Traditional Scottish Shortbread Cookies have always been one of my favorite cookies. Made with four simple ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, and salt, these crumbly, buttery, delicious shortbread cookies will be a sweet treat your whole family will love!
There are many shortbread recipes on the internet, but not all of them are Scottish Shortbread recipes, and there is a difference. Trust me when I tell you this is the best shortbread cookie recipe you’ll ever make.
Although the baking time is a little longer than most cookie recipes, my traditional shortbread recipe couldn’t be easier to make, and the results are well worth the extra time in the oven.
If you love delicious cookies, make sure to try my Pistachio Cornmeal Butter Cookies.
Ingredients to make Scottish Shortbread
Let’s start by gathering the simple ingredients we need to make our Traditional Scottish Shortbread Recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Made with four basic ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- unsalted butter (European butter is best)
- caster sugar (superfine white sugar)
- table salt
How to make Scottish Shortbread
Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make Scottish shortbread in your home kitchen.
Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides for easy removal. Set aside until needed. *You can also use a 9×9-inch pan or a round cake pan.
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor (you can also use a large bowl with an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to make the dough).
- Pulse the dry ingredients until well combined.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture. The butter should be room temperature but not too soft.
- Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, but is still soft and pliable.
It might be easier to dump the dough out on a lightly floured surface to form the shortbread dough into a ball and use a rolling pin to form the sheet, but adding extra flour will negatively affect the cookie.
- Add the mixture to the parchment-lined baking pan.
- Press the dough into the pan, using your fingers and hands to firmly press the mixture down. *If the shortbread dough is too dry to work with, it wasn’t pulsed long enough.
- Prick the dough with the tines of a fork at 1-inch intervals. Then, score the dough with a sharp knife into 2 x 1-inch bars. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Place the baking pan on the middle rack of a preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until set and lightly golden brown. Do not overbake or the cookies will be dry.
*Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
Cut the shortbread into bars using the lines you scored the dough with as a guide. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the pan.
You can also make these buttery shortbread cookies using a round cake pan. Before adding the cookie dough, place a large circle of parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan.
I have seen recipes that use a cookie cutter to cut out individual cookies and bake them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, but that method yields dry cookies that don’t have the same crumbly texture.
These delightful Scottish Shortbread cookies ( aka biscuits) can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days or frozen.
If you’re looking for the perfect cookie for special occasions, dip the shortbread cookie in melted chocolate. That makes them even harder to resist and more delicious.
Recipe FAQ’s
Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other styles include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which make them crisp instead of crumbly.
The most important ingredient is butter. Use the best quality butter available, and make sure it’s real butter. The other crucial part of the recipe is not to overwork the dough. Overworking the dough will make the cookies tough instead of tender.
Absolutely! Although the traditional version is plain, you can add various flavors such as vanilla extract, lemon zest, almond extract, or even mini chocolate chips for a different twist on this classic cookie.
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Best Scottish Shortbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 oz unsalted butter softened – (2 sticks = 1 cup)
- ½ cup caster sugar superfine sugar – if you only have regular sugar, pulse it in a food processor until its a finer grain. Do Not USe Powdered Sugar.
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides for easy removal. Set aside. You can also use a 9×9 inch pan or round cake pan.
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well combined.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, but is still soft and pliable.
- Press the mixture into the parchment-lined baking pan. Use your fingers and hands to firmly press the mixture down. If the mixture is too dry to work with, it wasn't pulsed long enough.
- Prick dough at 1-inch intervals with the tines of a fork. Then score the dough with a knife into 2 x 1-inch bars. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the baking pan on the middle rack of a preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until set and lightly golden brown. Do not overbake or the cookies will be dry,
- Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
- Cut the shortbread into bars using the lines you scored the dough with as a guide. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the pan.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. The cookies can be kept frozen in a well-sealed container, frozen for up to 3 months.
Mary says
Love this shortbread!
Chef Dennis, thank you so much for this recipe. It couldn’t have been easier to make. Mine came out exactly like yours except I used the round cake pan because I didn’t have a 9 x 9 pan so I didn’t get 32 I got 18. I cut them into wedges, but they are so tender and so delicious. This is going to be my new addiction!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed my shortbread, and I’m happy to hear you were able to make the recipe in a round cake pan.
