Shortbread Cookies | Food-4Tots | Recipes for Toddlers

5 December 2013 | 12 comments
Posted in cookie/ cracker, Featured Articles, Vegetarian, Western

Recipe for Shortbread Cookies
Make: 24 pieces (9 x 2 cm each) or any sizes or shapes of your preference
Ingredients:
240g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
100g icing sugar
300g low protein flour (cake flour) (note 1)
40g rice flour (粘米粉) – I use Erawan brand (三象牌）
¼ teaspoon salt
Methods:
Combine both types of flour. Whisk and sieve. Set aside.
Let the butter thaw at room temperature. Transfer softened butter to a mixing bowl.
Using a hand held electric mixer, beat with low speed until smooth and creamy. Add icing sugar in 3-4 batches to mix. Continue to beat until light and pale. Add salt and mix well. (note 2)
Add flour mixture through a sieve in 2 to 3 batches. Use a plastic cutter to gently mix (with a combination of “cutting”, “pressing” and “scraping” actions) until just incorporated. Do not stir it in a circular movement.
Use hand to form dough. Do not over work it. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Flatten each into 1.5cm thick rectangular shape. Wrap each dough with cling wrap and smooth over until there are no wrinkles. Place in the fridge to firm up for at least an hour or overnight.
Working with one dough at a time. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Place dough on a parchment or baking paper and cover with another one on top. Roll the dough out to a 18cm by 2cm rectangular shape with 1cm thickness. Cut the dough into 9cm x 2cm slices. Use toothpick to prick holes on the cookies. Return the cookies to the fridge and chill for another 15-20 minutes to firm up. (note 3 & 4)
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line baking trays with parchment papers.
Place cookies on the baking trays and bake at 160°C for 45 minutes or until they are light golden. If the cookies show uneven colour, rotate the baking tray 180 ° towards the last 5-10 minutes. After baking, leave the cookies inside the oven with the oven door shut. Let the residue heat in the oven cook the cookies for a further 10 minutes.
Remove the baking tray from the oven. Transfer them onto the cooling rack to cool completely. Then store them in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes:
You can substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour (plain flour).
Do not over-beat the mixture so that it will not rise much during baking.
Alternatively, you can use knife to mark lines on the dough (best to cut through) without having to separate them. Chill in the fridge to firm up. Bake the entire dough. Cut the cookies when they are just out from the oven. This method helps to minimize the shortbread from spreading out during baking.
Chilling helps the dough to hold its shape after baking.
Learn more on how to make perfect shortbread – Word of Mouth Blog (Felicity Cloake)

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12 Comments

tigerfish says:
6 December 2013 at 11:27 am
Love the Christmas setting for your perfect shortbread cookies 😉
Reply
- food-4tots says:
  9 December 2013 at 9:45 pm
  Tigerfish: Thanks! Glad you like it! 🙂
  See Also
  Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits - Easy Recipes for Family Time - Seeded At The Table Low Carb Peach Scone Recipe - gluten free, dairy free, freezable breakfast Easy English Scones Recipe with Jam & Clotted Cream Easy 10 Minute Tiramisu Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking
  Reply
Selba says:
6 December 2013 at 6:16 pm
Reading this post makes me want to do some baking again! Your shortbread definitely looks so good! 🙂
Reply
- food-4tots says:
  9 December 2013 at 9:46 pm
  Selba: Thanks! Yeah, hurry and make some now! 🙂
  Reply
Hari Chandana says:
7 December 2013 at 12:05 pm
Wowww.. Very beautifully baked cookies.. thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
Reply
- food-4tots says:
  9 December 2013 at 9:47 pm
  Hari Chandana: Thanks for your wonderful compliment! 🙂
  Reply
  See Also
  Mary Berry cheese scones | Easy recipe | Cooking with my kids
Felicia Ng says:
9 December 2013 at 9:48 am
Wow … so beautiful, just like those from M&S ;o). It urges me to try it out!
Thanks for sharing!
Felicia
Reply
- food-4tots says:
  9 December 2013 at 9:50 pm
  Felicia Ng: Thank you for your sweet comment! I love M&S shortbread too. Do give it a try! 😉
  Reply
cf says:
10 December 2013 at 11:37 am
Wow… i never knew chilling the dough would help hold the cookies shape. I love these cookies, will definitely try this one for Christmas!
Reply
- food-4tots says:
  13 December 2013 at 12:22 am
  cf: Glad that you find the tip useful. Do share your feedback after trying it out. 😉
  Reply
The Sudden Cook says:
12 December 2013 at 4:19 pm
This looks soooo wonderful – it really gets me in the Christmasy mood when I see pictures like these!The shortbread looks so classy
Reply
- food-4tots says:
  13 December 2013 at 12:25 am
  The Sudden Cook: Thanks a lot for your sweet words. 🙂
  Reply

