Classic and authentic Scottish Shortbread recipe containing only three ingredients: flour, butter and sugar.
Recipe by adapted by Christina Conte on December 6, 2020
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT30M
Total time: PT40M
Rating
4.82 stars (933 reviews)
Keywords
bars, butter, Scottish baking
Ingredients
1 c butter (salted, softened (you can use unsalted, which is the norm for baking, but add a good pinch of salt))
½ c sugar
2 ½ c all-purpose flour
½ tsp sugar (to sprinkle on top)
Categories
Bread, Cookies & Pastries
Cuisine
British, Scottish
Steps
Heat oven to 375º F (190 ºC)
Start by mixing the butter and sugar together, but DO NOT CREAM them (see notes). The butter shouldn't be too soft, but also not straight from the fridge, especially if you use a mixer.
Add the flour and mix to a stiff consistency. Don't overwork the dough; stop when it just comes together. That's it, you've just made shortbread dough: I told you it was easy!
Roll out into the shape of a pan or tin you want to bake them in. I baked this in an 8 x 8 pan. Trim the edges to the approximate size.
FINGERS: Place it in the pan of your choice. One mistake many people make is rolling the shortbread too thin. Proper shortbread should be quite thick (no less than 3/4" or 2cm if making fingers). Tip: make sure your fingers are wide enough that a fork can prick them. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the dough into fingers. Next, prick the shortbread with a fork, about half way through.
ROUND: You can also shape the dough into a ball, roll it out into a round, and score into triangles, then prick with a fork.
MOULD: (brush the mold with a little oil, and sugar first to ensure it comes out nicely). Roll out the dough, place over the mould and roll again to press into it. Remove the excess dough then turn out onto a tray. If your shortbread mould doesn't have a pretty design, prick it with a fork
CUT OUT SHAPES: roll out more thinly (as with sugar cookies) and cut with cookie cutter. Place onto prepared baking sheet and prick evenly.
Place in preheated oven for 15 to 30 minutes (depending on which thickness or shape) or until slightly brown on edges. Sprinkle with sugar immediately upon removing from the oven. Shortbread shouldn't be darkly colored. Let your shortbread cool on or in the pan or tray before moving to rack to cool completely.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1
Calories: 225 kcal
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Protein: 2 g
Fat: 16 g
Saturated Fat: 10 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 41 mg
Sodium: 122 mg
Sugar: 9 g
Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
Reviews
Dominica Bogar on 2026-07-12 (4 stars): Me and my family watched the Wimbledon final today, so I made strawberries and cream with shortbread! Because we are gluten-free, I adjusted the recipe to be gluten-free. I reduced the butter to 160g, and added 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. The dough was quite soft, and it was a bit hard to roll out as it kept cracking, but eventually I managed, and baked most of it in a 8x8 baking dish, and the scraps on their own. I did score both the doughs before baking, but unfortunately the markings completely disappeared, so after baking them I rescored them, and that worked. Once cooled I served some fingers with whipped cream and strawberries, and they were a big hit, everyone loved them!
Frank Smith on 2026-06-13 (5 stars): I had it when I was in Scotland and this is just as good. The one I had in Scotland was at the Scottish parliament and I bet you they know what the are doing.
Melanie on 2026-06-09 (4 stars): Have tried a couple of slightly different recipes. It is difficult to tell when done. I live in a high altitude area and I think that may make a difference. I am determined to get it right because the flavor is awesome.
Katherine on 2026-06-05 (3 stars): I've had shortbread lots of times but this was my first time making it. Everything was seemingly going well, but when it came to rolling the dough into a ball, it just crumbled and wouldn't stick together. I ended up pressing it into the tin, so the end result was not very pretty. The full baking time was slightly too long, as the shortbread got a little too dark at the edges. Nevertheless the end result tasted okay. I don't think I will make it again.
Narda on 2026-05-19 (4 stars): Hi there,
Just made these and they are very delicious! I do have a question about the consistency of the finished biscuit: Are they supposed to be relatively soft and crumbly, or should they have more of a crunch? Store-bought shortbread is always hard, crunchy, like Walker's. So it's crumbly, but hard through and through. The shortbread I made with this recipe was relatively soft in the middle. The top and bottom were a nice light-brown, a bit darker than in your pictures even (I like my biscuits crunchy). It that how it's supposed to be?
I made it in a 8x8 tin, in the oven for maybe a bit more than 25 min. The outer edges were of course more crunchy than the middle bits. The dough was definitely not undercooked, and top and bottom do have a but of a crunch. If I'd make separate cut-outs that would make them more crunchy, I'd imagine. But I was wondering whether this is how they're supposed to come out or whether I should have baked them longer or differently.
Thanks for the recipe!
Lenore on 2026-05-01 (5 stars): Awesome! Thank you again!
Lenore
Lenore on 2026-05-01 (5 stars): Thank you! I definitely will! I'm new to your recipes/posts. Do you have gluten free recipes as well?
Thank you again!
Lenore
Lenore on 2026-05-01 (5 stars): Just made these and absolutely love the recipe! So easy to make! Since I made mini shortbread bites, I baked these for 8 minutes, watching very carefully! As soon as the edges turned a light brown, I removed them immediately. I timed my first batch at 15 minutes (bad) and needless to say they were burned. Didn't stop me from eating them, though! Anyway, good recipe Christina! I'll definitely save this one! Just an FYI, for those counting calories, as myself, using metric measurements, the total calorie count is 2,913. I made 80 mini bites with each bite a little over 36 calories. As I said, just an FYI.
