Scottish Shortbread: a blissful wallet-friendly treat prepped in minutes
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| Really, really easy but absolutely delightful Crunchy Shortbread cookies 'Very crispy and easy to eat. Loved them.' 'A godsend!' Tasters |
These lovely biscuits are not just the 'will-do' type of biscuit made when the budget is tight or the cupboard is bare. It comes in standard 'roll-em-into-a-ball-and-squash-thembiscuits or roll the dough and cut outs shapes.
They are actually rather scrumptious treats, a backbone of Scottish baking. But it does just so happen that this first-class shortbread needs only four ingredients: butter, sugar, flour and flavouring. And you can leave out the flavouring! When shopping is a problem, you could do a lot worse.
The Bottom-of-the-Barrel version uses conventional sugar, not icing sugar, producing a more crunchy, hardier biscuit which can be dunked without losing crumble-ability.
They are not remotely healthy but 67 added brown flour and sugar for extra fibre.
Like all shortbreads, it's really easy to make; an older child can handle it without problems. There's also a mocha version below.
The amount is for a small household but multiples easily.
100gm/3.5oz soft salted dairy or plant butter
- Whip butter until structure breaks down (a few seconds); beat in sugar until pale & fluffy - a few minutes; blend in vanilla
- Add flour; mix until soft dough forms; stir in chocolate chips if using, distribute evenly.
- Form into a ball, wrap in cling; refrigerate 1 hour
- Preheat oven to 180c/350f
- The biscuits can be any size really but 67 formed 8 equal sized ping pong balls of dough, placed them with plenty of space in between on a tray lined with greaseproof paper and flattened them with the base of a glass lightly dipped in flour
- They were baked 10-12 mins, removed from oven and the oven turned off. After resting 10 mins, the cookies were returned to the cold oven 15 mins
- For cut-out biscuits, see below
- Serve plain, or drizzled with or partially dipped in melted white, milk or dark chocolate, or drizzle with flowing butter-cream icing (start with 1/3 cup icing sugar mixed with 1/3 tsp milk or cream)
- Store cookies in an airtight container
- 'I had the thin ones and loved them. They were very crispy & easy to eat and digest.' 67's general handy-man
- 'The plate of biscuits with fresh raspberries were heavenly; I could have eaten them all day!' Young carer for retired Priest.
- 'Lovely soft crunchy texture, whether solid or thin. The recipe's a god-send when bakery cupboards are bare. ' Blogger
- Mocha variation: replace 20gm/3/4 oz white flour with 20gm/3/4oz cocoa powder; replace 1/2tsp vanilla with 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules mixed with 1/2tsp hot water. Roll out the biscuits.
- dairy butter gives best flavour but margarine or vegan butter will do
- wholemeal flour and brown sugar can be replaced with white
- if using chocolate chips, divide dough in half and add only to one half
- wholemeal flour is more dense and absorbs /3/4 more liquid than white flour
This recipe has been adapted by B Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be used commercially without the author's written permission.
