Shortbread Recipes

Oatmeal Shortbread

This shortbread has a rich, almost chewy texture.

½ cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsifted all purpose flour
2/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not “instant”)

Cream the butter Cream in the brown sugar and vanilla, then 1 cup of the flour, the cinnamon and the rolled oats. You will have to use your hands to work in all of the dry ingredients. Flour a work surface with the 2 Tablespoons of flour and knead the dough until it forms a firm, cohesive ball. It should not be crumbly.

Lightly spray your shortbread pan with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Place the ball of dough in the center of the pan, and using the heals of your hands, firmly press it into the pan. The dough will be stiff. Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan in a 325 oven for 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife, and flip the pan over onto a wooden or plastic cutting board. If the shortbread doesn’t come right out, hold the pan upside down about 2 – 3 inches over the cutting board and drop it face down. The shortbread should drop right out. Cut into serving pieces with a thin sharp knife while still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

Raspberry Jam Filled Shortbread

This shortbread is just beautiful. Two layers of pale, buttery shortbread sandwich a dark red stripe of jam. You can make it several ways, depending on the flavors you wish to combine. I usually use Classic Shortbread, but you can use Chocolate Shortbread, Ginger, or Almond. They all are delicious.

1 recipe shortbread dough, chilled 20 minutes
¼ cup excellent quality raspberry jam

Lightly spray your shortbread pan with a non-stick cooking oil spray. Divide the dough in half, and press one half into the bottom of the shortbread pan. It will form a thin layer. Be sure to have a bit dough curve up the sides of the pan just a little, to hold in the jam.

Slowly melt the jam in a small pan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Spread the melted jam over the dough in the shortbread pan.

Now roll out the second half of the dough on a piece of lightly floured waxed paper until it is roughly the size and shape of the shortbread pan. Carefully place the rolled dough on top of the layer of jam and peal off the waxed paper. Seal the edges as best you can. It doesn’t have to be neat. Prick the entire surface with a fork, being sure to go all of the way through all 3 layers..

Bake in a 325 oven for 40-45 minutes, or until light brown.

Run the point of a knife around the edges of the shortbread as soon as you take it from the oven. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Again, run a knife around the edge of the shortbread, this time to loosen it., then flip the pan over onto a wooden or plastic cutting board. If the shortbread doesn’t come right out, hold the pan upside down about 2 – 3 inches over the cutting board and drop it face down. The shortbread should drop right out. Cut into serving pieces with a thin sharp knife while still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

Classic Shortbread

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (unsifted)

Using the back of a large spoon, cream the butter until it is light. Cream in the powered sugar,
then the vanilla. Now work in the flour. Knead the dough on an unfloured board until nice and smooth.

Spray the shortbread pan very lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Put the ball of dough in the
middle of the pan, and working out from the center, firmly press the dough into the pan. Prick the entire
surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan at 325 degrees for about 30-35 minutes,
or until it is lightly browned. Be sure that the middle is thoroughly cooked and doesn't look slightly
opaque or the shortbread might stick in the pan.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife and
flip the pan over onto a wood cutting board. If the shortbread does not come right out, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of the pan against the board. This should loosen the shortbread and it should drop out. Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

Maple Walnut Shortbread

Please note: This recipe makes a double batch. You can either bake two pans-full at a time, if you have two pans, or you can make one recipe's worth of dough and use only half of the topping and chopped nuts. The other half of the topping keeps in in the refrigerator for a
couple of days.

2 recipes of Classic Shortbread
3/4 cup (6 oz. or 168 g.) light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (2 2/3 fluid oz, or 80 ml.) pure maple syrup
2 Tbs. (a little more than 1/2 oz. or 18 g.) flour
1 yolk from a "medium" or "large" egg (not an "extra large" egg)
2 cups (8 oz. or 226 g.) chopped walnuts

Prepare and bake the Classic Shortbread as directed. While it is cooking, mix the light brown sugar, the syrup, the flour, and the egg yolk in a small bowl.

