classic shortbread (2024)

Margaret

Have been waiting for someone with patience and skill to conquer this “simple” recipe…thank you Deb!

Scargosun

Love me some Lasso. I have been trying to find time to make these b/c I thought they needed longer than your average cook time for cookies. I am happy to see I can give them a go this weekend!

Karen

Sarah Jane

How did you know I’ve been craving shortbread with my evening tea?! Perfect timing, Deb. Can’t wait to try them…

Jade

This is the recipe I didn’t know I was waiting for!!!
My husband fell in love with Ma’amoul biscuits, and bought semolina flour ages ago intending to make them. He lost interest and I have a kg of semolina in the cupboard. :-)

Brenda

Deb,
Bad at business, perhaps. But you are probably one of the only food blogs I can go to these days without bring slapped in the face with pop ups and videos and screaming ads, and for this, you are a food blog heroine.
So I salute your bad-at-business-ness and say thank you for being you.
Love,
Brenda, fan since way before pop up ads were born.

Rebecca

No browned butter? Deb, are you feeling ok?

Zainab

Thank you for this, Deb! I’ve been regularly making your twice-baked shortbread to fulfill my cravings ever since I watched Ted Lasso, but Walker’s is my Platonic Shortbread Ideal, too. Very excited to try this out!

Fahreen

I have been waiting and waiting for you to bless us with a classic shortbread! I love your espresso one and have been making it for years! Question here – how easy is it to add in flavors here if I wanted to diversify a bit? Citrus zest, lavender flowers, etc. Thank you Deb!

Ellen

Ooh, interested to try this! I’ve been using a recipe by a popular author that, while delicious, is always under-baked, even when I bake it for much longer than stated in the recipe.

Amanda

Between Ted Lasso and the Great British Baking Show, I have been dying to try my hand at shortbread. Thanks for doing the work for us. Can’t wait to try it this weekend!

Stephanie Berry

THANK YOU. Ted Lasso is just a delight, and those biscuits look so good. Shame that they’re not, but I will be promptly making yours. :)

Sharon

Loved Ted Lasso! I actually made the shortbread from your archive for the finale. How do these compare? Because those? We’re delicious!!!!

Paul Topping

When I was a teenager, I used to love experimenting in the kitchen. I wasn’t that adventurous. I simply tried to make foods that I had enjoyed outside the home. One of those was shortbread. Although this was over 50 years ago, I still remember that the magic ingredient was rice flour. It gave it that sort of smooth but gritty texture that I really liked. Although Walker’s Shortbread is pretty good, the stuff I made was better. I’m sure I got it from some recipe from a book but I have no idea where.

Chamila

If i wish to make these into espresso cookies, do i just add 1tsp of espresso powder or instant coffee granules (powdered)?

RS

Kristin

MandyS

I am so excited to try this recipe!!! I love shortbread and while I consider myself a good baker, I haven’t been brave enough to try making shortbread because I worry it won’t turn out. Thank you for sharing your process! This is what we love you for, Deb.

Sharilyn Unthank

Love Shortbread. so excited to try these. Also, can I just say, I miss searching for the links to see pictures of your cute kids!! I’m sure Jacob tired of that as he got old enough to have an opinion and school friends to “acknowledge” those pictures.

Heidi H

Deb!?!? I am so chuffed that you did this. I went nuts while we were watching Ted Lasso, obsessing about finding a recipe that replicated these cookies – I am so excited you took on this project because there is NO ONE BETTER to make them a reality. Thank you thank you thank you! Can’t wait to make them.

Marcy

This has very little to do with this recipe, but I have to tell you that I read the word “reattaches” about three times before actually recognizing it as a word that is in my vocabulary. I said it with a French accent, then tried to decipher its meaning as a cooking/baking verb, before I finally realized what the word actually was and that, yes, it is a word I have previously and correctly used. It has been that kind of day.

Emily M.

Ha! There is something in the (internet) air. Just yesterday Jason Kottke posted a link to a guy who did some sleuthing on Ted Lasso’s shortbread and decided the recipe was from Melissa Clark: https://www.david-smith.org/blog/2021/04/21/breadcrumbs/
It’s so funny when two different people are thinking about the same thing at the same time except now that I’m writing it out it seems rather obvious that this would be a not uncommon occurrence. Like this week Luisa Weiss writing about Korean rice cakes, which I’d never heard of, and Spilled Milk Podcast releasing a Korean rice cakes episode. Anyway, now I need Korean rice cakes AND shortbread.

Cambria

I love Ted Lasso- I can’t wait to bake these this weekend!

Jill+Nielsen

I toss in one tablespoon or a bit more of finely chopped fresh rosemary. People go bonkers over my shortbread.

Lyrical Soul

ElizF

We’re huge TL fans so I’ve been searching for a great shortbread recipe. My daughter and I made these this morning. EXTREMELY YUMMY! We don’t have vanilla paste so I used a tsp of vanilla extract.

mks

Now, please, instructions for making the perfectly sized pink boxes Ted Lasso uses to package these treats! I’m so happy to picture you watching that fun show and can’t wait to try these. I may make a Ted Lasso tribute meal of extra spicy Indian food and ale and shortbread while we re-watch the series for the third time during this pandemic. Thank you!

