Traditional Shortbread - A taste test

I love to bake. I figured today, with 19 days until Christmas, I would officially begin my Christmas baking. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be featuring some of my baking here with the recipes in case you want to try them. 


For those of you who don't know, my husband is English. He loves living here, but one thing he does miss from Jolly ol' England is the food. Especially this time of year. Christmas cakes, Christmas pudding, mince meat pies and shortbread cookies like his Nan used to make just to name a few. 


I decided this year I'd try to make some proper shortbread cookies. I usually make whipped shortbreads. The difference between the two is that they are just that - whipped. You beat them for an extended period of time until they are very light and fluffy. They literally melt in your mouth when you bite into them. 


Traditional shortbread are crisper and more dense. We usually just buy a pack of Walkers Shortbread, one of the most well known brands.


I decided today to try an experiment. I was in dominion the other day and purchased a PC Shortbread Mix. I'm not one for buying mixes, but I thought that maybe this would give me an authentic shortbread. I also looked online and found a recipe that had great reviews that didn't call for any ingredients not readily available here which is what I have had trouble with in the past. I thought I'd make both recipes and let the Englishman try both and tell me which he liked more.


First, I made the PC version. I used butter rather than margarine which is the key ingredient to making any type of shortbread. Rather than putting them in a square or round pan, I rolled them out and used a cookie cutter to make cookies. Keeping with the Christmas theme, I sprinkled with coloured sugars. 

The first half of the cookies I made were a little thin. The traditional shortbread is quite thick, so I made the second half of the batch thicker but still not thick enough. 

PC Shortbread cookies 

Next, I made the shortbread cookies using a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I altered the recipe a little and added some cornflour as suggested in one comment. This ingredient is found in many of the English recipes and aids in the density. I decided to make these in a square pan and then cut them. 

I let them cool before cutting, but they did still crumble a bit. 

So, when himself came home and saw the cookies, he thought he was in heaven. Or, at least a lucky man, right honey?


I told Andrew that I wanted him to try both and tell me which one he liked best. I also asked him his thoughts on shape and coloured sugars. 


The results? Andrew liked the homemade cookies. He said that the other ones (he didn't realize one was a mix) tasted more like the sugar (cut out) cookies I make but not as nice. I think as well the coloured sugars made them look like sugar cookies too although he didn't mind the sugar.


So, my conclusion. I'm going to try them again and this time make them in a round tin and cut in triangles like traditional shortbread. Andrew is also going to ask his Nan for her recipe to see what the difference is, although he said they tasted very similar. 


Here's the recipe I used today. I made some adjustments to the recipe itself.


Scottish Shortbread


1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cornflour

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Cream butter and sugar. Add flour and cornflour. Dough will be stiff. Press into a 9 x 9 inch buttered dish. Prick top with a fork. Bake for about 25 min or until pale golden brown on the edges. Cool and cut into squares.

I'll keep you posted on Nan's recipe and whether it is any different.

Enjoy!