These Raspberry Swirl Shortbread Cookies Melt in Your Mouth

Okay, so I burned the first batch. Like, completely forgot about them while scrolling through my phone. Classic me. But listen, once I figured out the timing on these raspberry swirl shortbread cookies, they became the one recipe people won’t stop asking me to bring to every single gathering.

I think I first tried making a raspberry swirl shortbread cookies recipe about two years ago? Maybe three? Time is weird. Anyway, I’d seen something similar at a fancy bakery and thought, “How hard can it be?” Spoiler: not that hard, but also I definitely messed it up a few times before getting here.

Why These Buttery Raspberry Swirl Shortbread Cookies Are Ridiculously Good

Here’s the thing about shortbread—it’s supposed to be buttery and crumbly and basically melt on your tongue, right? But so many recipes end up either too dry (cardboard vibes) or way too sweet. These hit different. The raspberry part isn’t overpowering, it’s just this gorgeous swirl that makes them look fancy even though they’re honestly pretty simple.

My neighbor Karen (the one with the perfect garden that makes mine look sad) asked if I used some raspberry swirl shortbread cookies recipe pioneer woman had or something. Nope. This is my own chaos, perfected through trial and error. Mostly error.

What You’ll Need for the Best Raspberry Swirl Shortbread Cookies

For the Shortbread:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (don’t use margarine, please, I’m begging you)
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Raspberry Swirl:

• 1/2 cup raspberry jam (I use Bonne Maman because I’m fancy like that)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Look, about that butter—it needs to be room temperature. Not melted, not straight from the fridge. I learned this the hard way when my dough turned into a greasy mess because I microwaved the butter. Don’t be like past me.

The raspberry jam situation: seedless works better if you’re picky about texture, but I’ve used seeded and honestly? Still delicious. My 11-year-old picks out the seeds anyway, so whatever.

How to Make Easy Raspberry Swirl Shortbread Cookies (Without Losing Your Mind)

Step 1: Beat that butter and powdered sugar together until it’s fluffy. This takes longer than you think—like 3-4 minutes with an electric mixer. Your arm will thank you for not doing this by hand.

Step 2: Add vanilla. Mix. Revolutionary, I know.

Step 3: Here’s where it gets real—gradually add flour and salt. Don’t dump it all in at once unless you want a flour cloud explosion in your kitchen (been there, my cat was NOT happy).

Step 4: The dough will look crumbly at first. Kinda like wet sand? That’s normal. Keep mixing until it comes together. If it’s still super crumbly after 2 minutes, add a tiny splash of cold water—like a teaspoon.

Step 5: For the raspberry part, mix that jam with cornstarch and lemon juice in a small bowl. The cornstarch keeps it from being too runny. Trust me on this one.

Step 6: Roll out the dough into a rectangle on parchment paper. Aim for about 1/4 inch thick. Mine’s never perfect—sometimes it’s more like a weird oval. That’s fine. We’re not on Bake Off.

Step 7: Spread that raspberry mixture over the dough, leaving about half an inch around the edges. Then—and this is the fun part—roll it up like a jelly roll. Use the parchment paper to help you roll it tight.

Step 8: Wrap the whole log in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I usually do overnight because I forget about it. Works either way.

Step 9: Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice the log into 1/4-inch rounds. They’ll look kinda messy and that’s perfect.

Step 10: Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are just barely golden. Don’t overbake these! Set a timer. Check at 12 minutes. Learn from my burned-cookie trauma.

My Random Tips That Actually Help

The raspberry swirl cookies recipe game-changer I discovered by accident: freezing the log for 30 minutes before slicing makes it SO much easier to get clean cuts. Found this out when I got distracted (again) and left mine in the freezer. Best mistake ever.

Also? These freeze really well after baking. I make a double batch, freeze half, and then I have impressive cookies ready for whenever someone drops by unexpectedly. Which happens more than you’d think when word gets out about your cookies.

Some people ask about the ina garten raspberry swirl shortbread cookies version—honestly, I’ve never tried hers, but I bet it’s similar. She knows what’s up.

The Ingredient Substitution Adventures

Used salted butter once when I ran out of unsalted. Just skip the extra salt in the recipe. Worked fine, maybe even better? Don’t tell the baking police.

Tried making these with strawberry jam when I couldn’t find raspberry. My kids actually preferred it. I still think raspberry is superior, but hey, family democracy or whatever.

Someone asked if you can use gluten-free flour. I haven’t tried it myself, but my friend Sarah swears by the King Arthur 1:1 blend for shortbread. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

Why These Are My Go-To Cookie

Look, I’m not saying these raspberry shortbread cookies will change your life or anything dramatic like that. But they’re buttery, they’re pretty, they taste expensive even though they’re basically just butter and flour with some jam, and people think you’re a genius baker when you serve them.

My mother-in-law literally asked for the recipe three times because she didn’t believe it was this simple. That felt good, not gonna lie.

They’re fancy enough for holidays, easy enough for a random Tuesday when you need something sweet, and they actually taste better the next day when the flavors have time to hang out together.

Storage (Because These Might Actually Last)

Ha, just kidding, they never last. But if you have more self-control than my household: store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Or freeze them for up to 3 months.

Pro tip from someone who learned the hard way: put parchment paper between the layers when you stack them, or they’ll stick together. Found this out when I had to basically pry apart cookies for a bake sale. Not cute.

Anyway, that’s my buttery raspberry swirl shortbread cookies recipe. Give it a shot and tell me how yours turn out! Seriously, I love hearing about other people’s baking adventures (and disasters).

Happy baking! And maybe set two timers because we both know you’ll forget the first one. 🙂