Lauri

I stumbled upon the article in People where Ana Calderone recreated Ted Lasso Biscuits, and they have become a weekly staple in our house. And I now make them and give them away in all kind of circ*mstances (new neighbor, hostess gift, thank you present). We are big shortbread fans in this house and we all like these better. Somehow they are better than typical shortbread. Less sweet, a little cakey if you bake them until just golden (one time I baked longer and did not love them as crisp). Her ratio is similar to yours, slightly less sugar and flour. And the technique is super easy. https://people.com/food/ted-lasso-biscuits-with-the-boss-shortbread-recipe/

Theresa

Susan

Can’t wait to try these, I’ve been looking for a good shortbread recipe! I love Walker’s, they are good for a store-bought cookie and wonderful with a cup of tea. But I’d like to try making them at home. I love that you cut them just like Walker’s and included the dots! I had to Google Ted Lasso, didn’t know what that was. I have Apple TV, so will have to watch.

Chelsea

This is probably a silly question…but do you cut them while they’re still in the pan? Any tricks/tips on that?

stuart gray

My very Scottish grandmother always included some rice flour along with all purpose flour. She also said you had to listen for the “snap” if you knead it slightly before shaping.

Jtb34

Is the butter cold or softened? Thanks!

Jan Morrison

I’ve been making your twice-baked shortbread for years and I guess I feel torn, which is admittedly very strange because they’re both yours, but there it is. And also my shortbread making time is December so there’s that. Oh Heck- is nothing dependable? Wait – don’t answer. No and that I can depend on.

Ron Miller

TinaD

Interested in trying this—I like that it’s a shortbread finger, rather than the big honking squares & triangles they make the shortbread pans for. (Do not knock Walkers; their Scottie dogs were a treasured indulgence of kiddiehood, like chocolate oranges & Cadbury bars.)

Michelle

Bex

What a relief! Walker’s shortbread is my very favorite as well. I’ve Googled “Walkers shortbread copycat recipe” a few times over the years, and the results have never been convincing (they all seemed to have been posted by people who believe that shortbread is shortbread is shortbread). I may have tried a few, and I never DISLIKE shortbread, but. Anyway. Deb, I always trust your testing and perfectionism and I’m so glad you’re a Walker’s fan, too! I’m sure these will be just right.

LD

Could this also be tagged under the “5 Ingredients or Fewer” category? I may or may not obsessively stalk that section of SK when I’m craving something like delicious (like this) when I’m feeling lazy (which is a lot more than I’d like to admit). Can’t wait to do a Rosemary/orange shortbread!

Jen M

I’ve been making shortbread for years with a recipe I got from a Canadian friend. It has rice flour in place of some of the AP and I love the texture. I couldn’t find it one year at the holidays and used corn starch and didn’t love it. That shortbread is in my top 5 all time favorite things. And now I want some…😄

S

I’m so relived to see I wasn’t the only Walker fan! I second what you say about Walkers. I don’t have much to compare it with and plus it has no additives. I even gifted them to friends and family to spread my shortbread love without much success. Maybe I should try your recipe and see if that does the trick!

Natalie

This was exactly what my Friday night needed! I added a teaspoon of lavender salt and it is heavenly. I may have mangled the top a bit by using a bit too thick of a skewer to score them, but the results taste just as good as they would have otherwise. I think I have a new go-to shortbread recipe.

Taryn

If I were to use almond extract, would you recommend scaling it back a bit compared to the vanilla? I typically feel like a little goes a long way when it comes to almond extract, but I do like the flavor. If so, how much would you use?

Mary

My mother was from Scotland an she has made short bread for he whole life. She used salted butter 1/2 a pound. She only used 5 tablespoons of berry sugar.. Her flour was 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup rice flour. She also a pinch of baking powder it then gets needed and formed into 3 large cakes. Dock the top and bake at 300 defers until golden brown. This is the best shorbread I have ever had

Judith

Can you use wholemeal flour?

Sounds great, Deb, but how about adapting this recipe to be rolled out and shaped by cookie cutters? I love making all shapes for kids’ parties, and the kids like to choose their favorites

Lily

Erin B

Deb, thanks for this detailed and thoughtful explanation of the how’s and why’s. My question is this: If I were absolutely intent on turning these into brown butter shortbreads, could I simply brown the butter, let it firm back up in the fridge to the original stick-butter temp, and then cut it into chunks? Or, because the recipe asks for the butter to beaten until soft, should I skip the firming up in the fridge and only let it firm up more slightly at room temp? Does it need to be beaten from cold to end up with the right texture? I love the gently slumping shoulders, the size and shape of these cookies. And I think the prettiest bar cookies always come from a straight-sided pan.

Paula

What is a wooden skewer? Do you have a photo of one? Obviously, this is a new tool to me. Also, I am guessing that to “dock” means to poke holes in something?

Marie-Christine

Shortbread used to be a once-yearly delight, a stick or two from the Walker box my stepmother brought back from her annual trip to Wales. But do you know what later equalled it? The version from Greens with bits of candied ginger

Sally

Yay! I, too, am a Walker’s fan. The first time I tasted Walker’s shortbread was when I was living in the UK (my American family bought cookies from the bakery or made them) and I swear I heard angels sing. Can’t wait to try this. Thank you!

CAITLYN NICHOLS

Have you ever made these using a gluten free flour?

vivien

Question about the weight/volume conversion: King Arthur Flour baking site gives 120 grams per cup of AP flour. Using that, 2 1/4 cups flour = 270 grams, not 295. Are you using a different conversion?

