Scottish Shortbread
My family usually celebrates our Norwegian heritage during the holidays through baking various goodies such as lefse (potato tortilla served with butter and sugar), krumkake (Norwegian version of a cannoli), and aebleskievers (pancake balls sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with jam).
My husband’s heritage is rich in Scottish and Irish roots. So to honor and celebrate his ancestors, I like to make Scottish Shortbread. There are many recipes available for shortbread, but each recipe’s main ingredients are butter, sugar, and flour. Shortbread is a crisp cookie with a sweet buttery flavor. With this recipe, I like to add a little something special not normally found in shortbread recipes, maple extract. It pairs nicely with the brown sugar.
Scottish Shortbread
Equipment
- rolling pin
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter unsalted and room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp maple extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling the dough out
Instructions
- In an electric mixer, cream the butter on high until light and fluffy.
- Add in the brown sugar and the maple extract and cream again on high for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and cream again for 30 seconds.
- Add in the flour, one cup at a time, mixing on low and scraping the sides before adding in another cup. Continue until all 4 cups have been added. Sprinkle flour on counter-top and place the dough over the flour creating a mound. If the dough seems sticky, kneed another ½ cup of flour into the dough.
- Roll out the dough until it is approximately ¼ inch thick. Then cut into 1-inch by 3 inch cookies with a sharp knife. If you have a cookie-cutter that works too.
- Gently place on a non-stick baking sheet (or a parchment-lined baking sheet). Prick lightly with a fork down the center of the cookies. Bake at 325°F for 20-25 minutes, or until the cookies are just slightly brown on the edges.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving or storing. If desired dip one end in melted chocolate and top with a favorite holiday garnish such as crunched candy canes or festive sprinkles.
Nutrition
You can totally use a cookie-cutter to make uniform rectangles, but I not only like the more rustic look of just cutting the dough with a knife; I also am super lazy and don’t add extra steps in baking/cooking if I don’t have to.
You can use whatever shaped cookie-cutter you’d like, just make sure that you lightly prick the uncooked dough with a fork before baking.
What are some of your holiday baking traditions? Do you have a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation? Hope y’all are having an amazing week. Stay safe, be kind, and hug your loved ones.
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