Shortbread for Christmas

[Zardoz]

You are missing out if you're making shortbread with white sugar!

[Paul Henry]

You are missing out if you're making shortbread with white sugar!

Ingredients;
2 cups butter, room temp.
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Cream butter and brown sugar. Add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour. Mix well.
Sprinkle your board with the remaining flour. Knead by hand for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough.
Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

I've no doubt this might be a good biscuit, but it's not shortbread, which should be hardly coloured when cooked, but the most important thing is , the dough must be worked as little as possible, the fat inhibits the gluten in the flour working, kneading the dough will do nothing but encourage the gluten to work,and in doing so making a firm biscuit when cooked , not the wonderful soft crumble/crunch you get with traditional shortbread.
My family recipe is more or less the same as Anne's of 3/2/1

[Curly]

Thanks to all for the information....my kid is sensitive to glutin so that variation is most welcome....and cheers to all for the help!!

[Azrobert]

Most definitely agree with PaulHenry. Shortbread must not kneaded. I live in Arizona and recognizing that room temperature in Aberdeen is very different than room temp in Phoenix, I strive to keep the butter as cold as possible so the product is flaky and light. And mostly white.

[piperdbh]

Half a teaspoon of cinnamon added to the flour gives shortbread a nice extra flavor without being overly "cinnamony".




What's Jock Scot's favorite kind of shortbread?

[Zardoz]

I've no doubt this might be a good biscuit, but it's not shortbread, which should be hardly coloured when cooked, but the most important thing is , the dough must be worked as little as possible, the fat inhibits the gluten in the flour working, kneading the dough will do nothing but encourage the gluten to work,and in doing so making a firm biscuit when cooked , not the wonderful soft crumble/crunch you get with traditional shortbread.
My family recipe is more or less the same as Anne's of 3/2/1

*** ?
No matter what is discussed on this forum, there's always an expert that comes down with a last-word authoritative statement like that. Although a thread sharing recipes is not where I'd expect it! Very off-putting.

I guess I should give back the medals that recipes based on this one have won at highland games in traditional shortbread contests!

[Drac]

While waiting on the one from the Lamonts here is one from one of my cooking mags. Warning - this mag likes to complicate simple recipes but they normally taste great and I like complicated

Pictures may not show as it is a sign in site.

Best Shortbread
Makes 16 wedges. Published November 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.

Use the collar of a springform pan to form the shortbread into an even round. Mold the shortbread with the collar in the closed position, then open the collar, but leave it in place. This allows the shortbread to expand slightly but keeps it from spreading too far. Wrapped well and stored at room temperature, shortbread will keep for up to 7 days.




1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup (2 2/3 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter , cold, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse oats in spice grinder or blender until reduced to fine powder, about ten 5-second pulses (you should have ¼ to 1/3 cup oat flour). In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oat flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Add butter to dry ingredients and continue to mix on low speed until dough just forms and pulls away from sides of bowl, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Place upside-down (grooved edge should be at top) collar of 9- or 9 1/2-inch springform pan on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (do not use springform pan bottom). Press dough into collar in even 1/2-inch-thick layer, smoothing top of dough with back of spoon. Place 2-inch biscuit cutter in center of dough and cut out center. Place extracted round alongside springform collar on baking sheet and replace cutter in center of dough. Open springform collar, but leave it in place.

3. Bake shortbread 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Continue to bake until edges turn pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove baking sheet from oven; turn off oven. Remove springform pan collar; use chef’s knife to score surface of shortbread into 16 even wedges, cutting halfway through shortbread. Using wooden skewer, poke 8 to 10 holes in each wedge. Return shortbread to oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon, leaving 1-inch gap at top. Allow shortbread to dry in turned-off oven until pale golden in center (shortbread should be firm but giving to touch), about 1 hour.

4. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool shortbread to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate and serve.

[NewEnglander]

While waiting on the one from the Lamonts here is one from one of my cooking mags. Warning - this mag likes to complicate simple recipes but they normally taste great and I like complicated

Excellent. My copy of "Best Recipes" by Test Kitchen is my go-to cookbook. I've started giving at a wedding gift. It's got everything! I'm actually using a recipe from their grilling cookbook to smoke a turkey breast on Thursday.
Sorry for the thread detour...

[Paul Henry]

*** ?
No matter what is discussed on this forum, there's always an expert that comes down with a last-word authoritative statement like that. Although a thread sharing recipes is not where I'd expect it! Very off-putting.

I guess I should give back the medals that recipes based on this one have won at highland games in traditional shortbread contests!

I think the OP wanted a very traditional Scottish recipe for Shortbread, and that is what a number of us have given,yours may well be good but it's not a traditional Scottish one, especially as the it's very unlikely that dark brown suger would have used, not least fact that shortbread was thought of a "fancy" biscuit and white sugar was always thought of as best.

I wouldn't call myself an expert in making shortbread, but as the others who have replied here have made it very clear that the dough shouldn't be over worked, I was simply giving the reason for it.

If you have won medals for your recipe that is wonderful, well done, and as I've said before it might be be a great biscuit,but most Scottish or Irish people wouldn't recognise it as traditional.
I'[m sorry that you feel slighted not just by me it appears,the intention was very far from that,not everyone is going to have the same recipes in their family cookbook

[AFS1970]

I remember one my mother made, that I made a few times while still living with her. That was similar to the 3/2/1 one, although it also listed a variation of using half oat flour and half white flour. It did end up a little darker than others I have had. Sadly that one along with many of my childhood favorites was lost during a kitchen renovation after my mom passed away.