Margaret Lagimodiere

When you say ‘powdered sugar’…do you mean icing sugar??
Can’t wait to try these…although I only have ever made shortbread cookies at Christmas….and the two best recipes so far are the ones from Buckingham Palace and Bonnie Stern…of Toronto.
Thank-you
Margaret
Hudson Quebec

A couple of things: 1) for anyone craving rice flour, just toss some raw white rice in a blender and grind it (with the lid on) — no need to buy it, ever. 2) I make shortbread every year and have never used a machine to do it: the classic method is to work the sugar into the butter with your hands and then add the flour, hand-kneading all the while. I add salt and flavoring at the end, also kneading them in. The gluten won’t toughen because it doesn’t take much to combine shortbread ingredients.

Mary B

I had to read all the way to the end to figure out that the “back” of a wooden skewer refers to the blunt end rather than the pointy end. Having forgotten that skewers are pointy on one end only I was flummoxed as to how a symmetrical/cylindrical item could have a back or front. Perhaps just describe it as the blunt tip/end rather than as the back of the skewer? Sorry to be persnickety and I’m looking forward to trying the recipe.

Ellen

If you have ever been to the walker factory in the highlands then you will love them forever. It’s just so beautiful where they make them. So please always love walkers the best!

Jaclyn Cannon

Have you ever tried a brown butter shortbread? It’s hands down my favorite. Had one from a bake stand in Santa Barbara once and have come close, but never fully recreated it. I may try your ratios here with some brown butter and see how it goes. Thank you!

SQLWitch

Hey Deb, for the flour, you might try 3 parts unbleached all purpose and 1 part cake flour. That’s the formula a Scottish friend of mine spent years perfecting after she couldn’t afford to bring British flour into Canada. I’ve been using this for many years with success.

JP

How could anyone not love shortbread? My husband once visited the company he works for in Britain and at tea time they brought out shortbread with the monogram of the company’s name pressed into the shortbread. He brought me back one cookie so I could see it. We decided we wanted to press our own family monogram into shortbread too! One more thing, for rice flour, white rice can be put through a wheat grinder and makes lovely rice flour. We never buy rice flour. My husband uses it to coat the baskets that hold his rising sourdough bread, so we need to keep it on hand. Our own “homemade” rice flour is every bit as nice as store bought at a fraction of the cost. Thanks for the recipe!

Patsi Minnes

Would love to find the answer to the gluten free question. I have a cookie loving husband who doesn’t tolerate gluten.
Thank you

Alyson

My partner is from Paisley, Scotland. We made them with butter from our Amish neighbor. Given it’s currently late April I lightly flavored them with lemon. The result was excellent. We are looking forward to eating them with fresh picked strawberries.

Terese

By powdered sugar, do you mean confectioners sugar (which may contain cornstarch)?

Kristin

Made these last night, and they are delicious! I used Kerrygold butter. I think my oven runs hotter than Deb’s so, when I made the channels with the skewers, I ended up with some crumbs (that I just had to eat while the cookies cooled) and my edges aren’t quite as lovely as Deb’s. I’ll channel earlier next time or just skip that step and only use the knife. I have been craving shortbread for several months, and am so glad Deb posted this recipe!

A

The late Laurie Colwin, a marvelous food writer, has a recipe with some rice flour in it. A really good addition to shortbread.

Patricia

Mine are in the oven. I just checked on them and they look and smell delicious. I forgot to put down parchment paper. I hope that’s not going to make it impossible to get out of the pan.

Miriam

Made these today and they were so easy and so delicious! Your method of scoring and then cutting worked wonderfully and they are so cute and tasty. We are midway through watching Ted Lasso, I am also finding it delightful, and this recipe just called to me. Thank you!!

k

Some have mentioned lavender to flavor; I used to work for a chef who food-processed lavender buds with granulated sugar and used that to flavor shortbread.

Sarah U

Made these today to freeze because my parents will be visiting next week and my 3yo daughter wants to have a tea party with Nana. We haven’t seen them in 2 years so it deserves special cookies. They are delicious And I look forward to having them with tea. I’m not sure I prefer them over the other shortbread cookies on your site, Deb. I will have to make them again and compare. :)

Lorie

I had the same response to watching Ted Lasso – that I needed to figure out how to make those cookies! Thanks for the recipe : )

This shortbread looks AMAZING! I have been wanting to make shortbread ever since I first saw it made on my favorite TV show “The Great British Bake Off” and I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

Constance

Nancy+in+CA

in a typical year, I make dozens of pans of shortbread at Christmastime for an annual bake sale. While I was allowed to retire from work, I was not allowed to retire from the bake sale. I do include a bit of cornstarch in mine, as I use King Arthur Flour, and it’s higher in protein. I love to play with it, I think my favorite included oats and brown sugar. Huz is a shortbread purist, and even frowns if he catches me adding the vanilla. I’m definitely going to try some rice flour next time. And some with browned butter…wait, some inspired soul mentioned freeze-dried raspberries, and suppose I swapped in some almond flour and almond extract with that? Hmm.

Cobwebs

I was thinking just yesterday that I wanted to try making millionaire’s shortbread (shortbread with caramel and chocolate on top) but put it on the back burner because I didn’t have a good shortbread recipe for the base. This is perfect timing.

Riane

These were SUPER simple to make and tasted DELICIOUS. They were even found to be on par with Walker’s, which is a huge deal in my household. Can’t wait to try dipping them in chocolate for a fancy gift!

Maren

Perfect thing to bake on this rainy Sunday. I used a teaspoon of almond extract and did the semolina swap- they are delicious. The texture is firm yet melts in your mouth. I’m terrible at shaping so mine are more like thumbs than fingers but still taste amazing!

