Old Fashioned Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Thanks to Grannie Bell's old fashioned shortbread cookie recipes, you can make delicious shortbreads with a rich, buttery, Old Country flavor.

And the good news is that they are easy enough for a child to make with a wee bit of help. So you won't have any trouble making them.

Old Fashioned Shortbread Cookie Recipes

Mom's Recipe Scrapbooks (c. 1920s)

Old Time Fancy Shortbreads

1 cup icing sugar, 2 cups butter, 4 cups flour. Mix well, knead until the dough begins to crack, shape into a round cake about 1/2 inch thick, crimping the edge like a pie crust, or roll out and cut like cookies, or prepare as you would icebox cookies.

Bake on ungreased tins in a slow oven (325°F) until delicately browned. Allow the shortbread to cool on the baking sheet.

Aunt Jessie's Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup brown sugar, fruit sugar, or icing sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups flour

Cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream together, add flour slowly, and when a stiff dough is formed, turn out onto a floured board. Gradually knead in the flour till dough begins to crack.

Roll out 1/4 inch thick, cut in fancy shapes, and bake in a slow oven (325°F) until shortbreads are slightly browned, about 25 minutes.

Whipped Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing sugar
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat for 10 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.

Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325°F for about 10 minutes.

Remove onto wire racks and cool completely before serving, storing, or freezing. Makes about 4 dozen shortbread cookies.

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

One pound butter, 1/2 pound icing sugar, 1 pound flour, 1 egg, 3 teaspoons lemon extract. Cream butter and sugar, add well-beaten egg, flour, and lemon extract.

Turn on board, adding enough flour until stiff enough to roll. Cut in shapes and bake in moderate oven (350°F) until delicate brown.

Easy Shortbread Cookies

3 cups flour, 1 cup icing sugar, 1 cup butter. Cream butter until soft, then work in sugar mixture. Tip sugar mixture onto flour and work in well.

Cut into squares, rounds, or shapes, or press mixture into a greased pan and bake 30 minutes in a moderate oven (350°F). Cool on rack.

About Walkers Shortbreads

Whether it's store-bought or homemade, I find it hard to resist eating shortbread cookies. They are so rich and so good.

Walkers® is currently the largest Scottish manufacturer of high quality butter shortbreads, exporting to over 60 countries. They also carry a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II to supply their bakery goods to the Households of Her Majesty.

Ever since the Walkers® opened its doors in 1898, the company has never strayed from their goal to sell the world's finest brand-name shortbread.

Flour, sugar, butter, and salt are the only ingredients used in Walkers' recipe, and the secret to the wonderfully buttery taste is their emphasis on using only the purest, highest quality ingredients and the care they put into its making.

History of Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread originated in Scotland in the 16th century during the reign of Elizabeth the First. It was traditionally made with fresh butter and ground oatmeal, but eventually fine flours were used as they became available.

It was the custom to add small comfit candies and thin slices of candied orange and candied lemon peel to shortbread when it was served at feasts celebrating Christmas and the New Year, and sometimes a sprinkle of caraway seeds was customary for flavor.

Today, we sometimes continue the festive custom by pressing pieces of blanched almonds, citron, peel, or candied cherries into each shortbread cookie just before baking.

The decorated shortbread cookies always seemed to taste better than the plain ones when I was a kid. Did you think so too?

Choose an old fashioned shortbread cookie recipe and have fun making these traditional cookies. The SECRET of how to make good shortbread is to always use the best quality ingredients, to bake at a low temperature, and to avoid over browning.

Remember, the finished product should be almost white or a very light brown in color when perfectly done.