Shortbread Cookies

Original Recipe
 
Take a pound and a half of fine flour, one pound of cold butter, half a pound of sugar, work all these well together into a paste, then roll it with the palms of your hands into round balls, and cut them with a thin knife into thin cakes, sprinkle a little flour on a sheet of paper, and put them on; prick them with a fork and bake them. (Briggs)

Modern Recipe Interpretation

·         1 cup butter

·         ¾ cup brown sugar

·         2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Cream the butter in a bowl.  Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the flour, ¼ cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until rounds are just firm to the touch. (de Tomasso)

Please check out my video here on how to make these easy cookies.

History

The name shortbread derives from the word “shortening” since butter was such as important ingredient.  “Shortbread has been attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots, who in the mid-16^th century was said to be very fond of Petticoat Tails, a thin, crisp, buttery shortbread originally flavoured with caraway seeds.” (Johnson)  Shortbread typically comes in one of three forms: petticoat tails (one large circle divided into segments), shortbread rounds (individual biscuits), and fingers (a large rectangle cut into pieces). 

Elizabeth I, Queen of England, is also attributed with the popularity of shortbread.  “As the story goes, the queen had a yen for tea and a light dessert one day, ordering her servants to prepare a tray that she could enjoy alone in her private sitting room. Queen Elizabeth took such a liking to this ritual that she soon began inviting guests to indulge along with her, and “afternoon tea and cookies” went on to become an English tradition.” (“Shortbread Origins”)

Shortbread is similar to the Short Cakes recipe found in Hannah Wolley’s The Queen-Like Closet (originally published in 1670, 2^nd edition printed in 1672 in London, England).  The only differences are shortbread does not include ale yeast, rosewater, or caraway comfits. 

Lessons Learned

One thing that I was taught when I first learned how to bake was to always put the shiny side of the foil down, so that baked goods do not stick to the foil.


After the dough is made, take your rings off before rolling the dough into balls in your hands.


Roll all of your dough balls as soon as the dough is made and make any impressions you want into the dough at that time. I chose to use a fork to make impressions on these cookies, similar to the impressions found on peanut butter cookies. One lesson learned the hard way today is that the longer your dough sits without being rolled into individual balls, the more crumbly and dried out it becomes. Although you can still roll your little dough balls, the balls will not look as neat when you make your impressions and the sides crack away.

These cookies are like Pringles (once you eat one, it's hard to stop). They are simple, but delicious!

Works Cited

Briggs, Richard. "The English Art of Cookery." 1794. https://recipes.history.org/2012/11/sugar-cakes/

De Tomasso, Michelle.  “Celtic Shortbread.”  http://www.godecookery.com/friends/frec76htm. 

5 January 2015.

Johnson, Ben.  “Scottish Shortbread.” http://www.historic-

uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Shortbread.  7 January 2015.

“Shortbread Origins.”  http://www.vermontshortbread.com/article1.htm.  8 January 2015.