Bea

I had heard positive reviews about “Ted Lasso”. When your Classic Shortbread recipe popped up with comments about the show, it prompted my husband and I to start watching it last night (love it!) and to make the shortbread this morning (love it!). I used a food processor which combined the ingredients perfectly. Didn’t have vanilla bean paste, so I used vanilla extract. Excited to try other flavorings in the future, too. Delicious and easy to make! Thank you!!

MyrnaL

I made these on Saturday and used salted butter which I grabbed by mistake at the store. And used the rice flour recommendation that was posted. These are delicous ! Will try with lemon and lavendar next!

Jen

I have one of those ceramic scone dishes from World Market (it bakes 8 separate wedge shaped scones) – do you think I could do shortbread in there or would baking in ceramic give a different result?

Natalie

These were good (but not as good as the old twice baked shortbread), and seemed a little softer than I would have expected. I did the semolina swap but did everything else by weight as written. The second half of the bake went for quite a while longer than expected. The shortbread just wasn’t browning at all after 35 minutes – ended up kicking up the temperature by 25 degrees and baking another 8-10 minutes (I eventually lost track after adding time repeatedly to my timer). They browned, but not as deeply. Will likely try again with the higher temp for the entire second half of the bake and see if I get better results.

Jess L.

Hi! So if you’re halving the sugar to convert to caster/granulated, does that mean you use 1/3 cup granulated sugar, or 40 grams granulated sugar? The weights are way different and it seems like it would make a big difference. Thanks!

Maureen Ley

Easy peasy and yummy! Hubs loves the Walker’s…declares these even better!

Grace DeShaw-Wilner

I really like your suggestion of using powdered sugar and look forward to trying your recipe. My go-to recipe is one I got from a friend some ago that uses 4c white flour, 1c rice flour, 1lb European butter, a scant cup of white sugar, and vanilla bean paste. I’ve enjoyed that recipe–the rice flour makes for a tender cookie. I may experiment with that recipe, substituting powdered sugar for the white sugar. Thank you–we certainly benefit from all your experimentation!

Ubi de Feo

Alice

Love shortbread! My mum makes the most amazing shortbread, with one addition/ change to the classic 3:2:1 formula- it’s 250g flour, 200g butter, 100g sugar, 50g ground rice (this is a thing you can buy in supermarkets here in the UK, am unsure if this is available elsewhere or if it actually is what it sounds like)- the ground rice gives it the particularly short texture, and it’s wonderful. We make it completely by hand- smushing the block of butter into the flour, then pressing into a lightly floured ceramic, fluted quiche dish, then cut into frilly edged triangles once out of the oven. It’s amazing!

Karen Downie

This makes me smile as I used to go to school right next to the Walkers shortbread factory in Scotland and for recess we would get the broken bits of shortbread they couldn’t sell which were delicious!

Adrienne

Good morning Deb. My grandmother‘s 130-year-old shortbread recipe from Edinburgh. I make it every couple of weeks and it brings rave reviews. It is 8 ozs of butter creamed with 4 ozs of confectioners’ sugar, 4 ounces of cornflour, and when almost white, add a punch of salt and 8ozs all purpose flour. Continue the mixing process in a stand mixer until it comes together in one lump which indicates the gluten as well expanded. Roll on cool surface and cut into a little less than 1/2” thick x 2” squares putting 3 fork indentations on each square. Lift each one and place on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 30 minutes on the bottom shelf of the oven. It should stay creamy white and not any browning. They come out of the oven like little white pillows of deliciousness and dissolve in your mouth.

Melaura

These were very tasty and quite easy with the food processor method. I made them as written, with trader joe’s unsalted butter and vanilla paste. They took on the long side to get any color on the edges at all, and the flavor was amazing but they were a tiny bit chalky. I’ve never made homemade shortbread this way. The other recipe I’ve made, SK’s austrian raspberry shortbread, came out a bit more moist because of the egg yolk. Bottom line, I suppose, is don’t expect an egg-ed consistency from something without eggs!

Nancy

Walker’s are my favorite shortbread. I’ve tried many recipes but none can compare. This one is about as close as you can get. Thanks for all your trying to get this delicious cookie.

Terese A Koeller Scott

By powdered sugar, do you mean confectioners sugar (which may contain cornstarch)?

Nancy

Just made these but will remake tomorrow in the food processor instead of my stand mixer. I was afraid of over-mixing and toughening the dough and don’t think it was mixed enough—way too crumby when I pressed it into the pan, even though my butter was very soft. I rechecked your photo and our batters looked like two different recipes!
Also, after 20 min in, the top of mine in a few places was cracking. Was my oven too hot?
They tasted ok, but a bit too dense and had a bit of a raw taste, even though cooked through. Weird.
I am not defeated though. I know the mistakes were mine, and my awful oven. Tomorrow is a new day.

Jamie

Oh, my glory, I can’t wait to try these. Walker’s shortbread are a once-a-year Christmas treat around our house, which is probably a good thing because I’ll eat an entire package of any size with a large cup of coffee given the chance. Now I guess Spring Shortbread needs to be a thing, too. Yay!

Ari Oundle

These are very overdone. Lower and slower, they should not vary in colour on top nor be browned on the bottom. The WI would not award these!

Patsi Minnes

What would WI stand for?

Kim

My all time favorite flavor combination is Walker shortbread with Lindt Zimbabwean Koriander chocolate. So delicious! If I could only find that chocolate here in the US.

