Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy National Shortbread Day!

By late this morning, I still had no idea what recipe I would post next. This doesn't usually happen to me, we cook so often and food is a very big part of our life. I've just been in a slump. But then I remembered that I list upcoming National Food Holidays on my sidebar (here is where I find them), in case of just such a slump. Sometimes that is no help at all, like when I see that it is National Roast Suckling Pig Day (Dec. 18) or National Escargot Day (May 24), or something equally out of my comfort level. But today I had a winner - it's National Shortbread Day!


So here's the simplest, easiest recipe for shortbread that I could find on allrecipes.com. Only three ingredients, and it turned out fantastic!

Scottish Shortbread
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter (People will tell you not to substitute margarine, that you have to use real butter or it doesn't work. Don't believe a word of it! I used margarine and it worked just fine!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (many reviewers said 300, so I did that instead).

Blend all ingredients well. Dough will be stiff. It's funner if you use your hands and knead it really well.

Press into a buttered 9x9-inch pan (I used a shortening-ed 8x8-inch pan). Prick top with fork.

Bake until pale golden brown on the edges. 30 minutes at 300 seems to be a good baking time according to the reviews, though since I used a smaller pan I had to leave it in a little longer. Just keep a close eye on it, and take it out when it's lightly golden on the edges.

Cool completely before cutting into squares. Several reviewers said you can sprinkle it with sugar while cooling, so I did that; it makes it even prettier. It's very important to let it cool completely before you cut it into squares, or it will be too crumbly.


This is the first time I've made shortbread. I really love a good shortbread, with its light buttery flavor and unique texture, and this recipe didn't disappoint.

Sigh. It's nice to be out of the slump. Thank you, American National Food Holidays! :-)
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7 comments:

  1. RebekahJanuary 6, 2009 at 12:22 PM

    Shortbread is super yum!! I have a really good recipe that has mini chocolate ships in it. I don't make it that often because it has many more ingredients. But this would be a great one to have on the fly! Thanks!
    Happy Shortbread Day!

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  2. Barbara BakesJanuary 6, 2009 at 12:23 PM

    I always look forward to pi day. National Shortbread day - Yum, who knew!

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  3. MegJanuary 6, 2009 at 12:57 PM

    Your shortbread looks PERFECT!

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  4. ShelbyJanuary 6, 2009 at 5:36 PM

    I love shortbread! My SIL made it and added dried cranberries and white chocolate to it...and it was great that way too....but just plain shortbread is yummy!

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  5. MarisaJanuary 6, 2009 at 7:16 PM

    Yum! What could be bad about sugar, butter, and flour????

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  6. Snow WhiteJanuary 7, 2009 at 5:27 AM

    OMGosh, I can hardly wait to make these; we are hopeless shortbread freaks and the one recipe I had eons ago, called for rice flour as well to give them a short texture but I was never able to get them "right." Now I will put this one to work. Thanks for a great National Shortbread Day...will become a thing in my house that is for sure!

    Happy prosperous new year

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  7. Jacqueline MeldrumJanuary 8, 2009 at 2:42 PM

    Those look good! I haven't made shortbread for years, but your pictures have given me a craving! I can just taste it and homemade shortbread is so much nicer than boought. I thought the sheer quantity of food holidays was funny, but I can see that they would be good as an inspiration.

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