Scottish Shortbread

This three-ingredient traditional Scottish shortbread recipe makes beautifully buttery, crumbly biscuits to elevate tea time. Scottish shortbread is one of our favorite easy cookie recipes to master. Chilling the dough before baking is a must if you want to make the best shortbread, as the technique prevents the shortbread from spreading and renders the cookies a beautiful crispness with a gorgeous crumb. This recipe makes a ton of shortbread, so it’s a stellar Christmas cookie exchange recipe, but if you enjoy an afternoon tea break, nothing beats dipping a finger of Scottish shortbread into a hot brew. From tasteofhome.com .

Scottish Shortbread
Total Time
Prep: 15 min. + chilling Bake: 20 min./batch + cooling


Video- Watch How to Make Scottish Shortbread


Ingredients:

2 cups butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add 3-3/4 cups flour; mix well. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead for 5 minutes, adding enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

2. On a sheet of parchment, roll dough to a 16x9-inch rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet, and cut into 3x1-in. strips. Prick each cookie multiple times with a fork. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.

3. Separate cookies and place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until cookies are lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.



How to Store Scottish Shortbread

Pop your shortbread into an airtight container and keep the cookies at room temperature.

How long does Scottish shortbread last?
A homemade Scottish shortbread cookie recipe lasts about two weeks at room temperature, but we all know the cookies will get eaten long before then!

Can you freeze Scottish shortbread?
These buttery sweet treats are perfect cookies to keep in the freezer. Enjoy frozen shortbread within a month. To thaw, put the shortbread in the fridge overnight.


Scottish Shortbread Tips

Do you need to poke holes in Scottish shortbread?
Absolutely. The rows of holes in Scottish shortbread aren’t purely decorative—stabbing the dough with a fork is necessary to release steam while the cookies are baking to promote even baking and prevent the shortbread from puffing up too much. Part of Scottish shortbread’s appeal is its dense texture.

What common mistakes should you avoid when making a Scottish shortbread recipe?
First off, when making shortbread, whether Scottish or other varieties, don’t overwork your dough. Mixing the dough until it just comes together ensures melt-in-your-mouth shortbread.

It can be tempting to add more flour. Don’t. While there’s a little wiggle room in this Scottish shortbread cookie recipe to add a dash more flour if needed, err on the side of using less. The dough should be a bit crumbly. To that end, accuracy is important when measuring ingredients.

What is the secret to the best Scottish shortbread?
It’s a simple secret: Use high-quality ingredients for this Scottish shortbread recipe. Because we’re only working with butter, flour and sugar, it’s imperative to use the best you can get your hands on, particularly the butter. If you’re not sure where to start, the best butters for baking tend to have a higher butterfat content.

How can you tell when Scottish shortbread is done?
When finished baking, the shortbread should be a light golden brown and smell like absolute heaven.