Penelope

Hi! I was wondering if you have any pictures of how the ones baked in the 9 inch round are made? I’m just having some trouble picturing it. Thank you!!

Eliza

These are just barely sweet… in a good way. We were hoping to spread caramel on them and then dip them in chocolate but we’re not going to have any left for that. They did take forever to bake in my oven and I eventually just removed them from the oven, even though they werent quite golden brown.

MaggieToo

Meg McGaffin

Cara

Thanks for the Lasso recommendation. My wife and I loved it. Won’t be making the shortbread anytime soon as it’s not on the heart healthy diet that’s imperative for me these days… but I can’t imagine it would give me more joy than the show did.

Courtney

So awesome – I love reading how you came to decide to make something, lol. I love shortbread since I found a recipe on 101cookbooks, but yours sounds so much easier. Question for ya though… since I’m a chocoholic, would these be good dipped in dark chocolate? I mean…most everything is, but I like the look as well as the taste… :)

Jennifer

I made these right away. I definitely need to practice the scoring so that they look neater, but they were delicious. Big thumbs up from The Arbiter of All Baked Goods (husband). Thank you.

Lilly

Laura P.

These look phenomenal! I too adore Walker’s shortbread, and have fond memories of when I was studying abroad in Galway, sitting in the lounge on rainy afternoons (i.e., most afternoons) in the main building with a styrofoam cup of tea, a package of two Walkers fingers, and my Discman. <–dates self as Very Old.

Elisabeth

Christine

As we barrel into strawberry season (so close. so close) can I suggest to you my discovery of a few years ago? If you replace shortcake with shortbread in your ‘strawberry shortcake’ you will not be disappointed.

Linzi

Jess

I have been craving shortbread like crazy since watching Ted Lasso (which is so charming). Thanks, Deb. You always know what we need.

ND

I am excited to make these as they are just what I feel like. If my choice is to bake them in a square pyrex pan or a round metal cake tin, which do you suggest? I prefer the square shape for cutting but I wonder if this changes the timing…

CK

Happy to report that even with Walmart brand powdered sugar, Target brand flour (that was clumpy and poorer quality than I expected) and Land o Lakes butter, THESE shortbread are so delicious. I cannot stop eating them. Mine definitely don’t look as good as yours (edges aren’t as clean). Can’t imagine how amazing these would be with quality ingredients. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.

France

Recipe just in time to make for my college student to come home (shortbread is her favorite)! In a food processor the dough looks incredibly powdery but do not fear – it comes together with in the 1-2 min time frame Deb gives us. I let the cookies cool completely in the pan and when I went to separate them, they came away without the clean edges – or even the pillowy edges described in the recipe. I wound up cutting the rest apart. Anyone have thoughts or advice?

Lynn Marie

Please try without added flavoring first! The classic recipe truly is 3 ingredients only and there’s a good reason for that. So good! Then experiment with added flavorings if you must.

Kai

I made these yesterday and gave a couple to my partner, who immediately looked very wounded and said “You MADE these? Have you been able to do this the whole time?” – as though I had been holding out on him for our entire relationship. Guess I know what’s getting added to the repertoire! :)

Liz

I made lemon and rosemary shortbread with less sugar, extra salt. Toddler approved.

macfadden

Very tasty cookies, and so easy to make. I used a food processor and they came together quickly. My family promptly devoured them.

I made these shortbreads twice, and the first time I mistakenly only included 230g of flour, but both times they were absolutely delicious :) I added the zest of a lemon to both batches and it’s so easy to make and so good (by British neighbour loves them, too!), I should do it every weekend! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!

Lizzy

I love shortbread. I love good shortbread. This recipe is for the most ridiculously fantastic and scrumptious shortbread cookies of all time. Thank you for giving me small pieces of heaven.

Jackie

Just took these out the oven- took another commenters suggestion and added cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cloves along with the vanilla extract. They smell divine and I will try to keep my hands (and mouth) off of them while they cool. Only got 21, rather than 24, any skinnier and they seemed too small-not complaining though. Thanks again for the excellent directions and suggestions!!

Jackie

P.S. I lied, couldn’t keep my mouth off them- just cut them and buggered up one so I HAD to eat it (and not sorry that mine were bigger). YUM-make these, make them now, you won’t be disappointed.

Mary

Deb, what do you think of adding rosemary to these?

Noaya

Oh God, these are so good! I followed your recipe and used some French butter I had lying around. I cannot stop eating them!

Jan

I can’t wait to try this. I have been looking for a thorough shortbread recipe for years. One question: if using a stand mixer with cold butter, approximately how long would you mix it for? I think in the past I’ve either mixed for too long, or not long enough.

Gracie

Hi! Do you think this would work with a malted powder mixed in? :) I just love the taste it imparts and was wondering if it was possible to add in your recipe?

Melissa

In the recipe, it say’s “Flavoring of choice (see Note)”, but I’m not seeing the Note. Are we talking vanilla extract ? Ok to just skip this and let the butter & sugar do all the flavoring ?

