Scottish Shortbread

Shortbread is one of the simplest types of cookie you can possibly make.  There are just 4 ingredients- butter, flour, sugar, salt- and the result is a wonderfully tender, crumbly, not too sweet cookie with a subtle, buttery flavour.  Because of its simplicity, you can really add pretty much anything you want to it.  In my research, I've seen variations ranging from thumbprint cookies with strawberry or apricot jam to salted caramel shortbread squares to shortbread cookies with rosemary and thyme, and while some of these look interesting, I'm generally of the opinion that simpler is better when it comes to food.

While I'll probably try (and post) some fancy shortbreads eventually, this recipe is an attempt at recreating a family recipe handed down from a Scottish great-grandmother that I think my mom has, but I can't find in her messy kitchen.  I definitely remember my mom making these at Christmas when I was little and letting my and my brothers cut out and decorate Santas and Christmas trees.  She called them "butter cookies" at the time, so I didn't realize that they were shortbread, rather than some variation of sugar cookie, until much later.

The recipe I've come up with through much experimentation is a combination of Joy of Baking, Martha Stewart, a couple of online resources, several of them Scottish, and what my mom remembers about the recipe that's buried in a cookbook somewhere (probably).  After much research, I decided to go with a very simple formula: 1 part butter: 1/2 part sugar: 1 1/2 part flour, with a pinch of salt because I use unsalted butter.  I decided not to mix the AP flour with rice flour or corn starch like some of the Scottish recipes do because my mother certainly never added corn starch, and I can't picture my great-grandmother even knowing where to buy rice flour.  Anyway, I can't imagine rice having been readily available in 15th or 16th century Scotland, when buttered shortbread was first popularized (Mary, Queen of Scots is said to have been a fan).  I've omitted the vanilla extract common in American recipes for similar reasons: no one in my family uses it in shortbread, and vanilla isn't exactly native to northern Europe.  Besides, simpler is usually better.  I've also decided to use granulated rather than powdered sugar because that's what my grandmother's recipe called for.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• pinch of salt

Instructions: 

pre-heat oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cream together butter, sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.  Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well.  Once all flour has been added, the dough should be fairly grainy.  Gently press the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle on the baking sheet, cut into bars, and prick the top with a fork, preferably in a decorative pattern.  Alternately, roll out dough on a floured surface and cut shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake in the preheated oven approximately 25 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.  Let cool.


Note on butter:

Did you know that European butter is 85% fat, while American butter is only 75%?  While this sounds great to those Americans who count calories and watch their fat consumption, it can cause some difficulties when baking, especially if the recipe uses a lot of butter, as in the case of croissants or (more relevantly) shortbread.  The lower fat American variety of butter will still result in a good product, and it will be slightly lower calorie, but using a European butter will result in more tender baked goods.  I once made two batches of shortbread side-by-side, one with Kerrygold unsalted butter and the other with a Trader Joe's brand, and I was staggered by the difference in both texture and flavour.  I definitely recommend not worrying too much about the calories and using Kerrygold or another European style butter.