Our easy shortbread recipe bakes up buttery, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits that are perfect for any occasion!
Scottish Shortbread Cookies
Granny has loved homemade shortbread for as long as I can remember and she would often make a batch in a pie tin.
As a kid, I thought shortbread was kind of bland, since it was missing my favorite ingredient: chocolate. However, this week, I came across Granny’s handwritten shortbread recipe and decided to try making it myself to send as a gift to her. My childhood self stands corrected, as these shortbread biscuits turned out absolutely delicious!
Related: Try our White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Recipe for a festive twist on this recipe!
What is Scottish Shortbread?
Scottish shortbread is a traditional cookie (or biscuit) from Scotland, known for its buttery, crumbly texture and sweet, slightly nutty taste. They are typically made with flour, butter, and superfine sugar.
Most classic Scottish shortbread recipes have just 3-4 ingredients. Granny’s recipe also includes one egg yolk, which adds a rich flavor and creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture to the shortbread.
These simple shortbread cookies are buttery, dense, and absolutely delicious. The flavor is pretty extraordinary for a five-ingredient recipe. These buttery cookies are especially fantastic with a cup of coffee for breakfast!
Not only are shortbread cookies delightful to eat, but they are also very easy to make. I’m on my third batch this week!
Ingredients
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- 1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter
- ½ cup caster sugar (extra fine sugar – see “prep tips” section for more info)
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Instructions
To Prep: Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, so the shortbread cookies will be easy to remove.
- Soften the butter and stir in the sugar, salt, and egg yolk. Add flour to the mixture, a little at a time until mixed in. It will look a little crumbly. Knead for a short time until the dough can form a ball. You can do this with a large bowl or using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. There will be some cracks — it won’t be 100% smooth — don’t over-work the dough.
- Pat the shortbread dough out into your prepared pan and place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and remove dough from the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife to cut into slices. Use a dinner fork for pricking holes in the dough.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.
Prep Tips
- Sugar – Mom’s recipe calls for extra-fine sugar. Extrafine sugar is also known as caster sugar, baker’s sugar, or super-fine sugar and is a finer-grained type of granulated sugar. I splurged and bought the super fine sugar; it cost about $5 for a one-pound bag. I have seen recipes for shortbread that use powdered sugar. I tested that in one batch and it did fine. But for overall flavor/texture I give a slight edge to the super-fine sugar. If you only have regular granulated sugar on hand, the recommendation I’ve seen is to run it through your blender or food processor first.
- Butter – The recipe calls for unsalted butter. I recommend sticking to unsalted so that the amount of salt is correct. When a recipe only has five ingredients, you want to use a good quality butter because that is going to be the primary flavor for this cookie.
- Flour – The recipe calls for all-purpose flour. As with the butter, use a good quality all-purpose flour. One thing I look for is for it to be unbleached. Choosing organic is great too. Most supermarkets carry a good selection of flours these days.
- Mixing the Dough – My mom’s recipe has all the mixing done by hand, so you don’t actually need a mixer. I did one batch completely with a mixer, a second batch where I mixed the butter and sugar with the mixer and finished by hand.
- Storage – Keep your homemade shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a a week. This recipe also freezes well for up to a couple months.
More of Granny’s Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Thick and Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Surprise Cookies (Hershey Kiss Teacakes)
- Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
Old-Fashioned Shortbread Cookies Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Scottish Shortbread Recipe
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- 8X8 baking pan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup extra-fine sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Line an ungreased 8-inch square pan with parchment pape.
- Soften the butter and stir in the sugar, salt, and egg yolk.
- Add flour, a little at a time until mixed in. The dough will look a little crumbly.
- Knead for a short time until dough can form a ball. There will be some cracks—it won’t be 100% smooth. Don’t over-work the dough.
- Pat dough out in the prepared pan and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife to cut into slices. Use a dinner fork to make holes in the dough.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.
Notes
Sugar
Mom’s recipe calls for extra-fine sugar. Extra-fine sugar is also known as caster sugar, baker's sugar, or super-fine sugar. I splurged and bought the super fine sugar, it cost about $5 for a one-pound bag. I have seen recipes for shortbread that use powdered sugar. I used that in one batch and it did fine. But for overall flavor/texture I give a slight edge to the super-fine sugar. If you use regular sugar, the recommendation I’ve seen is to run it through your blender first.Butter
The recipe calls for unsalted butter. I recommend sticking to unsalted so that the amount of salt is correct. When a recipe only has five ingredients, you want to use a good quality butter because that is going to be the primary flavor for this cookie.Flour
The recipe calls for all-purpose flour. As with the butter, use a good quality all-purpose flour. One thing I look for is for it to be unbleached. Choosing organic is great too. Most supermarkets carry a good selection of flours these days.Mixing the Dough
My mom’s recipe has all the mixing done by hand, so you don’t actually need a mixer. I did one batch completely with a mixer, a second batch where I mixed the butter and sugar with the mixer and finished by hand.Nutrition
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Delicious! I whipped the butter and sugar first. Melt in your mouth shortbread!
So glad you liked the recipe! Will have to try your tip to whip the butter!