Juka

I LOVE shortbread and I couldn’t have been gladder when I saw SK has a shortbread recipe. I’ve tried a couple and they never worked. I’m here to tell you, as always SK delivers. the 50+ recipes you tried Deb to get to this one really do result in a perfect shortbread cookie. I didn’t even make it! Husband and toddler wanted a baking project so I pointed them to this: they did everything right! The shortbread is DELICIOUS. I’ve told husband to make another batch as soon as this one finishes. All three of us absolutely love this shortbread cookie. So much thanks for the public service you did in developing this recipe! ;)

Courtney

These were so good! My friend was lovely enough to drop off some rice flour for me, which gave them a kind of indefinably crispy/gritty texture (in the best way!). There’s not much to them, so I was worried they’d be almost plain, but everyone in the family loved them. They were perfect for the season finale of Ted Lasso and I’ll definitely be making them again (and probably watching Ted Lasso again, let’s be honest …). I just used vanilla for the flavor but I think lemon would be amazing.

ANNE

My friend’s grandmother was Scottish and made the best shortbread I’ve ever had. It was not flaky but very dense rectangles about 3/4 inch high and 2.5 inch tall and you had to really bite into them. She had a special cutter that zigzagged the edges slightly. We used to sneak into her pantry and swipe a few hopefully without her catching us or we’d be in for a long sermon about the Lord. Never got the recipe. Have searched high and low for a shortbread like hers. Did you try baking separately as I describe? Would kneading the dough do anything to the texture?

Bentley

Just made these with semolina, had the first one still warm and wow I hope they last long enough to dip in chocolate. I didn’t watch the demos and I definitely messed up some of my lines by pushing too hard with the skewer, it broke up the crust somewhat but man so delicious anyway!

HelenB

These are so delicious and so easy to make. I used homemade vanilla extract and upped the amount to 1-1/2 teaspoons. Used Kerry Gold unsalted butter and only AP flour. I baked them in a Breville compact oven without issue.

KG

Just made these on a 110 degree day. Maybe not the best move, but what the hell. I added 2 tbsp of fresh chopped bee balm petals from the garden. Easy to make and very delicious. I cut the recipe in half and it turned out great. Perfect amount of sugar.

Heidi

Hi! If using regular iodized salt in this recipe, would you use the same amount as the sea salt or less? Thanks!

Thank you. Every year at Hanukkah and Christmas, I give family and friends at least 6 different kinds of cookies. Although there are always favorites included, I look for some different ones. This one, knowing it came from you, caught my eye. It’ll be a definite “must make”. Thank you.

Sharon

My Scoth/Irish born (Glasgow/Belfast) grandmother made these slightly wider and shorter, still a rectangle but not as long and skinny. When i was a child, sHe would send them to my house every Christmas. My Mom would savor the deliciousness. Proud of my Scottish heritage. Yum!!!!

Amy

Thank you for this recipe! I don’t see a note about flavoring. How much vanilla or almond extract would you add?

Deena

How do you think banana flavoring/extract would taste?

Steve

Kirsten

I want to try this!! But I’m in Europe and am nervous that our butters have more fat? The brown butter cherry bars turned out greasier in the EU with kerrygold vs Kroger brand butter in the US. Thanks so much!! Wishing you all the best.

Seth Thayer

OMG, I have been on a shortbread baking binge since Covid started and I was living alone, without my husband, who was working and living elsewhere for the first three months….these were my goto savior cookies. I would make four at a time and bake them in mini muffin tins. When the power went out during a storm, I put the tins on the weber gas grill outside and they were delicious! Thanks for this recipe, I will certainly try them. Love adding a bit of ginger and vanilla paste. I have mostly been making them by feel without measuring, and they come out well. Amish butter is my favorite on these too.

Preeya

So excited for season 2!!! I just made these are they are absolutely amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I’ll definitely be making this again.

Rhonda Ra

Am I using 1 stick of butter or two? It said 1cup/8oz Thank you!

MS

I made these as soon as I saw you posted it on Instagram in honor of season 2 of Ted Lasso. I had all the ingredients so it was a no brainer to make. The instructions were perfect and the end product turned out great. I don’t like too sweet cookies and these were perfect. It takes all of my willpower to not eat more than 2 of these cookies with my morning coffee. Thank you for another great recipe.

Lindsey

What is the note about flavor? Am I overlooking it?

Juliet Ogunade

Can the recipe be doubled and made in a 13 x 9 pan?

Hillary

I would love for Smitten Kitchen to make a pecan shortbread millionaire bar – maybe a take on this shortbread recipe with caramel and chocolate layer on top?!

Katie

Brown the butter!

Lanam

These are the same as Dorie Greenspan’s everyday shortbread except with confectioners sugar instead of granulated (and hers go in at 325 degrees). I made both versions in the last couple days and while both are delicious, my family all agreed we liked your version more for the melt-in-your-mouth-ness. They taste just like I imagined the Ted Lasso version would, a rarity for me with recipe hunting. These will be my go-to moving forward. Thank you!

Kate

I made these with brown butter and they are divine. I ended up needing to add a bit more butter due to some of it cooking off during the browning process, but they turned out great and with plenty of that nutty flavor coming through. Yum!

Sarah S

I made these with about a few teaspoons of chopped up rosemary as suggested by other commenters and a dollop of vanilla paste and they are delicious. Planning to share them with some neighbors … if we don’t eat them all first. Also enjoying Ted Lasso! Thanks for a great easy recipe. Agree with earlier commenter that I love how down to earth your recipes are Deb – regular old stick butter made a great cookie.

Shareena

Hi! I love your cookie recipes! For this one, if I were to add earl grey tea leaves for flavoring, how much would you recommend using? Thanks in advance.

Rachel

These look amazing! If I want to add lemon zest, should I also add the vanilla too? Or just one or the other?

