Scottish Shortbread
No Christmas or New Year would be the same without these delightful buttery and
crisp shortbread biscuits! Plus, they are extremely easy to make and have very
few ingredients. They are not low in calories, but they make a delicious treat
at special times of the year. This family recipe is a tried and true, and is
based on the Be-Ro cookbook recipe.....a real cookery institution in the UK!
Shortbread biscuits can be made in a variety of shapes, including being pressed
in a decorative wooden Shortbread Mould; when they are made in a round and cut
into triangles, they are called "Petticoat Tails" and are a traditional Scottish
wedding biscuit. Whatever the shape you decide to use - I have given a few ideas
in the recipe - the taste will remain the same.....meltingly light and buttery.
These make ideal gifts, and as they are made with butter, they last for quite a
while. Pack them up in an attractive box, tin or cellaphane bag and attach a
tartan bow and a sprig of heather for a true Scottish feel to them! Happy
HogmanayThe success of a 'shortie' as shortbread is also known is to handle the dough with care. Do not pound or knead heavily, and make sure your hands and the dishes you use are cold. The resulting shortbread will then be be light and crumbly with a dense buttery taste.Choose the method you prefer for 'rolling'out the dough. You can either roll with a pin, or press directly into a tin or a shortbread mould if you have one.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Depending on method up to:: 45 minutes
Total Time: 65 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ sticks/225g butter
- Tiny pinch of salt
- ½ cup/110g fine/caster sugar , plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 cups/225g all-purpose/plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 3 ½ oz/100g cornstarch /cornflour
Preparation:
Scottish Shortbread Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/170°C/Gas Mark 3.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter, salt and sugar. until light and fluffy and pale in colour. This can take at least 10 minutes. Alternatively use a food mixer.
- Mix together the flour and cornstarch and sieve into the bowl of butter and sugar. Mix quickly and thoroughly to bring all the ingredients together but do not over mix.
- Tip the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface and bring knead lightly and quickly to form a loose dough. then either:
- Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to ¼"/1 cm thick. Prick the surface all over with a fork. Cut into desired shape or rounds using cookie cutters. Place the Scottish shortbreads on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 25 mins or until pale brown and crisp. Sprinkle the warm Scottish shortbreads with fine sugar and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack. or
- Grease a Swiss roll tin 9" x 13"/23 x 33cm with butter. Press the dough into the tin and press with your fingers to level the surface, prick all over with a fork. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. With the shortbread still in the tin, cut into squares or fingers, leave to cool for 15 minutes then carefully remove to a wire cooling rack.