Monica J Farabee says
Made these in a shortbread stone and they turned out great. Used regular sugar and pulsed in the food processor as recommended with solid results!! This will be my go to recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and I”m very happy to hear my shortbread turned out well!
jennifer R S says
have not tried it yet but i know it will be a five star
wondering – do I HAVE to chill?
needed to make them on the fly and wondering if i can skip this step?
thanks!! 🙂
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes, they do need to chill before baking
Andrea says
These were delicious! I followed the instructions to the letter including hunting down some European style butter and it was worth. Crumbly and delicious with my morning tea.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the shortbread! It’s one of my favorites.
Flora says
Hi Chef Dennis, are these cookies supposed to be soft or crunchy? Mine came out very soft and I was expecting a crunchier texture, just want to make sure that’s how they’re supposed to be or if I did something wrong.
Chef Dennis Littley says
They aren’t really crunchy, they’re sort of soft and crumbly.
Emily says
What about a combination of granulated sugar and corn starch? Will that work?
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’ve never tried that combination, so I can’t comment on it.
Emily says
For making shortbread specifically, what is the difference between the creaming method and the food processor method? What will the texture be between the two and how will the cookie turn out after baking?
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’ve never made them the traditional way but I don’t think there would be much difference in the texture as long as you don’t overpulse the mixture.
KBS says
Why not powdered sugar?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Powdered sugar will not work with this recipe, it doesn’t have enough structure to hold the butter.
Sharon Class says
Excellent Scottish Shortbread cookie recipe, very delicious!!!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my shortbread recipe!
Ivana says
Amazing taste and easy to make. A keeper. I used 1 c sugar though, hubby has a sweet tooth.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my shortbread recipe, and a little extra sugar sounds good!
Angie Jolliff says
This shortbread took me back 60 years to my great grandparents house. My great mother immigrated from England and my great grandfather came from Scotland. The flavor and texture are indescribable. I made some for my brother and he had the exact same feeling. One difference- hers was 2” thick cut of not triangles. ! Haven’t figured out how to accomplish that. Thanks for the memory
Chef Dennis Littley says
You’re very welcome, and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the shortbread.
Lolly McDonnell says
I modified this recipe for my daughter who has to avoid dairy and soy. I found a soy free margarine, and the cookies were still excellent. I did add an additional splash of sugar to the dough, as well as sprinkle sugar on top as she has a sweet tooth. The result was delicious!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you were able to adapt the cookies and that your daughter enjoyed them!
Kay says
Chef Dennis,
I tried your recipe for the first time and followed it as closely as I could. I wonder if you know what caused the finished product to have holes over the entire top. You couldn’t tell that I had used a fork at intervals nor scored the bars per the instructions. They tasted wonderful but not sure why they didn’t look just right. Any help appreciated!
Chef Dennis Littley says
The only reasons I can think of is if you used a mixer to mix the ingredients that the butter and sugar was over creamed or if you used a whisk attachment instead of a paddle attachment to cream the butter and add in the flour.
Jessica says
Hello! I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Can I use a stoneware “petticoat tails” mold, or would that cause them to be overcooked?
Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I have never used a mold to make these, but I have a feeling they would get too brown.
Jessica says
That was my suspicion, as well. I think I will try two batches – one in the mold and one as your recipe indicates. I’ll let you know what happens 🙂
Martha Allan Raffae says
This is the best Scottish Shortbread , it adheres to the traditional recipe and method -simplicity of the ingredients being the charm of the great but austere Scottish Shortbread .We had no processor, Mom made it very much like a pie dough sans liquid .Quickly turned out after rough mix in bowl by hand , onto cold marble shaped and then chilled overnight. Yours described method comes closest to assuring they stay tender. Too many people overcook them too- golden edges only , please! Great recipe, great method! Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you so much for such a wonderful comment and review! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my shortbread recipe.
Janine Schreiber says
Dear Dennis,
I tried your shortbread recipe. It was great!
I have a real challenge for you. Growing up, my family used to frequent a Cantonese Chinese Restaurant. They made the best Cantonese BBQ Ribs. The husband and wife retired so, I asked the owner if he could give me his recipe and I promised that I would not sell the recipe, I would only enjoy them at my home. This is all he gave me. Do you think you could figure out the measurements of each of the items he has given me for a rack of pork ribs? This is what he had to say:
My wife starts with Sweet Baby Ray’s and doctors it up with Chinese 5 spice powder, pineapple juice, tomato ketchup, chopped garlic and Hoisin sauce which adds a bit of sweetness . You will have to experiment to get the desired taste.
Let me know if you can figure it out. I would be eternally grateful!
Janine
Chef Dennis Littley says
I will put it on my list of recipes to do but I may not be able to get to it for quite some time.