Traditional Rich Scottish Shortbread Biscuits - Cookies
"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 Hogmanay!"
photo by Dawn L.
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 4
- Yields:
-
16-24 Shortbread Biscuits
ingredients
- 12 ounces plain flour
- 4 ounces caster sugar
- 8 ounces butter
- extra caster sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
directions
- Mix the flour and sugar together in a large bowl, and then rub in the butter - as if you were making shortcrust pastry. Use the tips of your fingers and ensure that all the butter has been rubbed in -- it should resemble sand!
- Then start to knead the paste, pushing it together to form a smooth dough - the heat of your hands whilst kneading helps it form.
-
Petticoat Tails:
- Divide the shorbread dough into two equal parts and shape them into balls, then flatten them out into two rounds - using the heel of your hand, to about 7" in diameter and 1/4" thick.
- Mark the top into equal portions - triangular in shape, and then prick the tops all over with a fork - making patterns if you wish! Crimp the edges as you would a pie crust to make a decorative edge and place them onto a well greased baking tray or cookie sheet.
- (You can also use a greased and lined 7" or 8" fluted edged round sandwich/cake tin - preferably with a loose bottom for ease of taking the shortbread out. Press the dough into the tin and mark out as above).
-
Shortbread fingers:
- Roll out the shortbread dough, and shape into a rectangle, about 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Place onto a well greased baking tray or cookie sheet as before, and mark into "fingers" -- prick over with a fork again. You can also press the dough into an 8" square baking/sandwich/brownie tin - and then mark out the fingers as above.
- (Please Note: The fingers are always thicker than the petticoat tails and shortbread rounds).
-
Shortbread Rounds:
- Roll out the shortbread dough and using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut into rounds of about 2" to 3" in diameter, about 1/4" in thickness. Place them on a well greased baking tray or cookie sheet.
-
Wooden Shortbread Mould:
- You can also place the dough into a decorative wooden shortbread mould, before turning it out on to a greased baking tray. Traditional Scottish wooden moulds can be bought online and usually have a Thistle design with heavily fluted edges.
- Bake the any of the above shortbread biscuits in a pre-heated oven 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3 for between 20 to 30 minutes, or until they are pale and golden - but NOT brown!
- Sprinkle extra caster sugar over the top as soon as they come out of the oven if you wish.
- Allow the shorbread bicuits to cool slightly on a cooling rack, before cutting into fingers or "petticoat tails".
- Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight tin or container. NB: These will last for about 10 to 14 days in a cool, dry and dark pantry. They can also be frozen with great results!
Questions & Replies
-
Could I use a stand mixer for this recipe with a dough hook? -
What is caster sugar is it powdered sugar or grain white sugsr
Reviews
-
Another fabulous French Tart recipe! Christmas isnt Christmas without shortbread as far as my father is concerned so I decided to give him the home made option this year. Like Queen Dana I was concerned that the mixture was too crumbly, but they cook beautifully and taste fantastic. I love that they are so simple and use ingredients I always have on hand. I made 2 batches and added some brandy to one. I froze the other for use later on and it thawed without a problem. Thanks for another great post! -
Delicious. Short and buttery shortbread fingers which was just what I wanted. I found it difficult to gather to roll so pressed it into the tin and rolled it with a glass to smooth the top. It needed to cool longer in the tin as I broke some taking out. The rest look appetising and I am happy to give them to the church to give away. -
Absolutely delicious. Very easy to make can't wait to make next batch. -
Could anyone help me? I want make shortbread as a gift. Could different flavours be added to this recipe, like chocolate chips? Don't want to make different doughs.. -
These were wonderful. I love baking & I decided to make these to try something new...plus we always have these ingredients in the house. I sprinkled cinnamon as well as sugar on them... Everyone who has tried them loved them. Looking forward to making more.
see 10 more reviews
Tweaks
-
My Scottish Nana taught me how to make Shortbread. She always added approx 1/4 cup of rice flour and used icing sugar, not castor. When kneading the shortbread cookies and cakes she would flour the board and continue to knead until the dough cracked. Over the years I have made many variations. One of my favourites is to replace half the flour with finely ground oats, use brown sugar, add a bit of vanilla, and some chopped cranberries. Another option - If the dough is soft it can be piped into little bite-size flowers using a pastry tip. I press a tiny snip of cherry or cranberry into the centres. However you make it, it tastes best if it ripens. As a kid I remember wrapping up the Shortbread cakes and cookies and storing them in the cool attic next to the Fruit Cakes. This was done several weeks before Christmas. I store mine in the fridge.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p>
<p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA & Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature & Art History teacher & lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband & my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p>
<p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p>
<p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p>
<p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p>
<p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p>
<p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p>
<p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p>
<p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting & drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts & festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French & North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband & I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food & Wine Breaks, French Antiques & Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued & restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region & it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac & Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough & York, to visit our family & friends. We also love indulging in dining out when we are there, in a wide variety of EXCELLENT Gastro-Pubs that we have in North Yorkshire; and popping in to have a Pint of REAL ENGLISH ALE in our local pub is a always a must!! <br /></span></strong></p>
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