You’ll discover the crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture and buttery taste of Scottish shortbread biscuits unmatched, which is why they’ve been widespread for hundreds of years. There’s no motive for something this delectable to ever exit of fashion. It’s a traditional, and for good motive.
My Quest for the Excellent Scottish Shortbread
When The One and I spent a number of weeks in Scotland–the Highlands (above), Glasgow, and Edinburgh (beneath)–Scottish shortbread was on our hit record. We needed to grasp what made one of the best shortbread and why it’s so beloved. (One chunk solved the beloved query!)
We spoke to skilled and residential bakers, prospects, and tea store homeowners. We had afternoon tea on the Tea Rooms At Edinburgh Fort and frequented Pinnies & Poppy Seeds, which sadly is now closed. We ordered it in all places.
We left no biscuit unturned. We found that many shortbread recipes go off the rails by including herbs and spices, nuts, dried fruit, and vanilla, calling for them to be dipped in chocolate. You get the thought. All of these are scrumptious variations, however in response to the Scottish bakers we talked to, they’re not the true, traditional Scottish shortbread.
With that in thoughts, again dwelling, I researched for fairly a while searching for ratios of flour to butter to sugar, American shortbread versus Scottish shortbread, forms of sugar, and so forth. The range (and lack of settlement) is staggering. Rose Levy Beranbaum, as at all times, had some effective issues so as to add to the approach of creating shortbread. (The baggie concept is her, and it’s good.)
However it appeared to at all times come down to 2 issues: utter simplicity and the standard of the components.
What You’ll Must Make This
- Butter–The flavour of those conventional shortbread cookies is fully depending on the butter that you simply use, so I like to recommend splurging on one of the best you may afford. (You’ll thank me.) My favorites are Irish Kerrygold, French Échiré and Payson Breton, European-style Plugrà, and Vermont Creamery.
- Sugar–A mix of granulated sugar and powdered sugar provides these cookies simply sufficient sweetness, whereas the cornstarch within the confectioner’s sugar contributes to that melt-in-your-mouth texture shortbread is known for.
Make This Recipe
- Blitz the sugars and butter in a meals processor to coat the butter.
- Dump within the flour and salt.
- Pulse till the dough is uniform and holds collectively when pinched.
- Scrape the dough right into a plastic bag and knead together with your fingers till it comes collectively.
- Press the dough right into a removable-bottom 9-inch tart pan.
- Use the tines of a fork to create crimped edges and poke throughout with a skewer or toothpick.
- Minimize the shortbread into 8 triangles and chill for not less than half-hour.
- Bake in a 300°F oven till flippantly golden, then rating the shortbread once more and let it cool fully.
Widespread Questions
A tart pan with a detachable backside offers you the cleanest, prettiest edges, however you can too use a 9-inch spherical cake pan. Press the dough right into a parchment-lined cake pan coated with baking spray and rating into 8 wedges. Bake the cookies, and when cool, rigorously invert them onto a rack.
Alternatively, you may line an 8-by-8-inch sq. baking pan with parchment and press the dough into it. Rating the dough into sixteen 4-by-1-inch or eight 4-by-2-inch fingers and bake as normal.
Positive can. After the shortbread has cooled fully, retailer it in an hermetic container within the freezer for as much as 3 months.
Conventional shortbread is lower into wedges or rectangular biscuits, and I like to recommend that you simply stick to those shapes. The fragile texture of the dough will make it tough to chop utilizing intricate cookie cutters.
Whereas there’s plenty of disagreement right here, probably the most important distinction is that the Scottish model doesn’t name for leavening, equivalent to baking powder or baking soda, leading to a crumbly somewhat than a crispy biscuit. It additionally tends to be much less candy than different forms of shortbread.
The dough incorporates plenty of butter, which is able to soften and launch water as steam whereas it bakes. Poking holes within the dough permits the steam to flee with out inflicting the dough to bubble up in order that you find yourself with flat evenly-shaped cookies. It additionally helps the shortbread to prepare dinner extra evenly.
