Sheet Pan Scottish Shortbread Recipes

SUPER-EASY SHORTBREAD (3 INGREDIENTS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour and mix till texture is like clay.
• Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan, prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar (tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugar back into the sugar canister).
• Bake for about 40-45 minutes (till very lightly browned--just golden around the edges).
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 24 squares while warm.
• Leave in pan to cool thoroughly. (Shortbread will not be crisp until cool.).
• Less easy method: Chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls, then press balls to about 1/4-inch thickness on ungreased cookie sheets with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (sometimes you can find a glass with a pretty design on the bottom, like a star). Bake at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Least easy method: Chill dough. Roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness, sprinkle with sugar, then cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300° for about 20-25 minutes (until edges are very lightly browned).
• Variation: Add 2 tablespoons dried lavender to the creamed butter and sugar before adding flour. It may sound strange, but the flavor is subtle and elegant. Food-grade lavender is usually available in herb bins at health food stores, and I recently found it at a great price from Atlantic Spice online (their Lavender #1).
• Variation: After cutting shortbread into squares (it will still be warm), scatter 1 cup of chocolate chips over the top, let the chocolate soften completely, then spread as a thin layer and let cool completely before removing from pan. (No need to sprinkle shortbread with sugar before baking if you plan to do this.).
• Variation: Stir 1 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the dough before pressing into pan. You can also try melting the butterscotch over the top, as above. In England, you'll find "caramel shortbread," which has a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top of the shortbread. It's wonderful (of course!). I've tried various ways of doing this and various kinds of caramel, but it's been a while and I don't remember what works best. It can be tricky not to make a mess!

SHEET PAN SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°. In a stand mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium speed with paddle attachment until well blended and fluffy. Add rice flour and beat on low speed until incorporated, scraping bowl as needed. Gradually add all-purpose flour; beat on low until blended, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Line a 12- by 17-in. rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Press dough into pan until very even and smooth. Bake until shortbread is golden in center, 60 to 65 minutes. Reduce oven to 250°, drape shortbread with parch­ment paper, and continue to bake until a finger pressed lightly into center of dough leaves no imprint, 20 to 25 minutes more.
• Set shortbread on a cooling rack and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. While hot, cut into 1- by 3-in. rectangles or 2-in. squares (use a wooden ruler). Let cool completely in pan. After it cools, if you find that you'd like it crunchier, pop pan into a 250° oven, covered with parchment, for about 20 minutes.
• Make ahead: Airtight at room temperature, up to 1 week, or frozen, up to 3 months.
• Note: Nutritional analysis is per rectangular cookie.

BROWN BUTTER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C and get a 9"X13" pan out- no need to grease it.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a regular medium-sized bowl add the flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Mix on low/medium speed until the butter is mixed in and pea-size pieces of butter are left OR mix by using your hands to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. If you grab a handful of the dough you should be able to squeeze it in your hand into one piece.
• Transfer the dough to the pan and press down evenly. Use a rolling pin or glass to roll the shortbread dough to ensure it's tightly in the pan. Using a butter knife score the shortbread, basically marking the shortbread - you are not cutting all the way through, into whichever size pieces you want. Scoring up, down, and across. Prick all over with a fork. If your fork sticks and pulls some of the shortbread up then gently use your clean finger next to the fork as you press down to kind of hold the shortbread in place.
• Bake for approximately 18-25 minutes, or until golden brown on edges. Once baked cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle sugar on top and shake pan side to side to distribute evenly. Cut on the previously scored marks and store them in an airtight container. Last for up to a week.

PAN SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Mix butter until light and fluffy.
• Add sugar and beat again till light and fluffy.
• Sift together flour and corn starch.
• Add flour/cornstarch to butter/sugar mixture one cup at a time, making sure its well combined before adding another cup.
• Continue to combine flour into mixture until all is gone. Mix well.
• Dump dough onto a clean medium sized cookie sheet with sides.
• Spread out evenly covering the whole sheet. I use a rolling pin and roll it over the top so my finger prints aren't in the dough.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup or less of sugar (can use colored sugar), I never measure I just sprinkle until it has a little sparkle.
• Bake at 325 for approx 20 minutes. My oven cooks really hot so you might have to add a minute or two until edges are light brown.
• When out of the oven, I cut the square or rectangles through the shortbread. When cooled I often dip one end into melted chocolate and then roll in sprinkles.

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 8x8 or 9x9 inch square baking pan. You can also use a round cake can and cut the shortbread into triangles.
• Place the caster sugar, flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it's combined and looks like coarse breadcrumbs but is soft and pliable and comes together in a dough when you press it together between your fingers. If it's too dry and crumbly it needs to be pulsed a bit longer. (If using any add-ins, stir them in at this point.)Pour the mixture into the greased baking pan. Use your fingers and hands to firmly press down the mixture. Note: If the mixture is too dry to work with, including pricking with a fork (see below), then it was not pulsed long enough in the food processor. Optional: Prick the shortbread with the tines of a fork, creating rows. Some people also like run a knife between each row of fork tines to make cutting the shortbread easier after it's baked. You can also prick the shortbread with a fork immediately after it is done baking while it is still warm; the holes will be more pronounced this way as they have a tendency to close during baking.
• Place the shortbread on the middle rack and bake for 30-35 minutes or until light golden and firm. Let cool. Cut and serve.Store the shortbread in an airtight container for up to several weeks. Its flavor and texture improves over time.

SCOTCH SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Mix flour, butter, and 1/2 cup sugar together in a bowl using your hands until dough is well combined. Press dough into an ungreased 11 1/2x 7 1/2-inch pan or jelly roll pan. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are light brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Cut shortbread into squares in the pan while still warm. Cool completely before removing squares from pan.