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 (under)–Scottish shortbread was on our hit checklist. We wished to know what made one of the best shortbread and why it’s so beloved. (One chew 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 every single place.
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 response to the Scottish bakers we talked to, they’re not the true, basic Scottish shortbread.
With that in thoughts, again house, I researched for fairly a while in search of ratios of flour to butter to sugar, American shortbread versus Scottish shortbread, kinds of sugar, and so forth. The range (and lack of settlement) is staggering. Rose Levy Beranbaum, as at all times, had some high-quality issues so as to add to the approach of constructing shortbread. (The baggie thought is her, and it’s sensible.)
But it surely appeared to at all times come down to 2 issues: utter simplicity and the standard of the components.
Components at a Look
- Butter–The flavour of those conventional shortbread cookies is solely depending on the butter that you just use, so I like to recommend splurging on one of the best you possibly can 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 offers 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.
How one can 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 along with your arms 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 flippantly golden, then rating the shortbread once more and let it cool utterly.
Widespread Questions
A tart pan with a detachable backside offers you the cleanest, prettiest edges, however you too can 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 possibly can 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 regular.
Positive can. After the shortbread has cooled utterly, 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 just stick to those shapes. The fragile texture of the dough will make it troublesome to chop utilizing intricate cookie cutters.
Whereas there’s a variety 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 fairly than a crispy biscuit. It additionally tends to be much less candy than different kinds of shortbread.
The dough comprises a variety 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 cook dinner extra evenly.
Why Our Testers Beloved 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’s going to.
Useful Ideas
- Should you’d desire 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 unimaginable to not dive in and check out it immediately, however letting it cool utterly offers you a cookie that doesn’t crumble whenever 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 evaluation, a star ranking, and your greatest picture within the feedback under. I really like listening to from you.–David
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Flippantly 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 types giant clumps.
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Prove the dough into the pan and press it into a good layer along with your fingers.
☞ TESTER TIP: To make a fantastically flat high, 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 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 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 can have closed up. Let the shortbread cool utterly 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 desire 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 immediately, however letting them cool utterly offers you a cookie that doesn’t crumble whenever 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 data is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Recipe © 2023 David Leite. Pictures © 2023 David Leite. All rights reserved.
Recipe Testers’ Evaluations
These are my favourite Scottish shortbread cookies! Crispy, agency, buttery, they soften in your mouth and are addictive.
The preparation is sort of easy. Nonetheless, remember the fact 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 will at all times have these scrumptious biscuits able to cook dinner.
This Scottish shortbread recipe is the cookie equal of a snowflake. Mild, delicate, and dissolves magically on the tongue. I’ve a number of go-to shortbread recipes in my information, however this new model might exchange them.
The cookies are buttery and seductive. I may simply eat all the batch and never share it with anybody. Luckily, 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. Every thing you have to make it’s most likely in your kitchen proper now.
As a result of the butter is a serious element of the flavour, I like to recommend utilizing butter you take pleasure in!