Shortbread Cookies | Food-4Tots | Recipes for Toddlers - Part 2 (2024)

FAQs

What does it mean to score shortbread? ›

Shortbread usually comes in three different forms: small round biscuits, fingers or large rounds. To make the fingers, dough is cut into a large rectangle and the fingers are scored with the back of a knife so they can be broken up easily after cooking. A pattern made with fork marks is always made too.

What is the texture of shortbread? ›

Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word "short", as opposed to "long", or stretchy). The cause of this texture is its high fat content, provided by the butter. The short or crumbly texture is a result of the fat inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten) strands.

Discover More Details ›

How do you cut shortbread? ›

Remove the shortbread from the oven and turn it out of the pans and onto a clean work surface. Immediately cut the shortbread, while it's warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily. Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges.

Read The Full Story ›

What are common mistakes when making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

Should butter be cold for shortbread? ›

Should butter be cold or room temperature for making shortbread? Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out.

Learn More ›

What are the 3 traditional shapes of shortbread? ›

There are 3 shapes: fingers, petticoat tails, and rounds

Meet the 3 shortbread shapes: petticoat tails, rounds, and fingers (the most popular type).

Discover More Details ›

Should shortbread be crunchy or soft? ›

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.

Explore More ›

Why does my shortbread taste bitter? ›

The key to good shortbread is slow baking until it is pale golden and cooked through – if over baked, or baked too quickly, it will become slightly bitter in taste due to the 'burnt' butter.

Discover More ›

What happens if you don't poke holes in shortbread? ›

Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here.

Tell Me More ›

What is the best butter for baking shortbread? ›

The best butter for shortbread is an unsalted, European style butter. European style butter has less water in it than most American style butters, so it will give you a better flavor and texture in your cookie.

Why use unsalted butter in shortbread? ›

Unsalted butter for best results

Use unsalted butter for balanced flavour. Unsalted butter was traditionally used in baking because it was a superior product to salted - salt is used as a preservative so unsalted butter was thought to be fresher.

Know More ›

What does scored mean in baking? ›

Scoring is the process of cutting a slash in the surface of bread dough before baking. Bread dough rapidly expands when it is first placed in the oven (an effect known as “oven spring”), and scoring controls this expansion.

Discover More Details ›

What does it mean to score when baking? ›

Scoring is just cutting into the lump of dough that you're about to bake. It usually applies to things like crusty white bread or sourdough boules, the style of bread with a crisp, crackly crust and a tender interior.

Know More ›

What does score mean in a recipe? ›

When a recipe instructs you to "score", it is referring to making shallow cuts on the surface of the food before cooking it. To score food is a cooking technique used to make shallow cuts in the surface of meat, fish and bread. The knife only needs to go about 1/4 inch (±0.5 cm) deep into the surface.

Shortbread Cookies | Food-4Tots | Recipes for Toddlers - Part 2 (2024)

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FAQs

What does it mean to score shortbread? ›

Why use unsalted butter in shortbread? ›

References