Traditional Scottish Shortbread made the way I learned growing up in Scotland -just butter, sugar, and flour, baked into thick, crumbly shortbread fingers.
Scottish Shortbread Recipe Snapshot
What it is: Traditional 3-ingredient Scottish shortbread baked into thick, crumbly shortbread fingers.
Why you'll love it: Authentic Scottish shortbread recipe with only 3 ingredients. No need for fancy equipment - just a bowl and a spoon.
How to make it: Combine butter and sugar, then mix in the flour and bring it together into a dough. Press into a pan, dock, and bake.
Growing up in Scotland, shortbread was one of the first things we learned to bake at school, and I still make it regularly today. As a Scottish baker, I wanted to share my version because there's one important detail in the method that makes a big difference to how it turns out.
Most recipes treat it like cookie dough and cream the butter, but that's not how traditional shortbread is made. Instead, you use softened butter and gently bring the dough together, which keeps the texture dense, rich, and crumbly rather than light and airy.
It's a simple method, but it's what gives proper Scottish shortbread its classic melt-in-the-mouth texture. Let's make it.
Reader Review:
For the first time ever, I was able to make a perfect traditional shortbread thanks to your recipe and instructions. I had always creamed the butter and it never turned out.
Thank you! I can now remove the tartan bag of shame off my head and proudly present this shortbread. Well done Jules, thank you.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Jan
Jump to:
Why Use THIS Shortbread Recipe
- A traditional shortbread recipe, the way we make it in Scotland
- Uses the softened-butter method (instead of creaming the butter)
- No special equipment needed - just a bowl and a spoon
- Step-by-step process pictures and expert tips included.
Ingredients
A real shortbread recipe only has three ingredients, and they are balanced in a careful ratio to make the signature crumbly texture.
- Salted Butter - High-quality European butter works best because of the higher fat percentage. Make sure it's completely at room temperature.
- Sugar - Classic Scottish shortbread is made with granulated sugar (caster sugar). Some recipes use powdered sugar for a softer bite, but it's not traditional.
- Flour - All-purpose flour (plain flour) gives a good structure and won't make the shortbread rise in the oven as self-raising flour would.
See the recipe card for the full recipe and measurements in both cups and grams (though I stronglly recommend weighing your ingredients for accurate ratios).
Things You'll Need
You just need a bowl and a spoon for this shortbread method. If you want to use a stand mixer, you can - but be very careful not to overwork the dough.
Why We Don't Cream The Butter
If you've baked cookies or cakes before, you've probably been taught to cream the butter and sugar together. So it might feel a bit wrong to skip that step here - but just trust me.
Creaming adds air to the dough, which gives a fluffy, cakey texture. But traditional Scottish shortbread is all about that dense, buttery crumb, so gently mixing the ingredients together is what gives it that classic melt-in-the-mouth texture.
How to Make Scottish Shortbread
This softened butter method is exactly how we were taught to make shortbread growing up in Scotland. Not only does it gives the best texture, but it's so easy to make and doesn't need a food processor or pastry cutter.
Butter and Sugar
Preheat your oven to 320°F / 160°C (140° fan-assisted) and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
Put the butter in a bowl and use a wooden spoon or spatula to soften it a little.
Add the sugar and mix it into the butter, just until combined.
Don't cream it.
Add Flour
Sift in the flour and mix it together until the mixture starts to look crumbly.
Then ditch the spoon and use your hands to squeeze it together into a smooth dough with no lumps of butter. Again, be careful not to overwork it; just go until it is incorporated.
Press into Pan
Put the dough into the prepared cake pan and use your hands to press it into all the corners and make it as flat and level as possible. It is a very soft dough, so it should be easy to manipulate into the pan.
Dock the shortbread by pricking holes all over the dough with a fork.
Alternatively, you can roll it out to make shortbread cookies.
Bake
Bake the shortbread for 25-35 minutes until it is just starting to turn golden brown on the outer edges, it will still be very pale on top. Baking time will vary, so it's best to keep an eye out for the golden brown edges rather than relying on a set bake time.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing.
Slice
For clean slices, try to cut your shortbread while it is still slightly warm. Remove from the pan and use a long, sharp knife to cut straight down into the shortbread - make the pieces as big or small as you like!
Important step: Enjoy your delicious biscuit with a cup of tea. Any Scot will tell you you can't have shortbread without tea! My personal favorite is Earl Grey tea.
Reader Review:
My second batch is in the oven, and I'll be taking them to a dinner tonight! These are so easy, and so so delicious - traditional is the very best, and I thank you.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Jenn
How to Know When Shortbread is Done
Baking time can vary massively depending on your oven, bakeware, and thickness of the dough. So it's much better to learn the visual cues that it is ready.
