re in luck. These frosted fudge shortbread cookies are delicious, ridiculously soft and melt in your mouth good. This post contains an affiliate link.

You might also like our rocky road cookies or our soft sugar cookies with marshmallow frosting!

Watch our step by step video!

Shortbread Cookies

Did you know that shortbread cookies are made with only 3 ingredients? Butter, powdered sugar and flour. That’s it! The main difference between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie is the density. Sugar cookies are lighter (made with baking powder), and shortbread cookies are more dense with a buttery taste. Hardly anything pulls me away from our bakery style sugar cookies, but these easy shortbread cookies are buttery perfection—-especially frosted in our homemade fudge frosting. Once the frosting has had a chance to set up slightly it tastes just like the filling in Keebler E.L. Fudge cookies.

Frosted Fudge Shortbread Cookies

This recipe makes 30 delicious shortbread cookies. I like making mine smaller (2″), but you can make them any size you’d like. The frosting is amazing and can be used for so many different recipes. You’ll be tempted to eat a freshly frosted cookie, but trust me, it’s worth waiting 30-45 minutes to allow the frosting to set up a bit for more of a fudge consistency.

Shortbread Cookie Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour

Directions

Combine ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer. The dough will resemble coarse sand. Turn the mixer off and form the dough into a ball with your hands. What first looked like coarse sand will end up forming a beautiful dough.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface. Dough should be about 1/2″ thick.

Cut out into small circles using a cookie cutter (2″ are my favorite size) and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 13-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Fudge Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp. milk

Directions

Mix melted butter and cocoa powder together. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time, while beating frosting, until desired consistency is achieved. Beat frosting an additional 2 minutes.

Spoon frosting into a pastry bag and pipe frosting onto cooled cookies (or spread with a butter knife). I like using a 1A frosting tip. It’s large and takes about 2 seconds to frost each cookie.

Let frosting set up on cookies 30-45 minutes for a fudge consistency.

Store cookies in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

Frosted Fudge Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Frosted Fudge Shortbread Cookies

If you love the variety of Keebler fudge cookies, but wish that they made a softer version, you're in luck. These frosted fudge shortbread cookies areas delicious, ridiculously soft and melt in your mouth good.

4.55 from 24 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes minutes

cooling: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 48 minutes minutes

Servings: 30

Calories: 166kcal

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp. milk

Instructions

Cookies

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer.
• The dough will resemble coarse sand. Turn the mixer off and form the dough into a ball with your hands. What first looked like coarse sand will end up forming a beautiful dough.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface. Dough should be about 1/2″ thick.
• Cut out into small circles (2″ are my favorite) and place on an uncreased baking sheet.
• Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Frosting

• Mix melted butter and cocoa powder together. Add vanilla and powdered sugar.
• Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time, while beating frosting with an electric mixer, until desired consistency is achieved.
• Beat frosting an additional 2 minutes.
• Spoon frosting into a pastry bag and pipe frosting onto cooled cookies (or spread with a butter knife).

Notes

Let frosting set up on cookies 30-45 minutes for a fudge consistency.

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcal