Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour. Press dough into an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan.
- Bake until light brown, 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares while warm. Cool completely on a wire rack. If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter unsalted butter, at room temperature 142g.
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar.
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 180g.
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt optional.
What is the secret to good shortbread?
Shortbread has so few ingredients that you can’t get away with cutting corners; good quality butter and sugar are essential, and plenty of them. Rice flour gives it that special sandy texture that sets it apart from the common biscuit, and a pinch of salt helps to balance that rich, delicious sweetness.
Why do you poke holes in shortbread?
Poking holes in the top of the shortbread dough allows the heat to evenly penetrate the dessert, which helps it bake evenly.
Should shortbread be soft out of the oven?
Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it. It should not generally be damp or wet underneath. A classic shortbread recipe will also only have flour, butter and sugar as the ingredients (in a 3:2:1 ratio) and not egg, which could lead to excess moisture.
What happens if you put too much butter in shortbread?
Using too much butter will: Cause your cookie to spread out way too much during baking. Cause your cookie to brown.
What can go wrong with shortbread?
There are two main things that can go wrong with the shortbread dough (before it’s cooked): first, overworking the dough will put the flour’s gluten (proteins) into action. Gluten is what stretches out and makes chewy bread or cookies – and you definitely don’t want it working on your shortbread.
How can you tell if shortbread is cooked correctly?
Shortbread: Although shortbread cookies are often done when the bottoms are brown, shortbread that is baked in a round or a wedge may break if you try to lift it to check the bottoms. These cookies are tender by nature and are fragile when warm.
Place one baking sheet at a time onto center rack of preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, still have pale tops, and are soft in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Do not overbake! They will firm up more during cooling.)
Can you put shortbread back in the oven?
Can I put my shortbread back in the oven to properly cook it? Yes you can. The texture will suffer slightly but it‘ll be cooked.
The longer you work the dough with the flour, the more gluten you develop, causing the cookies to be chewy and tough, instead of light and crumbly. Now, the dough is ready to be rolled out and cut out for classic shortbread cookies!
Why do you put cornstarch in shortbread?
Why do you add Cornstarch to Shortbread Cookies? I have recently discovered that a lot of people add corn starch (my Mom’s fourth ingredient) to cookie and cake recipes, the reason is because it adds softness to the finished cookie or cake.
Are butter cookies and shortbread cookies the same? Butter cookies are actually better than shortbread cookies! The main difference between the two is the amount of sugar and the baking temperature. Butter cookies have more sugar and bake at a higher temperature than shortbread cookies.
Why is my shortbread not binding?
So shortbread dough is likely to be somewhat crumbly. But if it’s too crumbly, you have basically two choices: you can add more butter (or whatever fat you used in place of butter), or you can add a little liquid. As to why your dough is too crumbly, you probably used too much flour.
Do you add water to shortbread?
Shortbread is a delicious cookie. Buttery and rich, it’s a treat whose decadence belies its simplicity. To give our dough more structure, we can add a touch of water to the flour to develop gluten before it’s combined with the butter.
How long should you chill shortbread dough?
Step 3: The Secret to the Absolute Best Shortbread
After shaping the cookies, don’t rush to the oven! Instead, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so (overnight is OK, too). A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much.
How do I stop my shortbread from spreading?
Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation, causing the cookies to spread. I always recommend a silicone baking mat because they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much.
For most cookies, there’s enough fat in the dough to keep them from sticking to your baking sheets—no greasing required. If you grease the pans unnecessarily, the dough will flatten too much as it bakes. Related, reusing baking sheets for multiple batches of cookies can be another cause of flat cookies.
What consistency should shortbread be?
All too simple! The signature texture of a shortbread cookie is buttery and crumbly. The cookie will feel as though it’s melting in your mouth. A perfect shortbread cookie should be tender, not crunchy, with less sugar than other types of cookies.
David Nilsen is the former editor of Fourth & Sycamore. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can find more of his writing on his website at davidnilsenwriter.com and follow him on Twitter as @NilsenDavid.