- Shortbread stays fairly pale compared to other cookies so don't wait for it to turn golden brown or it will be overbaked and crunchy.
- Take it out of the oven when the very edges are just starting to get a bit of golden colour.
- It will still look and feel quite soft and underbaked when you take it out, but it will continue to bake as it cools.
Shortbread Tips From A Scottish Baker
These are some of the things to pay attention to to make sure your shortbread turns out perfectly:
- Use room temperature butter - If your butter is too cold it won't incorporate properly. But if it gets too warm, it will start to melt as you work it, and the shortbread dough will become greasy. The butter should be room temperature, but not so soft that it is starting to get melty. About 1-2 hours out of the fridge should be perfect.
- Don't overwork the dough - If you mix the dough too much you will develop the gluten in the flour and your shortbread might turn out dense and chewy, or the butter can start to melt and make the dough greasy. Just mix it until combined and no more. This is another reason why I recommend making this recipe by hand rather than with a mixer.
- Use visual cues for bake time - There are so many variables that affect bake time so often people might overbake or underbake their shortbread. See my section above on how to know when shortbread is baked.
- Using the high-quality ingredients - As there are so few ingredients in shortbread, the quality of the ingredients really matters, particularly the butter. The higher the fat content of the butter, the better - you will really taste the difference. I like to use Kerrygold, but any good quality butter will do.
Why do you prick holes in Scottish Shortbread?
Scottish shortbread is pricked, or 'docked' as it is called, to help release steam and stop the shortbread from getting soggy. This is typically done with the tines of a fork. Because it is so thick, this is the best way to ensure a crisp texture while still being crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth.
Depending on the temperature of your butter and how much flour the recipe contains, the holes may disappear during the baking process. That's okay, they are still doing their job! If you want to keep the holes for aesthetic purposes, you can chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking (after docking it).
Storage
Scottish Shortbread can keep for weeks if stored properly. Keep it in an airtight container or something like a cookie jar (or biscuit tin as we have here in Scotland). It will last for up to 4 weeks, but I doubt it will be around that long before it gets eaten up!
FAQ
Well, first of all, we invented it! So technically, all shortbread is Scottish shortbread! But traditional Scottish shortbread tends to be thicker than other shortbread cookies.
Also, you see a lot of adapted shortbread recipes that use things like cornstarch, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. These are all fine, but they are no longer considered a classic Scottish shortbread, which typically only has the three basic ingredients.
More Scottish Recipes
Want more of a taste of Scotland? As a Scottish lass, I've got you covered! Check out some of my favorite Scottish desserts that I enjoyed growing up:
Scottish Shortbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 227 g (2 sticks) Salted Butter (room temperature)
- 100 g (½ cup) Granulated Sugar
- 250 g (2 cups) All-purpose Flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 320°F / 160°C (140° fan-assisted) and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make sure the butter is completely at room temperature, then put it in a bowl and use a wooden spoon or spatula to soften it a little. Don't try to cream it, it's just to make it more pliable. You can use a stand mixer if you prefer, but be careful not to overmix.227 g (2 sticks) Salted Butter
- Add the sugar and mix it into the butter, just until well combined.100 g (½ cup) Granulated Sugar
- Sift in the flour and mix it together until the mixture starts to look crumbly. Then ditch the spoon and use your hands to squeeze it together into a smooth dough with no lumps of butter. Again, be careful not to overwork it, just go until it is incorporated.250 g (2 cups) All-purpose Flour
- Put the dough into the prepared cake pan and use your hands to smoosh it into all the corners and make it as flat and level as possible.
- Use a fork to prick holes all over the dough in straight lines. Don't push the fork all the way through the dough, you just want to go about half way.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until the shortbread is just starting to turn golden brown at the edges, it will still be very pale on top. Baking time will vary depending on a multitude of factors, so it's best to keep an eye out for the golden brown edges rather than relying on a set bake time. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing.
- For clean slices, try to cut your shortbread while it is still slightly warm. Remove from the pan and use a long, sharp knife to cut straight down into the shortbread - make the pieces as big or small as you like!
- Important step: Enjoy with a cup of tea. Any Scot will tell you you can't have shortbread without tea!
Viola F Taylor says
This recipe is perfect. The flour to butter ratio is spot on. I weighed the flour and chilled the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. It's absolutely delicious.
Jules Grasekamp says
Thank you so much Viola! I'm so happy to hear you loved the shortbread 🙂
Thanks for trying my recipe and taking the time to let me know!
Jules
Jean says
The ratio of flour to butter is incorrect. There’s not enough flour. I checked other recipes and this has the least flour to the same amount of butter and sugar in the recipes I compared it to.
I followed the recipe exactly and used my scales to measure the amounts.
My oven was set correctly (I have a thermometer to ensure it, and my range is new.). In the end I had to add an extra 15 minutes to the longer baking time and still the shortbread was greasy.
