Shortbread

“Short” refers not to length but to the nature of a dough that breaks into fine, crumbly pieces when snapped. For Scottish shortbread, a ratio of 3 parts flour to 2 parts butter to 1 part sugar is the typical guideline. In the basic dough, which is brought together without eggs or milk, the butter creates both the flavor and the crumbly texture that snaps apart.

The crumbly texture created by the ratio of butter to flour

The proteins in wheat flour absorb water and link together during mixing to form a gluten network, but fat coating the flour particles interferes with that linking. The small amount of liquid also limits the development of the network, so the dough breaks into fine fragments instead of forming a structure that stretches like bread.

Some formulas replace part of the wheat flour with rice flour. This method adds a flour that lacks the proteins that form wheat gluten and adjusts the mouthfeel through the combination of flours. Adding salt brings out the flavors of the butter and the baked flour along with the sweetness of the sugar.

King Arthur’s Irish cream version of the recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method) uses wheat flour, rice flour and brown sugar. The butter is first beaten smooth and then combined with the sugar and flour, and the dough is shaped into a disk, covered and chilled for at least 1 hour. Whiskey may also be added for flavor. Besides rubbing butter into flour, the dough can also be brought together from softened butter in this way.

A name shared with shortcake, but a different rise

In Britain, shortcake is also used to mean a buttery, crumbly biscuit, so its meaning overlaps with shortbread. By contrast, the typical American strawberry shortcake is made by splitting a baked dough and filling it with fruit and whipped cream.

The biscuit dough used for shortcake includes a leavening agent such as baking powder, as well as milk. The methods are similar in that cold butter is mixed into the flour and liquid is added before the dough is brought together quickly, but in shortcake, juicy fruit and cream are sandwiched in dough that has risen during baking. The flat, dense crumbliness of shortbread and the lightness of the biscuit that holds the fruit differ depending on whether a leavening agent is used and on the amount of moisture.

Pricking holes, cooling, then cutting into wedges

Shortbread comes in many shapes, including long, narrow fingers, petticoat tails cut from a round into fan-shaped wedges, and single rounds. Shortbread baked in a large piece and cut apart has a different proportion of edge from shortbread shaped into small pieces from the start. The rows of small holes and lines on the surface also decorate the dough.

In the King Arthur recipe mentioned above, the chilled dough is transferred to a pan and pricked all over with a fork. The holes are not only a pattern; they also keep the dough from puffing up during baking. Any areas that puff up partway through are gently pressed back down with a spatula to keep the thickness flat and even. The dough goes through two steps: chilling to set its shape, and pricking to limit deformation during baking.

The baked disk is not removed right away. It is cooled in the pan for 15 minutes, then turned out onto a board and cut into 8 wedges with a serrated knife. The point at which it is cut differs from shortbread that is shaped into long, narrow fingers before baking. The dough baked in one large piece is cooled and divided into wedges once it is firm enough to cut.

Printed cookbooks and the legend of Mary, Queen of Scots

A regional museum in the UK notes that a cookbook by Mrs McLintock published in 1736 contains an early shortbread recipe that appeared in print. According to legend, Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century was fond of petticoat tails, and there are several theories linking the name of the wedge shape to the hem of a garment or to the name of a small French confection. It is not clear whether the same shapes and formulas as today’s existed at Mary’s court.

Walkers’ butter formula, continued in Speyside

Joseph Walker opened a shop in Speyside in 1898 and settled on a formula of flour, butter, sugar and salt. Fingers and petticoat tails were among the early products, and both shapes are still made today.

Walkers kept its butter formula even in an era when products made with margarine became widespread. In a formula centered on the flavor of butter, both the taste of the dough and the way it crumbles differ from a formula that reduces the fat and compensates with other flavors. The crispness of the edges and the center also changes with thickness and baking. In the early years, deliveries by horse and cart extended the delivery area, and sweets baked at the Speyside bakery were carried to distant customers.

A New Year gift, and a custom of breaking it over the bride’s head at weddings

New Year’s Eve in Scotland is called Hogmanay. In first-footing, in which people make the first visit to friends’ and neighbors’ homes after the new year begins and bring items to wish them good luck, shortbread is given as a gift alongside whisky and coal. This simple butter confection is one of the items brought for New Year greetings.

In an old wedding custom recorded by Historic Environment Scotland, the bride’s mother baked a scone or shortbread made with oats or caraway as the bride’s cake. Part of it was broken over the bride’s head, and if it shattered into small pieces, it was said to foretell a fruitful marriage. This is an example of its use in family celebrations, separate from New Year gift-giving.

VisitScotland also describes an example from Dufftown in Speyside, where people gather in the square after the New Year’s Eve dancing and share whisky and shortbread as they welcome midnight. Shortbread is eaten at New Year celebrations both as a gift brought to homes and as a sweet shared among the people of a town.

Glossary