Scottish Shortbread
A Scottish shortbread should be sandy, crumbling and pale gold, not brown. The classic ratio is one part sugar to two parts butter to three parts flour, with a little rice flour or cornflour to lighten the texture.
Ingredients
250 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
125 g caster sugar
250 g plain flour
125 g rice flour or cornflour
0.5 tsp fine sea salt
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 160°C. Butter a 23 cm round tin.
- 2
Rub the cold butter into the flours and salt with your fingertips until it looks like fine sand. Stir in the sugar.
- 3
Bring together with your hands to a firm dough. Do not knead — pressing is enough.
- 4
Press evenly into the tin, smooth the top, prick all over with a fork and score into 12 wedges with a sharp knife.
- 5
Bake for 30–35 minutes until pale sand-gold. Dust with caster sugar while hot, cool in the tin 15 minutes, then cut through the score lines and cool completely on a rack.
Cook's notes
Overworking melts the butter and toughens the biscuit. Keep everything cold and press, don't knead.