I won’t be making this again.
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Jean,
Thank you for your comment. While I appreciate your thoughts, I would argue that the ratio is not incorrect as this is my recipe and what I find to give the best results. There are many versions of shortbread out in the world as it is an ancient recipe from here in Scotland, they all have slightly different ratios. I, and a lot of my readers love this shortbread recipe and though the butter to flour ratio is higher than some other recipes, I love the texture and flavour that it gives.
It sounds like you are a skilled baker and clearly measured accurately, but the shortbread dough should not be greasy at all.
Was it greasy before you started baking? Or did this happen after? Greasy shortbread usually means that either the butter was a little too warm when you mix it in, or that the shortbread dough has been overworked.
I hope this helps! Thank you for trying my recipe and I'm sorry to hear it wasn't to your taste.
Happy baking 🙂
Jules
Jean says
Hi Jules,
To answer your question: the shortbread dough did not seem greasy when I was putting it in the pan. I noticed it was getting that way after it had been in the oven for a little while.
I know that shortbread should not be over-worked and I was careful to avoid that pitfall. So perhaps the butter was a bit too soft. Im open to trying it again, but if I do I’d like to try half the recipe. However, I’m not sure what size of pan to use. What about lightly rolling it and cutting it in rounds?
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Jean,
Yes you can absolutely roll it up and slice it. I actually use this exact recipe with that method in my Pistachio Shortbread Cookies recipe so you can see some step by step instructions in there with bake times.
Also, as you are an experienced baker, if you feel that you'd like it with more flour then you should absolutely go ahead and tweak the recipe to suit your taste 🙂
Hope they turn out perfectly for you!
Jules
Viola F Taylor says
I made the recipe as written. It came out great
Lesley Fehr says
Will try it again…half the recipe as I’ve done a lot of other baking in the meantime. Hoping for better results this time. Will let you know.
chris andersen says
With tea, or dipped in whisky. Try it!
Jules Grasekamp says
Yum! Can't beat dipping a delicious piece of shortbread!
Janice says
I have two questions I would like answered before I attempt this recipe.
It has been drilled into me, from another baking website, that room temperature butter is cool to the touch, about 65 degrees, if you touch it your finger should leave a dent, and it shouldn't look greasy. It should be out of the refrigerator, depending on the temperature of the kitchen, for one to two hours, and definitely not more than two. Is this what you mean by room temperature butter or should it be softer than that?
Second, in the US, we have "granulated sugar", which is commonly called just "sugar", and then we also have "caster sugar", which is finer than granulated sugar. You say "granulated sugar" is called "caster sugar" in Scotland. I would like clarification of which American sugar should be used. Thank you.
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Janice,
Happy to answer your questions!
Yes that is exactly what I mean by room temperature butter, couldn't have described it better myself 🙂
The reason for this is that it needs to be soft enough to mix with the sugar and butter without needing to beat or cream it, as we don't want to incorporate any air into the dough or have to overmix it once the flour is added. Equally, you don't want it to be so soft that it is melting. One to two hours out of the fridge should be perfect.
You can actually use granulated or caster sugar for this recipe, but the intended sugar in the recipe card is regular sugar.
For context, in the UK we have granulated sugar and caster sugar, and American granulated sugar actually falls somewhere in the middle of the two in terms of coarseness. However, my recipes are written for a US audience, so you can always assume I am writing with US ingredients in mind 🙂
I am sorry for the confusion though, I have actually just gone ahead and updated the recipe to clarify this, so thank you for the notes!
If you have any other questions I am happy to answer them and I hope your shortbread turns out beautifully!
Jules
Joan Jaworuski says
Recipe: It's so very good. However, think I did something wrong as when I started to cut in lines it was hard to cut & starting breaking into parts.
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Joan,
I'm glad you liked the shortbread! If it is breaking two easily it could be one of two things:
1) The dough could have been overworked. It is important to mix shortbread dough juuust enough to bring it together and no more as overworking it can mess with the texture.
2) Alternatively, the ratio of ingredients could be off so there is not enough moisture in the dough. Did you measure your ingredients with cups or a kitchen scale? I always recommend using a scale as cups are typically not accurate for measuring dry ingredients and its easy to add too much flour, which would mean the dough is too dry.
I hope this helps and that your shortbread was delicious anyway!
Jules
Elizabeth Oliver says
I've found the best way to handle this is to precut the dough in the pan prior to baking. Works every time. And if you are having trouble scoring the dough out it in the oven for a couple of minutes to let it soften just a bit and you'll find scoring much easier.
Allan Keir says
Why, for an apparently Scottish Recipe, are all the measurements used American? I.E. cups and sticks.
What happened to pounds and ounces or even kilos and grams.
Every time I see a recipe like this I pass it by.
