Recipe: Scottish Shortbread

December 2024

This year, we’re sharing a recipe that’s truly dear to our family. We never have a Christmas—or any special occasion, really—without her famous Scottish Shortbread..

Adapted from Sunset Magazine via Prema’s mom

SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Prep time: 10 mins
Total Time: 60 mins

~ Ingredients ~

1.25 C all-purpose flour
3 Tbl cornstarch
¼ C sugar
½ C cold unsalted butter in large dice

~ Instructions ~

• Preheat your oven to 325
• Throw all into a food processor and blitz until sandy
• Handle the flour as little as possible so the gluten doesn’t develop
• Pour into 8×8 baking dish
• Flatten and compress with a flat-bottomed glass or small rolling pin
• Compress the edges with the back of a spoon
• Bake until pale golden – approximately 45mins
• Immediately after removing from the oven, use a paring knife to cut into the desired shape
• These are rich, so Caryl usually cuts them into 1” squares
• Let cool completely in the pan before turning out

Pairs great with our 2022 Gap’s Crown Vineyard Chardonnay! It also stores well in an airtight tin for gifting.

A note from Caryl herself!

“Once you’ve mastered the basic, try adding the contents of a Chai Tea Bag, or substitute 0.5tsp ground ginger for the cornstarch and chuck in a couple of TBL of minced candied ginger, or blitz some almonds into the flour with a 0.25tsp almond essence. Have fun with it! I use different shape cuts to identify flavors. Can be made by hand by rubbing butter into the dry ingredients, gathering into a ball and pressing into the pan.”