Jean Bethune’s Scottish Shortbread

This recipe comes from someone named Jean Bethune, whom I thank for sharing it with me back in 1984. I long ago (and still) marked it “Fabulous!” on its file card. These cookies taste very, very similar to the once-famous Peek Frean’s shortbread biscuits sold in grocery stores across North America. They freeze well, too.

Jean Bethune’s Scottish Shortbread:

1 c. (250 mL) berry sugar or “super fine” sugar (see Note)

4 c. (1 L) all-purpose flour, divided

1 lb. (450 g) butter, softened (see Further Note)

About 1/2 c. (125 mL) additional berry sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 275 deg. F. Measure berry sugar and 3 c. (750 mL) flour into large mixing bowl. With pastry blender or clean fingers, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually knead in remaining flour. Continue kneading until dough feels smooth. This takes only a few minutes. 

Place dough in 12 x 15 in. (30 x 38 cm) jelly roll pan. Using fingers, press into corners and throughout pan. Placing a piece of parchment paper over dough, smoothing the surface evenly with broad spatula. Sprinkle evenly with super fine sugar. 

Score into 2 x 1 in. (2.5 x 5 cm) rectangles, pricking each with a fork. Sprinkle evenly with berry sugar. Bake 1 hr. or until pale golden. Recut rectangles before shortbread is fully cool. Makes approximately 4 doz. biscuits.

Note: Jean, Dollink, I didn’t have a food processor when you gave me this recipe. Today, I would just dump everything into the processor, using the “pulse” setting and the plastic pastry blade, rather than the metal one. And Jean, berry sugar’s expensive. I make my own by buzzing granulated sugar in the blender until it becomes finer. This works extremely well, and saves moolah for such fripperies as paying the electric bill or fueling the family chariot.

Further Note: We’ve all heard about “happy accidents.” The ’nth time I made this recipe, I had one. I added slightly less than 1/4 c. (60 mL) too much butter. As the shortbread baked, the butter rose to the top of the cookies. The warm biscuits crumbled in my fingers ... A mess! But by the time the cookies were fully cool, the butter oozed into the holes the fork tines made, producing a superb cookie with a rich taste of butter. I hope I have that “accident,” again.

For more shortbread recipes, see One Click: Shortbread.