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.
Looking for another amazing shortbread recipe? I recently got my hands on Disney's shortbread cookies and they are incredible! Check them out here.
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 density is the main difference between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie. Sugar cookies are lighter (made with baking powder), and shortbread cookies are more dense and have 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
- ¾ 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 ½" 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
- ½ cup melted butter (1 stick)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp. milk
Directions
Mix melted butter and cocoa powder together. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Add milk 1 tablespoon 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
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter softened
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups flour
Frosting
- ½ cup butter melted
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ 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 ½″ 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 tablespoon 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).
Marie says
Nice recipe my husband loved !!
Thanks for sharing
Brandy says
Hi Marie! I’m so glad! 🙂