When the shortbread is lightly browned, remove the pans from the oven and spread half of the syrup mixture evenly over the top of each. Sprinkle the chopped nuts all over the syrup mixture, being sure to cover the surface thickly. Gently press the nuts into the topping.

Return the pans to the oven and continue baking an additional 15-20 minutes.
It would seem as though you might burn the shortbread underneath the topping if you bake it this much longer, but you won't.

As soon as you remove the pans from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the shortbread. Let the shortbread cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Again, run the knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the shortbread and make sure none of the sugar is holding the cookie in the pan.

Flip the pans over onto a wooden cutting board. If the shortbread doesn't come right out, and it probably won't, hold the pan upside down over the wooden cutting board and firmly tap one edge of it on the board several times until the shortbread releases.

Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm. The nuts and "topping" will now be on the bottom . . . an interesting twist.

Let the pan cool before washing it in the sink or dishwasher.

Cranberry Nut Shortbread

This recipe also makes a double batch, and for the same reason. You can either bake two pans at once,
or you can save half of the orange-sugar topping and half of the chopped cranberries and walnuts in sealed
jars in the refrigerator up to a couple of days for later use.

2 recipes Classic Shortbread
3/4 cup (6 oz. or 168 g.) light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup (2 fluid oz. or 60 ml.) orange juice concentrate
2 Tbs. (a little more than 1/2 oz. or 18g.) flour
1 yolk from a "medium" or "large" egg (not an "extra large" egg)
1 cup (4 oz. or 113 g.) walnuts
1 cup (3 oz. or 865 g.) cranberries

Prepare and bake the Classic Shortbread as directed. While it is cooking, mix the light brown sugar, the orange juice concentrate, the flour and the egg yolk in a small bowl.

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, coarsely chop the walnuts and the cranberries, using on and off pulses.

When the shortbread is light brown, remove the pans from the oven and spread half of the orange-sugar mixture evenly over the top of each shortbread. Divide the cranberry-nut mixture in half, and thickly sprinkle it over the orange-sugar topping. Gently pat it in. Return the pans to the oven to continue baking for an additional 15-20 minutes.

As soon as you remove the pans from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the shortbreads. Let the shortbreads cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Again, run the knife around the shortbreads, this time to loosen the edges and to be sure that none of the sugar is holding the cookie in the pan. Flip the pans over onto a wooden cutting board. If the shortbread doesn't come right out, and it probably won't, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of it until the shortbread releases.

Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm. Here too, the "topping" winds up on the bottom of the finished cookies.

Let the pans cook before washing in the sink or dishwasher.

Shortbread Baking Tips

To make your shortbread come out perfect every time, there are just a few simple directives to follow:

Bake your shortbread in the top third of your oven. This way you won’t get too much bottom heat that will cause the bottom of the shortbread to overcook before the top is done.

To make sure that your shortbread releases from the pan cleanly, be sure it is completely cooked in the middle before you remove the pan from the oven. Directions for shortbread baked on a cookie sheet often tell you to cook the shortbread only until the top of the cookies just barely begin to color. This is not the case with shortbread made in one of the Brown Bag Cookie Art Shortbread Pans.

Since you will be cooking your shortbread in the top third of the oven, you will get some top browning as the cookie bakes. The surface of the shortbread should be a toasty light brown when it is cooked. It should never appear raw or slightly opaque in the middle. If it is under-baked in the middle, it will probably stick in the pan when you go to unmold it.

Be sure to let the shortbread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you flip the pan over to unmold it. This gives the delicate cookie a chance to firm up a bit. After cooling for 10 minutes, hold the pan parallel to and 1" above a wooden or plastic cutting board, face down, and unceremoniously drop it. This jars the shortbread, and it drops right out of the pan.

Slice the shortbread into serving pieces using a thin, sharp knife, while it is still hot. If you wait until it cools, it will become flaky and too fragile to cut cleanly.