Why Our Testers Beloved This
Tester Terry S. calls these cookies “buttery and seductive.” If that doesn’t ship you working for the kitchen, I don’t know what’s going to.
Useful Suggestions
- Should you’d choose to make rectangular shortbread biscuits, press the dough into an 8-inch sq. cake pan and rating it into sixteen 4-by-1-inch or eight 4-by-2-inch biscuits.
- The shortbread will agency up a bit because it cools. It’ll be very nigh unto unattainable to not dive in and check out it straight away, however letting it cool fully offers you a cookie that doesn’t crumble if you eat it.
- Retailer the cookies in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 5 days. However I have to admit, they’re greatest the primary few days after baking.
Extra Very good Shortbread Recipes
Write a Assessment
Should you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, think about leaving a evaluate, a star ranking, and your greatest picture within the feedback beneath. I really like listening to from you.–David
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Evenly coat a 9 1/2-inch removable-bottom tart pan with baking spray.
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Dump the sugars and butter right into a meals processor and pulse a number of occasions to coat the butter and lower down the sugar.
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Scoop within the flour and salt and course of till the dough turns powdery and begins to clump flippantly.
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Dump the dough right into a plastic bag and knead it till it kinds massive clumps.
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Prove the dough into the pan and press it into a good layer together with your fingers.
☞ TESTER TIP: To make a superbly flat prime, press one other backside of a tart pan (or a pie plate) into the dough.
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Press the tines of a fork into the sting of the pan to make a fragile ridged rim. Poke the shortbread throughout with a skewer or toothpick. With a bench scraper or sharp knife, lower the dough into 8 triangles.
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Wrap the pan with plastic and chill for not less than half-hour.
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Crank the oven to 300°F (150°C).
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Bake the shortbread till the highest is flippantly golden, 40 to 50 minutes.
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Switch the tart pan to a rack and instantly re-cut alongside the strains once more which may have closed up. Let the shortbread cool fully within the pan.
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Take away the tart ring and gingerly pile the wedges onto a plate. Devour, devour, devour.
- Change the form–Should you’d choose to make rectangular shortbread biscuits, press the dough into an 8-inch sq. cake pan and rating it into sixteen 4-by-1-inch or eight 4-by-2-inch biscuits.
- Let it cool–The shortbread will agency up a bit because it cools. It’ll be very tempting to dive in and devour these straight away, however letting them cool fully offers you a cookie that doesn’t crumble if you eat it.
- Storage–The shortbread could be saved in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 5 days or frozen for as much as 3 months.
Serving: 1 wedgeEnergy: 260 kcalCarbohydrates: 24 gProtein: 3 gFats: 17 gSaturated Fats: 11 gMonounsaturated Fats: 4 gTrans Fats: 1 gLdl cholesterol: 46 mgSodium: 8 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 6 g
Vitamin info is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Recipe © 2023 David Leite. Pictures © 2023 David Leite. All rights reserved.
Recipe Testers’ Critiques
These are my favourite Scottish shortbread cookies! Crispy, agency, buttery, they soften in your mouth and are addictive.
The preparation is kind of easy. Nonetheless, understand that the butter have to be very chilly when added to the opposite components. This dough could be ready upfront and saved within the chilly, so we are able to at all times have these scrumptious biscuits able to prepare dinner.
This Scottish shortbread recipe is the cookie equal of a snowflake. Gentle, delicate, and dissolves magically on the tongue. I’ve a number of go-to shortbread recipes in my information, however this new model could exchange them.
The cookies are buttery and seductive. I may simply eat all the batch and never share it with anybody. Happily, my higher angels prevailed, and I did let my husband have a cookie. He cherished it!
Crumbly, buttery, conventional Scottish shortbread. It’s a easy recipe, however scrumptious and properly value taking the time to make. All the pieces it’s essential to make it’s in all probability in your kitchen proper now.
As a result of the butter is a serious part of the flavour, I like to recommend utilizing an excellent butter you take pleasure in!
