Shortbread Recipes | Emerson Creek Pottery (2024)

  • Jim
  • August 21, 2017
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  • Brown Bag, Recipes

Shortbread Recipes | Emerson Creek Pottery (1)

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Special Notes About Making Shortbread WithBrown Bag ®Shortbread Pans

1. Bake your shortbread in the top 1/3 of your oven for best results.

2. Many shortbread cookie recipes tell you to take your shortbread out of the oven before it begins to turn golden-brown. This is not the case with Brown Bag shortbread pans. Before releasing your cookies from the shortbread mold, be sure the top of the shortbread has turned a light, toasty brown.

3. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before releasing them from the shortbread pan.

4. Hold the pan about 2″ above a wooden or plastic cutting board and simply drop it! This will release the shortbread from the mold.

5. Using a thin, sharp knife, slice the warm shortbread into serving pieces as soon as you remove it from the pan.

6. Let shortbread pans cool before washing up in the sink or dishwasher.

7. All shortbread pans are lead-free and made in the USA.

Traditional Scottish Shortbread Recipe

Authentic Scottish Shortbread is made of just 3 ingredients: butter, sugar and flour. It gets its nameShortbreadbecause shortening is the crucial factor in this rich, buttery cookie. Over the years, creative bakers have dreamed up recipes for all kinds of new takes on traditional shortbread – chocolate, with nuts, with fancy flavorings like rosewater or lavender blossoms, with chocolate chips or savory anise seeds. You can’t really go wrong with adding special touches to the basic recipe, but first it’s important to make sure you’ve got that basic recipe down! Follow these steps for making perfect, authentic Scottish shortbread cookies:

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup room temperature butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Cream the butter in a bowl, using the back of a large spoon or frosting knife. When it is soft, creamy and light, it is properly creamed. Dust the powdered sugar into the bowl as you continue to make the creaming motion with your utensil. Once it is gently worked in, add the flour, mixing in with a few good whisks of your utensil. It is also fine to mix the dough in a mixer. Turn the mixture out onto a bread board and knead it gently with your hands until the 3 ingredients become a uniform, soft texture. Form into a ball.

Spray your mold lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray and set the ball of shortbread dough in the middle of it. Working from the center of the dough outward, press the shortbread out so that it completely and evenly fills the shortbread mould. Prick the surface of the cookie dough all over with a fork. Don’t skip the pricking step as it is key to the texture of the finished shortbread.

Place the shortbread pan in an oven set to 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remember that few ovens are alike, so checking for the toasty brown color on top is your surest method of knowing that to your shortbread is done. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Finally, turn your shortbread pan upside down over a cutting board, holding it about 2 inches above the surface. Then, let it drop! This will jar the cookies out of the mold. Lift up the pan and slice up the shortbread with a thin, sharp knife while the cookies are still warm Serve the cookies design-side-up!

Scotch Shortbread cookies can be enjoyed warm or cold. They will keep well well in a lidded tin for at least a week, but we’ll be surprised if they last that long!

Did you know that Scottish shortbread recipes date back to the Middle Ages? Small wheaten and oaten cakes were eaten by the populace as a part of daily life, but the richer shortbread, with its luxurious addition of butter and sweetener, were reserved for very special occasions such as weddings and holidays. Lucky for us, in modern times, we can enjoy shortbread just about any day of the week. Few cookies are easier to make or more gratefully accepted! With these handcraftedBrown Bag ®shortbread pans, you will be serving up a traditional treat that turns out perfectly beautiful every time.

Brown Bag ®is a registered trademark of Hill Design, Inc. AllBrown Bag ®cookie molds are protected by design copyrights owned by Hill Design, Inc. All rights reserved.

7 Responses

  1. Should the powdered sugar be sifted for this recipe?

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  2. Are these dishes microwave safe?

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    1. Hi Jennifer! Yes, all of our dishes are microwave safe.