Jules Grasekamp says
Hy Allan,
I'm glad you asked! You'll see from the recipe card that all my recipes have the ingredients in both cups and grams.
Being Scottish, I always bake in grams and weigh with a kitchen scale, and I put a recommendation in every single recipe post that says it's far more accurate to measure by weight than with cups.
However, a large portion of my audience are based in the US and don't feel comfortable with a kitchen scale, so I include both measurements to remain inclusive to everyone and make sure the recipe is approachable.
I would hate for somebody to be put off of trying a good recipe just because they aren't sure about the scale.
You will find the measurements in grams on every recipe. Cups are to the left of each ingredient and grams are to the right.
Hope this helps 🙂
Best wishes from Scotland!
Jules
Carolyn says
Jules, I'd like to thank you for using US measurements. A great deal of us here in the states don't do metric. When I see a recipe I'm interested in and it just has grams or liters or whatnot, I pass it by. So ty for making my baking experience so much more enjoyable ☺️.
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for your comment, I'm so glad you like the recipe!
I always share my recipes in both cups and grams so that nobody is discouraged from making them.
I will say though that I do encourage bakers to try using a kitchen scale as it is more accurate and tends to give more consistent results.
But I'm so glad you are here and want to try my shortbread!
Thank you!
Jules
Janet L McDaniel says
My great grandmother brought her Scottish Shortbread recipe to America many, many years ago from County Boness, Scotland. My grandmother, mother and I have used the recipe for years. Her recipe called for lard, not butter. When did it change to butter? I am willing to try the butter recipe (just don't tell great grandma, grandma or Mom!) because I love butter, but I feel like I am blaspheming the original recipe. Please help me feel less guilty!
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Janet,
Thank you for your comment and for checking out my recipe. I'm so happy to hear you have a deep family connection with Scotland and shortbread!
Traditional Scottish shortbread was originally made with butter, but just like so many old recipes, lots of different families and parts of the world had their own ways of doing things and their own take on recipes. I have never tried shortbread made with lard but if it's the way your great grandma made it I'm sure it is absolutely delicious! Neither way of doing it is 'right' or 'wrong' it's just a different take. I say the only way forward is to make both versions and then eat a lot of shortbread to test them both out (for science, of course!).
I'd love to know your thoughts if you do try my recipe 🙂
Best wishes from Scotland,
Jules
Jenn says
My second batch is in the oven. I'll be taking them to a dinner tonight. These are so easy, and so so delicious - traditional is the very best, and I thank you. from Nova Scotia
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Jenn,
I'm so happy to hear you love the shortbread recipe! Thank you for trying my recipe and for letting me know you enjoyed it!
Jules
Tom Vincent Warner says
This is the 4th batch and they remind me of my Grandma when I was a kid. Thank you from Toronto
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Tom,
I'm so glad you love the shortbread recipe! It's amazing how flavors and smells can bring back memories isn't it? Thank you for trying my recipe and for taking the time to let me know you loved it!
Jules
Marie says
Absolutely fantastic shortbread and so light and crumbly. Thank you so much, I love baking your shortbread with my grandchildren.
Jules Grasekamp says
Thank you so much Marie, I'm delighted that you and your grandchildren love it!
Jules
Heather R. says
Could you double this recipe for a 9x13 pan?
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Heather,
Yes you absolutely can, it shouldn't make any difference to the bake time.
Thanks
Jules
Jenn says
I wanted my first shortbread to be traditional, using the simple, real ingredients. This is it, and I just made my first batch. So delicious!
I have some special old tins, with designs in the bottom. My next batch will be in those, for the holidays. I'm thinking the parchment wont' be suitable, but the tinware should be good with a light greasing of butter. Thanks so much, from Nova Scotia. 🙂
Shary Smith says
This is the classic shortbread recipe. I make it all the time in the food processor. Process the sugar first so it is superfine (if what you have on hand is not). Then add the flour and process to combine. Add the cubed softened butter last and process until it starts clumping together. Dump into a lightly buttered, appropriately-sized pan and press it down and into the corners. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the edges start to look pale golden. Also, I never bother with docking. I've never found that it makes much difference if I use the food processor method. I frequently add chopped nuts and process them with the sugar and flour until very finely chopped. Fast, easy, and super delicious!
Jules Grasekamp says
Hi Shary,
I like to use the food processor often too as I sometimes get sore hands doing things manually all the time! I agree you can get some great results with the food processor. Glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Jules
Renee says
I'm looking forward to making this but I noticed you have calories listed at 57kcal. What is that? By my calculations 15 servings would equate to 194 cal. What is 57 kcal?
Chris Radwanski says
Most shortbread that I have eaten has been overly dry and crumbly. This one was a perfect combination of just the right amount of crumble and it held together so nicely. Big fan of shortbread now.