Skip to content
FriendsPantry

British

Scottish shortbread

Vegetarian

Rich, crumbly, pale-golden Scottish biscuits made from butter, sugar and flour in the classic 1:2:3 ratio, with a little rice flour for a sandy snap.

Scottish shortbread is a British sweet from United Kingdom, ready in about 1 hour 45 minutes and made with butter, sugar and all-purpose flour. It serves 16 and is rated beginner to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
15 min
Cook
40 min
Rest
50 min
Total
1 h 45 min
Serves
16
Level
Beginner
Calories
204

Ingredients

16 fingers

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Beat the butter (opens in a new tab) and sugar (opens in a new tab) with a wooden spoon (opens in a new tab) until smooth and creamy (not as fluffy as for a cake).

  2. Step 2

    Sift in the flour, rice flour (opens in a new tab) and salt and work together with your hands into a smooth dough, kneading as little as possible.

    • 3 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Press evenly into a lined 20 × 30 cm tin (or a 23 cm round for petticoat tails) about 1.5 cm thick. Prick all over with a fork, mark into fingers and chill 20 minutes. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 160 °C (fan 140 °C).

  4. Step 4

    Bake 35–40 minutes until pale golden all over and firm at the edges — shortbread should not brown deeply.

  5. Step 5

    Sprinkle with caster sugar (opens in a new tab), re-cut along the marks while still warm, then cool completely in the tin before lifting out.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Scotland, United Kingdom · Well documentedAlso popular in Ireland, CanadaMore food from United Kingdom
Dish
Snack · Dessert · Sweets & confectionery
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
buttery, sweet, rich
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Festive & celebration · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
Butter · Sugar · All-purpose flour · Rice flour
Techniques
Baking · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

204 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 40 g · recipe makes 16

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 4%
  • Carbohydrate 45%
  • Fat 51%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy204 kcal509 kcal
Protein2.1 g5.3 g
Carbohydrate23 g57.5 g
Net carbohydrate22.4 g56.1 g
Sugars6.9 g17.3 g
Added sugars6.9 g17.2 g
Fibre0.6 g1.4 g
Fat11.6 g29.1 g
Saturated fat7.3 g18.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol30 mg76 mg
Sodium127 mg318 mg
Salt equivalent0.3 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
25 mg
Calcium
6 mg
Iron
0.8 mg
Magnesium
5 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
96 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
51 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Low and slow is the secret: a gentle oven keeps it tender and evenly coloured.

Common mistakes

  • Over-working the dough, which develops gluten and makes shortbread tough.

Serve with

  • With tea or coffee, or alongside poached fruit, ice cream or cranachan.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 15 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 20 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 40 min at 160 °C

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Cool · about 30 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 1 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Cracked or domed top

    Likely causes

    • Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
    • Too much leavening
    • Overmixed batter

    What to do

    • Lower the oven 10–15 °C
    • Use the exact leavening amount
    • Fold just until combined
  • Dry or crumbly

    Likely causes

    • Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
    • Over-baked
    • Too little fat or sugar

    What to do

    • Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
    • Check 5 minutes early
    • Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like