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  3. My daughter bought me one of the Emerson Creek Pottery molds for Christmas a few years ago and I love how this turns out every time I make it. The only time I have had any issues was once when I forgot to give it a light spray of non-stick; that one did not come out in one piece but, it was not a disaster either. I like to make the traditional and ice it with a lemon glaze but, the variation recipes are also very good. Try Earl Grey with Cardamom!

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    1. Thanks for the suggestions, Juls! Earl Grey with cardamom sounds delicious (and like it would pair perfectly with a cup of tea). We’re so glad to hear that you’re pleased with your shortbread pan.

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  4. I add lemon zest and cardamon. Never needed to grease or oil my mold, not with all that butter.

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Shortbread Recipes | Emerson Creek Pottery (2024)

FAQs

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

When making shortbread What must you not do? ›

The key with shortbread is not to overhandle it. Make the dough exactly as instructed, but don't mess around making shapes or over rolling the dough - you will end up with delicious but tough biscuits. Stretching and pulling the dough activates the gluten in the flour, making chewy cookies and not crisp ones.

Why is my shortbread hard and chewy? ›

Check doneness by looking for an even, light brown colour across the top of the biscuits, with slight darkening at the edges. Begin checking at the tail end of the cooking time. Undercooked shortbread will be doughy and chewy. Slightly overcooked and it will become chalky, brittle and hard.

What happens if you put too much butter in shortbread? ›

Greasy mess: Extra butter means more fat, making the dough greasy and difficult to handle. Spreading like crazy: Cookies lose their shape, spreading thin and flat instead of staying nice and round. Uneven baking: The excess fat can burn easily on the edges while leaving the center undercooked.

Why is shortbread unhealthy? ›

Why is shortbread considered to be bad for you? Shortbread is considered unhealthy because of the high butter content. How long do gingerbread houses last before eating them could make you sick?

What happens if you don't chill shortbread dough? ›

But in this shortbread cookie recipe, it really makes a difference. Chilling the dough helps the cookies hold their shape. If you don't chill your shortbread dough, the cookies will spread as they bake.

Should shortbread dough be cold before baking? ›

Baking Shortbread Cookies

The dough should still be cool and firm to the touch. If it's not, chill both sheet pans in the freezer for at least 10 minutes before baking. Cold is best here!

Why do you put holes in shortbread? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Should butter be cold for shortbread? ›

Fine Cooking explains that the butter should be at refrigerator temperature. While many cookie recipes call for softened butter or at room temperature, if your butter isn't cold when making shortbread, it's likely to turn out greasy or be difficult to roll out.

What are the characteristics of a good shortbread? ›

One of shortbread's defining characteristics is its crumbly texture. The secret lies in the high butter content, which gives it that melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Shortbread is incredibly versatile!

What are the disadvantages of shortbread? ›

Sugar provides a fast source of energy. There are rarely any artificial additives. Cons: Shortbread is a weight watcher's nightmare because it is extremely high in saturated fat and calories. Saturated fat is the 'bad' fat which is linked to artery-clogging high cholesterol and heart disease.

Should the butter be cold when making shortbread? ›

If it's too warm, the butter and sugar cannot properly cream and the cookies will taste dense. Many shortbread recipes call for cold butter worked into the dry ingredients and that gives you a wonderfully flaky cookie but if not mixed properly, the results can be inconsistent.

Why is my shortbread dry and crumbly? ›

Not enough fat

To fix this, you can add more fat to the dough. This can be in the form of butter, shortening, or even olive oil. Just add a little at a time until the dough comes together and is no longer crumbly. You may also need to add more liquid, such as milk or water, to get the right consistency.

What does it mean when shortbread is too short? ›

If you use half a pound of butter in a batch of cookies, it becomes “short” — because “short” means, historically, pastry with a high percentage of fat. Thus shortbread cookies are — when correctly made — rich, crumbly and impossible to resist.

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