Scottish Shortbread
Three ingredients, one ratio: pale, crumbly, buttery shortbread.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Makes
- 8 petticoat tails
- Difficulty
- Easy
Traditional Scottish shortbread follows a 1 : 2 : 3 ratio of sugar to butter to flour. It should be baked low and slow until pale golden, never brown.
Ingredients
- 100gunsalted butter, softened
- 50gcaster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
- 150gplain flour
- pinch of salt
Equipment
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Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 150°C / 130°C fan / gas 2.
- 2
Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Work in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon, then your hands, until it forms a smooth dough.
- 3
Press into a 20 cm round tin or roll out to 1 cm thick. Mark into eight wedges ("petticoat tails") and prick all over with a fork.
- 4
Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 30–35 minutes until pale golden.
- 5
Sprinkle with caster sugar, re-cut along the marks while warm, and leave to cool in the tin.
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