Don't even think about making a shortbread recipe with white sugar! You'll be missing out on too much! This recipe is so easy, and so amazingly flavorful, I highly doubt you'll bother ever making another recipe again. This recipe is very flexible. Here is how I make it, and the kind of variations it can handle. I will use regular flour, whole wheat flour, organic flours, etc. They all work great. The butter needs to be SOFTENED, not MELTED. keep this in mind, please! If you need to soften butter in a hurry, cut the cubes into 5 pats apiece. Arrange them in a ring on a dinner plate, (none in the middle!) and place them in the microwave. If you have power percentage control, put it on 10% and give it 30 seconds or so. Repeat, testing until it is perfect. Dont leave the microwave. Yes, it'll take a few minutes, but it's better than finding a time machine so you can leave the butter out to soften this morning. If you don't have percentage control, cook the pats on high power for 4 or 5 seconds at a time, waiting about 20 seconds inbetween heatings. This is very important, so you don't end up with melted butter. Cream with the brown sugar, then add the cups of flour (I just use 4, I find it makes the cookies nice and tender!) and mix well. I don't knead the dough, I don't roll it out. I grab golf-ball size balls, place them on the sheet, and put a thumb-print in the middle. that's it! Cook them for the suggested time, no more, and you'll have fantastic melt-in-your-mouth shortbrea
This recipe really wasn't very nice. Yes it was simple to make and the ingredients were all easily at hand- but the result was a very bland biscuit. After reading the other reviews, I had thought that this recipe would yield a better result. But this biscuit lacks both flavour and the texture of a true shortbread; and it leaves a dry feeling in ones mouth after eating. I believe that it is misleading to name this biscuit a shortbread- it definitely lacks the true characteristics of a melt in the mouth, buttery shortbread. This is not a dreadful biscuit, but it is not tasty or exceptional. Defintely not a treat you'd serve to guests.
I have tried many, many shortbread recipes for the past 41 years in my quest for the "perfect" shortbread - and this is it. I didnt' roll it out but made it into bars - I used 1-8x8" cake pan and one pie plate so they'd be nice and thick. It's even husband approved!!! And he's a very tough cookie to please. Thank you so much!!! Now, I just have to find a butterscotch pie like my mother-in-law used to make and I'm done.
I found this recipe too heavy & floury as written. BUT when I started with cold butter cut it up into pats. Mixed it & the sugar on high until it became fluffy (5 mins on high). AND if I used 4 C flour exactly and no kneading, & chilled the dough prior to shaping, the texture and flavor improved a great deal. It changed it from very heavy & doughy tasting to light & buttery & crumbly.
WOWOWOWOW!!! I resisted the VERY strong urge to tinker with the recipe and I am so glad that I did. First of all I softened the butter, then creamed the sugar and butter together. Then, I used 4 cups of flour, which I added a little bit at a time. I then used my cookie scooper and placed the balls on a cookie sheet lined with Release. I then sprinkled the tops with granulated sugar and then pressed the bottom of a glass down on the cookies. These did not expand much at all so you can really load your cookie sheet up. These turned out delicious (and pretty)! Thanks for the post!
WOW!..a moment of silence please..1.So you can hear the sound from my expanding thighs :) 2.For the absolute perfection of this cookie! My quest is over for the best shortbread cookie recipe, Thank You Linda! I will never by the famous shortbread cookies from the stores again! I just finished making a batch of these and the only changes I made were to add a tablespoon of vanilla, a pinch of salt and used the dough hook on my stand mixture to "knead" the dough. I also used powdered sugar instead of flour to roll the dough out. I sprinkled the tops of the cookies with sparkling white sugar (press into the dough) & then pricked with a large salad fork. If you love shortbread this is definately the cookie to make, it will now remain in my recipe file for years to come!
How can 3 simple ingredients send one to heaven? That's the bliss of this shortbread. No need to make cookies, tho. I pat it into a 9x9 or 13x9 (for thin cookies) pan and prick with a fork. Dust with powdered sugar when still warm, and they melt in your mouth even better than granulated sugar. Don't forget the vanilla (bourbon ONLY) and 1/2 tsp salt. The salt lifts the sweetness. These last about 15 minutes in my house.
Authentic shortbread taste. Sooo much better than what you find in stores. I made mine entirely by hand (no mixers here), and didn't have a rolling pin or anything, so I let the dough sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes, then rolled it into balls, flattened them with my palm, and did the fork punches. Cooked them for about 18 minutes and the outcome? Super tasty. If a college guy like me can do it, anyone can. Inexpensive and easy recipe. I highly recommend it!
This shortbread is very yummy! But, beware of baking time. Mine were done well before the bake time in the recipe.
