You’ll discover the crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture and buttery taste of Scottish shortbread biscuits unmatched, which is why they’ve been well-liked for hundreds of years. There’s no purpose for something this delectable to ever exit of favor. It’s a basic 5 ingredient recipe, and for good purpose.
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 know what made the very 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 Fortress 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 concept. All of these are scrumptious variations, however in line with the Scottish bakers we talked to, they’re not the true, basic Scottish shortbread.
With that in thoughts, again residence, I researched for fairly a while in search of ratios of flour to butter to sugar, American shortbread versus Scottish shortbread, varieties of sugar, and so on. The variety (and lack of settlement) is staggering. Rose Levy Beranbaum, as at all times, had some advantageous issues so as to add to the approach of constructing shortbread. (The baggie thought is her, and it’s good.)
But it surely appeared to at all times come down to 2 issues: utter simplicity and the standard of the components.
Notes on Components
- Butter–The flavour of those conventional shortbread cookies is fully depending on the butter that you just use, so I like to recommend splurging on the very 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 mixture 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 legendary for.
Step-by-Step Directions
- 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 along 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.
- Lower the shortbread into 8 triangles and chill for no less than half-hour.
- Bake in a 300°F oven till frivolously golden, then rating the shortbread once more and let it cool fully.
Frequent Questions
A tart pan with a detachable backside offers you the cleanest, prettiest edges, however you may also 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, fastidiously 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 typical.
Certain 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 minimize into wedges or rectangular biscuits, and I like to recommend that you just stick to those shapes. The fragile texture of the dough will make it tough to chop utilizing intricate cookie cutters.
Whereas there’s a whole lot of disagreement right here, essentially the most important distinction is that the Scottish model doesn’t name for leavening, akin to baking powder or baking soda, leading to a crumbly relatively than a crispy biscuit. It additionally tends to be much less candy than different varieties of shortbread.
The dough accommodates a whole lot of butter, which can 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 cook dinner extra evenly.
Why Our Testers Cherished This
Tester Terry S. calls these cookies “buttery and seductive.” If that doesn’t ship you operating for the kitchen, I don’t know what is going to.
Professional Ideas
- In the event you’d want 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 not possible to not dive in and take a look at it straight away, however letting it cool fully offers you a cookie that doesn’t crumble once 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
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In the event you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, contemplate 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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Calmly 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 just a few instances to coat the butter and minimize 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 frivolously.
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Dump the dough right into a plastic bag and knead it till it kinds massive clumps.
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End up the dough into the pan and press it into a good layer along 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, minimize the dough into 8 triangles.
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Wrap the pan with plastic and chill for no 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 frivolously 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–In the event you’d want 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 once 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’ Opinions
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, remember that the butter should be very chilly when added to the opposite components. This dough could be ready prematurely and saved within the chilly, so we will at all times have these scrumptious biscuits able to cook 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 recordsdata, however this new model could change them.
The cookies are buttery and seductive. I may simply eat all the batch and never share it with anybody. Thankfully, my higher angels prevailed, and I did let my husband have a cookie. He liked it!
Crumbly, buttery, conventional Scottish shortbread. It’s a easy recipe, however scrumptious and properly price taking the time to make. The whole lot you have to make it’s most likely in your kitchen proper now.
As a result of the butter is a serious part of the flavour, I like to recommend utilizing a very good butter you take pleasure in!