Halle

I find that using icing sugar makes a dry cookie.
Can I substitute brown sugar and if so, how much
should I use?

Ankita

Christina

THE GOAT!! Seriously, this has replaced all of my other shortbread recipes. It is perfection.

Lauren

It says 8 ounces/1 cup of butter. 1 cup = 16 ounces, right? Just making sure I’m not losing my mind. This is the second time I’ve made these and first time was amazing, so double checking.

Patsi

Just wondering if you have ever used a cookie cutter ? My grandmother always baked them with a snippet of candied peel on each cookie.

Susan

These are great cookies. I have been making (and decorating) rolled shortbreads for years and I appreciate your careful notes about the shaping of these Walker’s-like bars. I especially appreciate that you call it using less flour and less sugar when what we’re really doing is using more butter!

Jenny

I make Shortbread every year for my Scottish husband and believe I have found the perfect recipe. Mine adds rice flour according to a traditional recipe I found. (Rice flour can be made with some white rice and spice grinder.) Rice flour gives it a nice delicate tooth. Replace AP with up to 1/2 C rice flour by measure. I use less sugar, granulated (2/3 vs 1/2) and no flavoring. When I make bars, I bake them already cut on a cookie sheet. I’m going to try your method for cutting in a round pan hoping that I don’t break the points on the Petticoat Tails – Scottish speak for Petit Gateau! Try shortbread with a bit of fresh rosemary – outstanding.

Faye Labatt

I used a bench scraper to cut them which eliminated the work of the initial lines. These are spectacular cookies!

Cathy Dellinger

I made them and they are awesome, but I have a friend on a salt free diet. I’d like to omit the salt. That shouldn’t be a problem, correct? I happen to love the addition of salt and vanilla but never used them in other pure shortbreads that I e done.

Amy Robertson

Does the recipe change if I use Irish butter? It’s all I have here!

Christina

Well, Deb, here it is, Monday of work-from-home-week-before-Christmas, and I am already 6 sticks of butter deep. Unfussy Sugar Cookies, these shortbreads (x2), and next up are the gingersnaps. I keep stepping away from my desk for just a quick 15 min to whip up the next batch. Thanks for enabling! xoxo

Mary Burgess Janeway

Katherine

Just wanted to share that I did the scoring with a skewer but forgot to cut with a knife during that step and they came out fine. I let sit in the pan for 10 minutes and then cut with a chefs knife. So just in case you make the same mistake, have no fear.

Honoria

Colleen

Alex

These were SO GOOD and so easy. I don’t have an 8″ cake pan so I did them in my 8″ pyrex (which I was worried about – I didn’t know if the glass would make a difference) and I am happy to report it did not make a difference and they were deeelish.

The back of a wooden skewer?? Does this possibly mean the bottom of the skewer, opposite the point? Why is there not a picture of THIS?

Cassie

Yep, that’s the recipe. I got this same one, 45 years ago, from a friend whose mother was Scottish. It’s not too sweet. I have made endless variations of this (try adding candied ginger) and have also used cookie cutters.
Simply the best.

Gaye Nickles

I love shortbread, and have discovered that weighing really is the secret to good results. This recipe is perfect. Add a bit of decorticated cardamom if you are like I am and can’t get enough of that flavor.

Melissa

Jan

Danica

Did you play around with swapping in some ground nuts (ie: pistachio) for flour? Or do you have any recommendations?

Nathaniel Parr

This looks awesome! I was looking for a recipe for hazelnut shortbread and I want to do this shape and texture, but add hazelnuts somehow. Do you think I can sub in some hazelnut flour or chopped hazelnuts? Thank you Deb.

Carol Love

I have a ABC cookie mold pan. Can these be pressed into that pan?

shannon stoney

I am a little confused about what you mean when you say to use half the amount if you use granulated sugar. Do you mean half by volume?

Nate

Since I asked a question before about modifying the recipe, I figured I should share my results- I made this and subbed 30% of the flour by weight for ground hazelnuts, and it turned out fantastic. Truly it was very good, one of the best shortbreads I’ve ever had.

Shelley

Just made them this afternoon…absolutely delicious!! Thanks so much!!

Ginger Panda

Thank you so much for this recipe! I looked at many and had the best of intentions to do a practice run before my office dessert contest but ran out of time. Thanks to you, these came out perfectly even with my el cheapo butter and flour from Aldi!

Liz+Frerich

Could you double this for a 9×13?

Jennifer Gustavus

I don’t see the note on flavors? Assuming you are referring to vanilla extract or almond, etc?

Heather Hay Charron

This is the perfect recipe for classic Scottish shortbread. I’ve made this recipe twice – the second time I used one and a half times the ingredients for a 9 x 13 pan. Your directions are spot on. I make many different kinds of shortbread but this caught my eye and can be whipped up in no time. And the flavour is wonderful. For me it’s a keeper!

carol

Made these last week. They were very good, but they’re gone now. Thinking of making again this weekend, but would convection be better?

Marie

These are amazing and surprisingly easy to get right. My cuts didn’t look as pretty as yours but I think that was due to using a chopstick not a skewer. Will be making many variations of this recipe!

Carrie

Deb, just made these for the second year in in a row with great success! I wanted to share my even easier hack for scoring. I cut my skewer to fit the size of my pan. I set it on top and gently pushed it into the dough. It kept my lines straight as well. Worked like a charm for the indents, then I cut with the pairing knife. Thanks for always sharing your hard work and endless knowledge and good humor!

