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A Shortbread Martini is a creamy dessert martini with a shortbread cookie rim – with flavors of vanilla, butterscotch and Irish cream, this is going to be your new favorite cocktail recipe, perfect all year or to serve for the holidays.
This post is sponsored by Walkers Shortbread, whose pure butter shortbread is the perfect garnish for this cocktail. All opinions are 100% my own.
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Perfect EASY Dessert Cocktail Recipe
Sometimes you feel like eating your dessert…and sometimes you feel like drinking it. That’s when dessert cocktails come into play – especially when it’s a dessert martini inspired by shortbread cookies!
If you love creamy, sweet martinis then this is going to be your favorite: a simple martini made with 3 different sweet liqueurs and a shortbread cookie crumb rim.
PLUS I’m going to show you how to give this cocktail as a gift basket. It’s a great idea for that hard-to-buy-for friend or family member or to give as a hostess gift.
Stick around – you’re about to get thirsty!
What’s in a Shortbread Martini?
Vanilla Vodka: You can use plain vodka as well, but I love vanilla vodka best for sweet cocktails. Whipped or caramel would also be good too!
Butterscotch Schnapps: This sweet buttery liqueur adds some great flavor to the drink. Can’t find it? Substitute Amaretto.
Irish Cream: I wouldn’t think adding more alcohol would cut how strong this tastes, but it does!
Milk: You have choices here. Use light whipping cream, half and half, milk or nondairy milk.
Shortbread: You MUST add a shortbread rim and a floating shortbread cookie to your cocktail!
My favorite shortbread is, hands down, Walkers Shortbread. They’re a family run business and the cookies are baked using a traditional family recipe handed down through generations with just four ingredients. They’ve never used genetically modified ingredients and 100% of their products are suitable for vegetarians.
I love using the Walkers Shortbread Festive Shapes for this recipe because it makes it more holiday-ish. (Remember when I made the easiest chocolate dipped shortbread cookies?) These are luxuriously pure butter and are an emblem of the holiday season. If you’re making this during the year or you can’t find the Festive Shapes, you can use the Shortbread Rounds in their place.
You can find the Festive Shapes during the holidays at Target, Walgreens, CVS, Amazon, and walkersshortbread.com. Find the Rounds year round at Amazon, walkersshortbread.com, select Walmart locations and most grocery retailers nationwide.
How to Rim a Glass with Cookies
Just like you’d rim a glass with sugar for a lemon drop or salt for a margarita, you should rim your martini glass with crushed shortbread cookies for this cocktail.
- Crush Walkers Shortbread cookies in a large plastic bag. They crush easily when rolled with a rolling pin.
- Place some corn syrup or honey on a shallow plate. Roll the rim of the glass in the corn syrup to coat.
- Place the cookie crumbs on another shallow plate. Roll the sticky rim of the glass in the cookie crumbs to coat.
How to Make a Shortbread Dessert Martini
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Add your vodka, schnapps, Irish cream and milk. Shake.
- Strain into glass rimmed with shortbread cookie crumbs.
- Garnish with a Walkers Shortbread Festive Shape!
Entertaining & Gifting with Walkers Shortbread Martinis
Using the Walkers Shortbread Festive Shapes just makes these martinis perfect for the holidays. In fact, Walkers has so many products that make your entertaining seamless and stress free. I know that I grab their tartan boxes regularly during the season to make my life so much easier!
Use their help to:
- Host a hot chocolate bar
- Make a dessert board
- Serve an easy dessert dip
- Use the Festive Shapes in a gift basket!
I love the idea of making up a gift basket with the ingredients needed to make this cocktail. You can just buy bottles of liquor or add them to jars, like I have. Include a pair of martini glasses and a few boxes of shortbread along with the printed recipe and you have a great gift for the cocktail lover or a hostess gift!
Tips for Making Dessert Cocktails
- Chill your martini glasses by filling them with ice while preparing the drink. Discard the ice and your glasses will be cold, ensuring your martini will stay chilled longer.
- If the drink is too strong, add more milk. Too weak? Add more vodka.
- Substitute almond liqueur for the butterscotch, or white chocolate liqueur for the Irish cream.
- Serve these with a plate of Walkers Shortbread Rounds along with some Eggnog Pudding Dip for extra dessert!
Order online and get 20% off your purchase valid 11/14-12/21/2021 when you use my code CFC20 – shop here!
Other Cocktails You’ll Love
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Shortbread Martini Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vanilla vodka
- 2 ounces butterscotch schnapps
- 2 ounces Irish cream
- 2 ounces cream see note
- Walkers Shortbread Festive Shapes
- 1 tablespoon Corn Syrup or Honey
Instructions
- Crush one shortbread cookie and place on a small plate. Add corn syrup to another plate. Dip the rim of the glass in the corn syrup and then dip in cookie crumbs to coat.
- Add vodka, schnapps, Irish cream and cream to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into glass.
- Garnish with a Walkers Shortbread Cookie.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Nutrition
A Shortbread Martini is a creamy dessert cocktail with vanilla vodka, butterscotch schnapps, Irish cream and milk and a shortbread cookie rim! This easy cocktail recipe is such a fun drink!
This is a deliciously different holiday drink and definitely on our Christmas eve menu!! So cute!!