Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread cookies? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

The reason powdered sugar is used is because you'll get a softer texture in your cookie, a delicate melt-in-your-mouth cookie. For a different version using brown sugar, try my brown sugar Scottish shortbread cookies.

Butter is an emulsifier and it makes cookies tender. It also adds in the crispy-around-the-edges element. Adding too much butter can cause the cookies to be flat and greasy. Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly.

Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Since you will be cooking your shortbread in the lower third of the oven, you will get some top browning as the cookie bakes. The surface of the shortbread should be a toasty light brown when it is cooked. It should never appear raw or slightly opaque in the middle.

RICE FLOUR: This recipe makes shortbread that's tender enough as it is so you don't need rice flour. You can use it if you want - the difference is marginal. Just swap out ¼ cup of the flour with rice flour, add it with the flour. Some recipes say you can use cornstarch/cornflour as well.

Why is my shortbread crumbly after baking? If your butter and flour ratio is off, your shortbread may have the wrong texture. Butter is key, it contains a large percentage of water, and that water develops the gluten structure which gives strength and crunch to the biscuit.

Chill the shaped dough thoroughly before baking. Cut the shortbread while it is still warm, for smooth, even slices.

Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking? ›

It comes from using a high proportion of fat (or shortening) to flour and is also where shortcrust pastry gets its name. Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking? Chilling the dough before baking will help the shortbread keep their shape while cooking.

Firstly it's because the butter and sugar have been over creamed and too much air has been incorporated into the mixture. This extra air will expand during baking as it heats in the oven and will therefore make your biscuits spread.

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

Chilling the dough before baking will help the shortbread keep their shape while cooking. In the oven, the dough will spread as the butter in the mixture melts, but baking it from chilled helps reduce this effect. It's most important to do this if you are baking the shortbread in individual biscuits.

Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out. If the dough does get soft or sticky as you're rolling or cutting it, just put it back in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the butter.

These proportions make shortbread a lot more dense compared to cookies, which means you could easily end up with shortbread that's hard and crunchy rather than buttery and crumbly. Per Cooktop Cove, this can occur when the dough has either been overworked or not chilled for long enough.