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Shortbread Cookies

Photo Credit
Lilyana Vynogradova/shutterstock
The Editors
Category
Cookies and Bars
Course
Desserts
Occasions
Christmas
New Year's Day
Preparation Method
Bake
Sources
Favorite New England Recipes
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A great shortbread cookie has a mouthwateringly buttery taste and a crumbly texture. Homemade is far better than store-bought, with real butter flavor and a more tender and delicate texture. Enjoy with coffee or serve at a tea party!

Some folks have asked about the rice flour. Shortbread is often made with a combination of rice flour and normal flour, and sometimes you see recipes with cornflour (cornstarch). Rice flour makes the shortbread a little more tender, though some people can’t discern the difference. If you do not have rice flour, you can certainly substitute with plain/all-purpose flour. 

While shortbreads can be baked into fingers, we also like the circle or “petticoat” style, which is divided into slices.

Ingredients
3 cups sifted flour (plain/all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 pound salted butter, softened
6 tablespoons sugar (castor or superfine)
pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
Instructions

Set oven to 400°F. 

Cover a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sift the flours together and add salt if you’re using unsalted butter. Ideally, sift the dry ingredients a couple times. Cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon. Add the sifted ingredients and mix by hand until you have a soft dough. Be careful not to knead and overhandle or the shortbread won’t have as delicate a taste.

Shape into medium-thick, round cakes the size of a saucer, place on cookie sheets, prick with a fork, and flute the edges.

  • Or, press into a large circle about 8 to 10 inches across and about 3/4 inch thick. Mark out 16 ‘slices’ with a knife (just don’t cut all the way through) and put this on the cookie sheets. Or you can use any round cake pan. Prick dough with a fork and flute the edges with your thumb and forefinger.
  • Or, instead of a large circle, you can press the dough into squares and smaller circles the size of a saucer.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air-tight cookie tin or container.

About The Author

The Old Farmer's Almanac Editors

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Comments

Danielle Poirier (not verified)

1 year 5 months ago

Does anyone have a recipe for shortbread usng cornstarch?
It turns out beautifully!

Eileen Ross (not verified)

3 years 11 months ago

I have been baking Scottish Shortbread for over 50 years, and never, ever, baked it at 400 degrees! My Scottish grandmother's recipe says "bake in a slow oven". I bake mine at 350
and it turns out perfectly.

Karen van munster (not verified)

4 years 11 months ago

You can use semolina instead of rice flour.this is good biscuits for vegans has no egg.

Shirley (not verified)

4 years 11 months ago

Anyway to make a soft shortbread cookie?

Deb (not verified)

4 years 11 months ago

1.) are there acceptable alternatives to rice flour?

I also wondering if I could use almond flour instead of rice flour?

Christie Smith (not verified)

5 years 10 months ago

Rice flour? Wondering if Rice flour is an ingredient in "true" Scottish Shortbread?

Marie Weltmer (not verified)

5 years 10 months ago

I make a similar recipe and use the food processor. It’s sandy but then I pat it on the cookie pan. Make a double recipe one at a time.

Cathie Leslie (not verified)

5 years 12 months ago

May not be Scottish but I add 1 T ground cardamom for amazing flavor.