Margo

I was wondering if anyone has tried baking these in a shortbread mold. I got gifted a ceramic shortbread mold and my first result was a total disaster. These cookies look so good, I want to try just baking them as is!

Barbara Bodager

Unbelievably delicious. I decided to weigh the flour and semolina instead of relying on measuring cups. I used the gram measurements in the recipe and translated those into ounces so that I could use my food scale. I was very surprised that the grams to ounces flour measurement was substantially less than what’s indicated in the recipe. (2-1/4 c.) I don’t know if my math was screwed up, but the result was out of this world.

I have spent the pandemic making shortbread when life got a bit too much…resulting in a rapidly increased waistline. I found that mini quiche pans are GREAT for making shortbread….little round, thick, pillows of heaven! Love the idea of vanilla paste and will try that next time. My achilles heel is that I found that one can make as small a batch as one wants with this recipe…sometimes I will just make four after dinner, much to my husband’s displeasure because he wants more. What do you think of using brown sugar? It gives the cookies a wonderful caramelized flavor.

Jules

JC

What is the “flavoring of choice”
I looked at the note as guided but it only says to watch instragram or tiktok

Elizabeth

Thank you! I have experimented but didn’t come up with a fully acceptable option yet so I’m excited to try this recipe. I scanned the comments and it seems like I may be the only one who can’t quite picture using “the back of a wooden skewer” to make the indentations? Are we talking about a wooden skewer used for kabobs? If so, would it just be pressing this into the dough? Thanks for any clarification!

S

Should the butter be cold or room temp?

Sue M

There doesnt seem to be a “note” for flavoring suggestions.

Linda D.

Louann

These are easy and delicious! I used the semolina which made them tender and the European butter which made them so flavorful. The crumb was perfect and they turned out exactly like the picture.

Nancy

Thank you for sharing your recipe! I have semolina flour. Should I use the same amount as if I were using the AP flour?

Mardee

Oh man, that is JUST the thing to make before we watch the 3rd season of TL this weekend. Thank you – those look so scrumptious! Quick question – if I manage to find semolina, is it better than all-purpose? And I’m assuming the weight is the same as APF? If you don’t answer, that’s fine – I’ll make a double batch and sulk while I’m eating it. Seriously, I can’t wait to try this!

Lishia

Great recipe! So easy and quick to pull together. We will enjoy these while watching Ted Lasso. Thank you for sharing.

Leslie

I have a 9″ round terracotta cookie mold pan. Should I cook the full time and let cool in the pan? Since it is divided, I’m hoping I can just unmold the cooled cookies and they will easily break into the 8 wedges with designs.

Jen V.

Since I know that your recipes are the BEST I would love to scale this for a large event at our church. Can I do a straight line increase or should we do individual batches? We need about 200 cookies.

Stephanie

These are the perfect mix of crisp, soft, savory and sweet. The perfect shortbread. Thanks so much!

Diane

I totally trust your recipe but curious… many similar recipes insist on dough spending time in fridge before baking. Thoughts?

J

Was pleasantly surprised and extremely happy with the result of these even on my first try! This receipe has been worked out to perfection. It came together quickly and easily in my food processor, and baking in the oven was a cinch. Needed about 10 less total minutes on my oven.

jill kuzmich

Watching Ted Lasso show finale tonight😢. Made these to ease the pain. Came out lovely!

Deb

I’ve made this so many times…it is the BEST!
Can I double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan? Would I need to cook longer?

Eloise

Hi Deb! I am planning on baking (many) batches of these as wedding thank you favors. Since I will need to make so many, I was planning on baking them and then freezing until a few days before the wedding. In terms of wrapping them for the freezer, do you recommend using a combination of parchment paper and then plastic wrap? Please let me know, thank you!

Elizabeth Gilchrist

Hi Deb. You mentioned vanilla possibly added. How much ? I didn’t see it in your note. Thanks.

Jeanne C

I made these last year to give as holiday gifts and they were a hit. I didn’t want to package them up and ship them out! This year I’ll be making them again and am going to try a brown butter variation. I see conversation in other comments about what to do about the water that is lost in the browning process (either adding it back in, using additional brown butter, or adding regular butter). I was nerding out over J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s crazy chocolate chip cookie recipe and head notes and learned that he prefers the method of browning butter then whisking in an ice cube, which cools the butter and incorporates the water so it’s structurally the same as non-browned butter. Seems like a smart idea and I’m going to try it when I get to baking my next batch of shortbread.

Linda

I have a biscotti pan that measures 5-1/2 x 12, so the area is very close to that of an 8 x 8 pan (66 vs. 64). I’d like to try using that pan, cutting the bars in half lengthwise, then cutting 12 in the other direction for a yield of 24 bars. If you had to speculate, do you think I’d need to alter the baking time? I’m wondering if it would bake in less time because the 5-1/2 width would bake quicker than the 8″ square.

Jennifer

Should the butter be cold, room temp, or soft before mixing?

Sarah

Today was the first time I tried making shortbread, and this recipe was so easy to follow. The result was perfectly delicious shortbread. I will be making these regularly. Thank you so much for the recipe!

Tim

Made these and they are delicious! However, when I did the first scoring with the skewer, it created more crumbs than I’d like — would you take out earlier next time to score? (Maybe my oven was running hotter than 300?). I’ve watched the demo you have on Instagram which is super helpful.

PinkSkatingGirl

These were do hood, so easy. Thank you, again.

Debra

These are delicious! Made them last night and had to hide them so they wouldn’t disappear too quickly.